Many times an adopted mother is overlooked and doesn't get a baby gift shower Yet adopted mothers work hard to have that bundle of joy. She has to take classes. She has to go through intense interviews. She has to have every aspect of her life questioned and examined. All of this shows how much she wants this baby girl or baby boy. Doesn't she deserve a baby shower, just like mothers who give birth do?

How do you go about planning one? You plan one like you would an ordinary baby shower, with a few exceptions. Here are a few suggestions on how you can plan a baby gift shower for an adopted mother. First, start with the invitations. In the invitations, you are lucky because you can add the announcement of the age and sex of the child she adopted. This makes gift buying easier on the guests. You can also add suggestions on gifts that they could buy, if you have some ideas. Now start planning the shower itself. Buy food. Buy some decorations. Prepare some games to play.

The food is easy. Prepare some easy items that you think mother and the guests will love. Games are a little harder for a baby gift shower for an adopted mother, since the mother all ready has the baby. This leaves out the popular toilet paper game involving the belly of the expectant mother. But if the child is an infant there are still tons of baby related games left, such as guess the baby food, which team can change dolly's diaper first, etc.

As for party favors, you may want to make sure each party guest has a picture of the new addition to the mother's family. I am sure being a new mother, the newly adopted mother has tons of them and would love to have her favorite or favorites copied to hand out to her friends.

The main reason to have a baby gift shower for an adopted mother is to make sure she realizes how happy her friends and family are that she has realized her dream.

Labels: Baby Shower, baby shower games, plan a baby shower

Monday, July 21, 2008

Planning a baby shower

Planning a baby shower isn't a really hard job to accomplish. It just takes a little bit of organizational skill and a little bit of creative thought.

First, begin with your invitations. You can do this orally or you can do this the elegant way and send out hand written or pre printed invitations. Thanks to computer technology, you can print these easily. There are a number of sites that have templates that will help you print your own invites. All you have to do is fill in the details such as time, address and the expectant mother's name.

Second, make sure the guests know what kinds of baby gifts are wanted and needed. You can do this in a tactful way by adding a little note of suggestive gifts. This way the guests are not wasting their money and the expectant mother actually receives what the baby will actually need.

Now it is time to actually think about the shower itself. You will need the basics that all parties have to have: decorations, food, activities and a comfortable area for the guests.

If you are crafty you can make a lot or most of the decorations yourself. Of course, your theme is the colors blue and pink. Your key decorations will be baby related, yet you can add ribbons and flowers, too.

Now think about what kind of fun baby shower games you want to have the guests play. Try to keep these down to a minimum of five or six or the guests may tend to get bored. Don't forget to buy favors to hand out to the winners of the games.

When it comes to the food, think casual. You may want to do a buffet of some simple things such as fruit plates, meat trays, veggie plates, etc. Don't forget the fun stuff like cookies, candies and cakes.

Finally, make sure someone records who gave what to the expectant mother in a nice journal. This will make it easier when it comes time for her to thank people later.

But your most important job in planning the baby shower is to make sure that the expectant mother is comfortable and that she is having fun.

Labels: Baby Gift Ideas, Baby Shower, baby themes

Monday, July 14, 2008

Baby Shower Games

Baby shower games are a must at any baby shower. It is also a way for friends and family members to relax and have fun at the shower.

You don't have to have spend a lot of money preparing for these games. You just have to think ahead a little.

Here are a few examples of the some of the most popular games.

1. The toilet paper game. Give each guest a roll of toilet paper. Have the expectant mother stand up, so all can see her stomach clearly. Then each guest can guess how much of the toilet paper it will take to fit exactly around her stomach. The guest who comes closest wins.

2. Guess the baby food game. Have several jaws of baby food. Make sure that no visual label of their contents are showing. Now have a guest close their eyes and open their mouth. The guest now gets a taste of the baby food. The one that guesses the most jars correctly, wins.

3. Guess the baby item. Have a bag of baby items all ready prepared and have a blindfold handy. When a guest has a turn, she puts on the blind fold and reaches into the bag. She then guesses what items she is holding. The guest who guesses the most items, wins.

4. Who knows the most songs with the word baby in the title. Give each guest a pad of paper and a pen. Give them an allotted amount of time to name as many songs as they can with the word baby in the title. The one with the most songs wins.

5. Change baby's diaper game. Guests are blindfolded and broken down into teams. Give each team a doll baby and a diaper. Object of game, take off doll baby's diaper, filled with melted chocolate, replace with new diaper. First team to complete task successfully, wins.

Don't stress out too much about the baby shower games. Remember the key is to have fun and to offer your best wishes to the expectant mother.

Labels: Baby Gift Ideas, Baby Shower, baby themes

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Personalized gifts for baby

When it comes to buying a great gift for a baby, a no fail, can't go wrong gift, is a personalized gift. There are many different personalized gifts for baby. Regardless of whether or not you know the sex of the baby, or even the name, there are many personalized gifts that are gender neutral that are bound to make even the pickiest of gift receivers jump for joy.

