Christmas-time Baby shower ideas

[JennStar]

My cousin is expecting their 4th child in January. Totally a surprise baby!! Parker, the youngest, turns 5 this week and they got rid of EVERYTHING a few months before she got prego.

Anyway-- we are throwing her an "open house" shower and we want it to be a mix-and-mingle kind of thing. I'm looking for suggestions for the theme and ideas for the party. We're splitting the guest list and having them come at 2 different times (older relatives and co-workers at, say, 4pm; close friends and family at 6pm).

Okay my creative chickies- what kind of ideas do you have up your sleeves??? We thought a Christmas-y theme or a late fall theme (hosting the shower in November vs December). TIA!!

[Rynonut Mom]

Hum.... something with stars came to mind first. But I'm not sure what. And no - not because of your name, but for blessings and Christmas. LOL! You could do alot with the star theme - cookies, little cut out sandwiches, etc. And it might be a cute play with your name - LOL!

[JennStar]

Michelle- that's funny you say that- Parker's room (which will be the babies room) is painted with starts at the top- Jenni wants to keep the same theme to cut down on the redecorating. That's a great idea!!
Anyone else have any fun ideas?

[~ashleigh]

I was thinking that if you go with a christmas theme (I love the star idea, Michelle) you should make a diaper cake (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Diaper-Cake) wrapped in baby green blankets, ribbons, or towels, to make it look like a christmas tree. And then you can add the accessories, like ornaments. That would be a great centerpiece and very practical gift!

Or, if you do the shower in November, you could have a *little pumpkin* theme. Decorations would be simple (mini pumpkins everywhere), and you could ask everyone to share a sentiment about what [about babies or family] they are thankful for. You could then use the sentiments for a mini scrapbook.

Also, a good resource for games and more ideas is party411 (http://www.party411.com/babyshower.html).

Have fun, Jenn! You will have to let us know what you end up doing!

[sinead]

I've been to a couple Room/Time showers that always turn out fun. The guest list is broken down into rooms of the house and times of the day. For example, you might have kitchen and 8am and then the person would buy something for the baby's breakfast or something. Or living room and 2pm or bathroom and 7pm. That way there's a nice variety of gifts. It involves some work for the hostess to organize beforehand, but it's kind of fun. Oh, and when opening presents, you start in the morning and work your way through the day. :regular_s

love the Star idea!

[Rynonut Mom]

Oh - good ideas!
I've never been to a room/time shower - that sounds like fun!

[sanstanton]

How about a small-ish Christmas tree by the entrance or as a centerpiece... ask each guess to bring a pair of sweet little booties or baby socks and use them to decorate the tree! For a tree-topper you could use a small baby toy of some sort decorated w/ Christmas ribbons.

[sinead]

oh, Sandra, that's such a cute idea!! and Jenn...you could buy a pack of those link-a-doo things and use them to hang the booties or whatever on the tree and then there's an extra gift. Those things sure were handy when Maggie got to the "dropping game" stage!!

[Rynonut Mom]

Oh - another great idea!!!

[ronee]

Oooh, take the star idea and turn it into a Silent Night theme. Have you ever made German stars? Check it out http://www.highhopes.com/3dstar.html, inexpensive decorations. :) What do you think?

[JennStar]

I knew you guys would have some great ideas!!
We talked with her last night and I think it'll be a December shower, since November has just about filled up already! LOL! The tree idea would be so cute, since it would go well with what 's going on in the house anyway (with decorations).

Keep 'em coming. I'm really enjoying all of the great ideas that you're suggesting!!!