Shower Power

SHOWER POWER
THROW A FABULOUS BABY SHOWER—SANS THE STRESS—WITH THESE READY-TO-GO IDEAS

Your friend is pregnant. You’re thrilled for her and want to celebrate, but with all that’s on your plate, the thought of throwing her a fantastic shower seems like an insurmountable task. Never fear, THE FAMILY GROOVE is here to help you throw an elegant and fun baby shower. We’ve sourced the greatest invitations, decorations, activities and favors so that your to-do list will be as simple as possible.

What’s cuter than a little onesie, a pair of baby socks and a newborn hat? To a pregnant woman and her close friends, not much. A clothesline shower celebrates teensy tiny baby clothes and gets everyone excited about the upcoming arrival. Not to mention it’s a creative way to showcase the trendiest baby fashions.
The Invitations The perfect invitation? These from Tiny Prints, which exhibit baby clothes hanging from a line. ($1.25 per invitation, www.tinyprints.com)
The Décor Use a beautiful ribbon or a ball of yarn to make your own clothesline — hanging it around the room for the shower. Add old fashioned wooden clothes pins, and hang onesies, hats, socks and other sweet baby items from the ribbon or yarn. Make your life easy by using fun paper goods that work with your clothesline theme. You can toss them when the party’s over, so you won’t spend hours cleaning up after everyone. ($2.99-$5.29, a www.perfectpartyzone.com)
The Food Stick with simple, finger baked goods. A selection of cookies, brownie bites and mini bundt cakes from The Corner Bakery will satisfy everyone’s yearning for something sweet. (Visit www.cornerbakery.com for process and locations)
The Activity Purchase some inexpensive onesies, along with fabric paint, stencils and other items that are safe for decorating fabric. Have each shower guest get creative and design an original onesie for the baby. Hang the newly adorned onesies on the clothesline and let all of the guests admire their handiwork. It’s also a great keepsake for your family, too.
The Favors Send your guests home with a sweet baby onesie of their own. Visit www.cookiepots.com for prices and selections.

Why should the girls have all the fun? A cocktail/mocktail party is a great way to include the dad-to-be and other special men in your pregnant friend’s life. Think of the shower as a fun cocktail hour for all of her friends and family, with a few baby twists thrown in to center the celebration. This type of party also works well for second or third pregnancies or for a more casual shower that may not include gifts.
	The Invitations Resist the urge to get all pink and blue with this theme. The key is to keep it fun and sophisticated. Consider bold colors and a sharp design so that everyone feels welcome—and not in babyland. We love these invites from Boatman Geller: they’re just the right amount of class and sass, and can be personalized with your own special message. ($88 for 25 invitations, www.boatmangeller.com)
The Décor and Favors Use a range of colored balloons—not just pastels—around the room for a festive look. Add additional splashes of color by filling clear plastic baby bottles with different types of candy like jelly beans, M&Ms, Skittles and Mike and Ikes. Create centerpieces for the cocktail tables by arranging the bottles in brightly colored buckets or tins, using tissue paper or paper confetti to balance the bottles and to add appeal and height. The candy baby bottles can also serve as favors at the end of the night.
	The Food Do it up with fun party food—with a baby twist, of course. Using bar food as a base, serve mini-hamburgers, mini hotdogs, and little potato pancakes, all of which should be available in the freezer section of your grocery store. Buy prepared cupcakes and using a cupcake stand, create a tiered cake with cupcakes for dessert. ($37, www.fancyflours.com)
	The Drinks This step is an important one, as your theme centers around it. Create a specialty drink for the evening, perhaps in pink or blue. Be sure to also serve a non-alcoholic, mocktail version for those unable to drink up. Check out www.cocktail.com or www.webtender.com for ideas. Search for recipes by ingredient, color, or name.