One of the greatest personalized gifts is an embroidered baby pillow. Embroidered with the baby's name and birthdate, these beautifully hand stitched pillows are wonderful heirlooms that can be passed down from generation to generation. If you are handy with a needle and thread, you could even custom make your own pillow to give. This would be a wonderful present to give from a family member or loved one. Extra details you could add on the pillow besides the name and birthdate, is a beautiful picture of their new addition. This could be sewed on in a protective casing or could be photocopied on the pillow directly. Cute little ribbons and bows with a lovely lace trim makes this present the perfect gift that every parent would love.

Hand painted personalized plates or keepsake plates, are also decorative gifts that can be displayed to show the new addition of the family. Not only can a hand painted, hand crafted plate be cute to display, they can actually be used. Depending on the how fancy you want the plate, it can be kept for a special occasion, or used everyday.

Teddy bears are another gift that can be personalized. You can custom make an adorable t-shirt that has the newborns name on it. You can even have a special message inscribed on the bear, or on the t-shirt. If you do not want to give a teddy bear, other toy animals can also be personalized. Tigers, frogs, dogs, cats, are the usual favorites to children all over.

Diaper bags, security blankets, hooded bath towels, diaper covers, baby bibs are common items that are personalized. Usually initials or the full name are put on these items. If you want to make these items not so stereotypical pink for girls blue for boys, new colors like bright green or yellow are great and gender neutral. After all, there are only so many pink or blue clothes, and bags that you can have with out it being overkill! That is why it is completely acceptable and a welcomed to purchase personalized gifts in colors other than the standard pink and blue.

Some people also like to purchase unique photo frames that may have the name of the baby custom made right on it. Once you obtain a picture of the newborn, put it in and your ready to go. And don't forget, with today's technology, you can have a photograph of someone put on almost any object. Coffee mugs, calendars, blankets, pillows, clothes, just to name a few. Think about which item to want to give them and have their bundle of joy, placed on that object!

And last but not least, a few not so typical personalized gifts, are items like children's step stools, piggy banks, and coat racks. Christmas ornaments, or even sterling silver cups are truly special and unique personalized gifts for baby.

Labels: Baby Gift Ideas, Baby Shower, personalized baby gifts

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Baby Shower Themes

When planning a baby shower, whether you are the mother-to-be, or a friend or family member, baby shower themes are very important because they can make or break the atmosphere of the party. If you are planning it for someone else, it is always nice to double check whether or not the mother already had a theme in mind, or at least had a preference. If she really does not care, then have some fun with it and make it a day she will always remember!

One very popular theme for a party involving men and women is called the couples theme. Children's girl and boy dolls, (especially Barbie and Ken) are often used for decorative purposes. This particular theme allows some of the best baby shower games out there to be played. Nothing is better than watching a man trying to compete against other men in silly party games.

Another very popular theme is Noah's Ark. The brand Precious Moments, offers some of the cutest decorations out there. Festive plates and napkins, little figurines of the ark and animals will definitely make your heart melt. And for food, you could make items in twos (two of every kind on the boat). Have two cakes, instead of one. Every game you play could have two winners and they each could receive two small gifts. Little spins on the "two" of everything makes this party theme different and fun.

A new party theme is an adoption baby shower. How many people really think to throw a baby shower for those that choose to adopt a child? Just because they are not giving birth to one, doesn't mean that they don't need baby bibs, and diaper bags too! Not only is a baby shower a great way for them to get the little things they need for their new arrival, it is a great way for you to get together with the parent(s) and discuss anything they may be concerned about, especially if they are adopting from abroad and are very unfamiliar with the child they will be receiving.

Having a support group and party for going such a different route from the standard methods are great. And as for decorating for this party, if the couple is adopting a baby from China, it is completely acceptable to decorate with Chinese decor and even to have Chinese food. It is not an insult to highlight cultural differences and celebrate them! And if you do not want to decorate with a theme from the country of the child's birth, having a regular theme like Noah's Ark, or baby footprints is just as nice, and fun. What is important is that you make sure to have a party for an adopting parent!

Other general theme ideas are:

Ice cream Shower
Girls Luncheon
Old MacDonald Farm Party
Nursery Rhymes
Rubber Ducky
Pampering Mom-to-be (spa, manicures, pedicures,etc)
Diaper Party (decorate with diapers) Plenty of decorations out there!
Little Angel/Little Prince Party
Office Shower (for your co-workers)
Tea Party
Having a shower at a fancy restaurant in a party room
Mother Goose
Picnic Party
Name that Baby
Charity Shower (this is great if your wanting to host a charity event where you gather mothers-to-be who really need baby supplies)