Let’s face it, “Do you know what you are having?” is one of the first questions most pregnant women get. If your friend knows that she is having a baby boy or a baby girl, help her broadcast that info to everyone by using pink or blue hues as the anchor for your theme. To keep your shower from being too saccharine, add chocolate brown or lime green as accent colors.
The Invitations Stick to your color scheme, keeping them simple and tailored. Try these from Inviting Smiles, which are available in both a pink and blue version. ($1.79 per invite, www.invitingsmiles.com).
The Décor Arrange pink or blue flowers (try blue or pink hydrangeas or pink roses) in small, densely filled vases. You won’t have to spend your whole budget on flowers, especially if you can find a friend with hydrangeas in her yard. For vases, these silver mint julep cups are beautiful and easy to use. Mix in a few silver bowls with pink or blue Jordan almonds to fill out the table. ($9, vases, and $4, bowls, www.socialcouture.com) So that guests aren’t too overwhelmed by pink or blue when they leave, choose linens or paper goods that incorporate brown or lime green in them, like these “Mod Mom” plates ($3.20 for 8, www.zuberts.com). White votive candles will also help to create an elegant atmosphere. Tie or hot glue a beautiful brown or lime green ribbon along the base, spacing the candles out over the table with the flowers and candy bowls.
The Favors Send your guests home with a bag of homemade chocolate covered pretzels. They’re much simpler to make than you may think. First, dye white chocolate blue or pink. Then dip the pretzels in the colorful chocolate. Once you have dipped the pretzels, get creative with toppings. Chocolate sprinkles or colorful mini candies work well. Package a few pretzels in cellophane and add a pink or blue ribbon to finish off your gift to the guests. Need help with the recipe? Search online for an easy recipe like this one: gourmetchocolategiftideas.com/gourmet-chocolate-dipped-pretzels.htm.

Being a mom is a 24 hour a day job. Pregnant woman have heard this news, but aren’t really sure what to expect when their bundle of joy arrives. This shower will help the mom-to-be with fun but practical gifts and ideas. Each guest is given a specific hour of the day with her invitation and is asked to bring a gift that corresponds to her designated hour. For instance, a guest who has the time of 8:00PM might bring a favorite lullaby CD or a cuddly teddy bear. A guest with the time of 4:00AM might give a baby monitor or a book on getting babies to sleep through the night. At the end of the shower, your friend will be equipped to care for her baby at any time of day.
The Invitations Because of the unique nature of this shower, the invitations should be individualized in some way, with the shower title on the invitation letting guests know what to expect. If you have the time and the energy, print the invitations by hand or print them on your home computer, using card stock purchased at a stationery store. This way, you can include each guest’s designated time on the actual invitation. If you would rather have the invitations pre-printed, then you might want to include a slip of paper inside the envelope or give each guest their assigned time when they RSVP.
	The Décor Don’t go overboard with clocks or watches—just use the colors and flowers that your friend loves. Pick two or three coordinating colors to set the tone. Unsure of which way to go? Try hot pink and orange, a bold, yet beautiful statement. We love these colorful, hip floral arrangements ($75, www.bbrooks.com). Use linens or paper goods that also coordinate. Check out www.plumparty.com for ideas and prices.
The Food Once again, defer to your girlfriend’s tastes. Be sure to include enough variety so that all of the guests can indulge. To keep things easy, you might want to consider creating several different salads. Chicken salad, salmon salad, couscous salad and a green salad provide an ample selection. These can usually be purchased at the prepared foods counter of a more specialized grocery store like Whole Foods. Serve with pita bread or rolls. Provide iced tea, lemonade, and, of course, cake.
The Activity Create a scrapbook with a page or two for each hour of the day. Provide plenty of pens and let the guests give their advice to the soon-to-be new mom. The 10:00AM page might have advice like this: “Get out of the house. You don’t have to look perfect. Go meet other new moms for coffee and have some adult conversation.” If unsolicited advice isn’t your friend’s cup of tea, have each guest bring a time-saving idea or recipe.

—Alison Chase