For
most people, the phrase "April showers", conjures up images
of rain, umbrellas and the "May flowers" that follow. But,
as a party planner, when I hear "April Showers" I think of
baby and wedding showers. Showers are all about having fun
and celebrating life's most special events with family and
friends. Back in my day, showers were for women only. Everyone
got dressed up on a Sunday afternoon and sat around someone's
living room playing boring games and eating petit fours with
baby shoes or wedding bells on top and, of course there was
the obligatory nut and mint cups. Well, we've come a long
way, baby! Here are a few of my favorite shower ideas:
Baby
Showers
Bling
Bling Baby
Make
the mom-to-be feel like a celebrity! Simply invite guests
to a "Bling-bling Baby Shower" using rhinestone-studded invitations
and make liberal use of rhinestones, "diamonds" and glitter
to carry out your theme. You can find all kinds of acrylic
gemstones and rhinestones at a craft store, in colors to fit
your theme. An easy and fun decoration is to embellish chipboard
letters (find them at craft or scrapbook supply stores) with
adhesive rhinestones and glitter and use the letters to spell
out words like "baby", "precious", shower", etc. You can display
the words in frames or use larger letters on the buffet and
gift tables. Buy inexpensive pacifiers and baby bottles and
embellish them with glitter and rhinestones to use them throughout
your décor. Instead of the traditional baby shower games,
purchase plain white onesies in various sizes and provide
fabric paint and iron-on rhinestone embellishments. Let each
guest make a "designer" shirt for the baby. If you just can't
resist having a game, fill a jar with acrylic diamond gems
from the craft store and have guests try to "guess the amount
of bling". Whoever guesses closest to the correct number wins
a fun themed prize, such as shimmery body lotion, an oversize
diamond shaped crystal paper weight, or a rhinestone-studded
compact! Serve sparkling apple juice (or wine for those who
imbibe) and instead of cake, serve individual sugar cookies
decorated with sparkly "sanding sugar".
Simply
Ducky Bath Time Shower
Everyone's
favorite little bath time buddy makes this shower simply "ducky".
Décor for this party is easy and can be given to the mom-to-be
as a gift at the end of the shower. Pick a color theme (yellow
and white is perfect, but you can find rubber duckys in many
colors. Pick up items that you'd normally need for a baby
at bath time; like towels, baby shampoo, lotion and powder,
etc. and then arrange everything in decorative groups. Add
a tiny terry cloth bathrobe for an extra-special touch. (You
can usually find duck-themed items at Target, Babies-R-Us,
Wal-Mart, etc.). You can easily create a "Fishbowl Bubblebath"
to serve as a centerpiece (or centerpieces on individual tables)!
Just start with a clear glass fishbowl and fill the bowl about
1/2 way with various sizes of white Styrofoam balls and clear
glass "bubbles" (from a craft or floral supply store) and
mix them together until you're happy with the arrangement.
Then set a rubber ducky amidst the bubbles and you'll have
a cute fishbowl bubble bath! Visit www.orientaltrading.com
for a large selection of rubber ducks available for purchase
in bulk. Another unique decorative idea is to create faux
"floating bubbles" by hanging small Styrofoam balls and glass
bubbles from transparent thread or fishing wire. This works
great from a high doorway, chandelier, or stair banister.
Serve a cake decorated with rubber ducks or cupcakes topped
with mini rubber ducks. Use a baby bathtub as a cooler filled
with soft drinks or bottled water (be sure to add a few rubber
ducks). Replace the old fashioned nut cups with bowls of goldfish
and don't forget to have some cheese and "quackers" for your
guests to enjoy!
Bridal
Showers
Pajama
Party Instead of the traditional lingerie or "personal shower"
try a Pajama Party! Everyone arrives in their cutest pajamas
bearing gifts to pamper the bride. Decorate the party area
to resemble a spa with lots of candles and play soft music.
A great centerpiece is a large basket full of beauty products
(think lotions, shower gels, nail polish, etc.) in the bride's
colors. Bath and Body Works has a great variety of products
in a wide array of colors. Provide gift bags for the guests
and at the end of the evening, the centerpiece becomes the
party favors! Instead of the same old shower games, arrange
for manicures, pedicures, facials and/or massages for your
guests, or, if you're on a limited budget, provide the materials
and let the guests pamper each other. Or have a tarot card
or palm reader come for some fun pajama party entertainment.
A fun touch is to set up a martini bar. Enlist the help of
a friend, or hire a bartender to mix "Passion Fruit Martinis",
"Honeymoon Martinis" (made with melon liquor), etc. You can
give fun names to any kind of drink! Serve finger foods so
that guests can eat and still enjoy their pampering. Perfect
gifts for the bride include pajamas (of course!), lingerie,
spa gift certificates and all sorts of pampering products.
Month
of the Year Couples Shower For a twist on the "around the
clock" shower where guests give gifts that can be used at
different times of the day, try a "Month of The Year" shower
as a great way to shower both the bride and groom with gifts
for the whole year. Use calendar-style invitations and assign
each guest couple a month of the year. (If your guest list
is smaller than 12 couples, you can assign a different month
to each member of the couple.) Another twist is to have a
"seasons" shower, and assign guests to a season of the year;
spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. For example, the guests assigned
to July might bring some barbeque tools for the groom and
a picnic basket for the bride while the guests assigned to
January might bring a snow scraper for the groom and a fleece
blanket for the bride. Be sure to ask your guests to label
their gifts with the month or season so they can be opened
in order. Serve a variety of foods that represent the various
months of the year; tropical drinks, a warm soup, fruits,
etc. You can use decorations you already have for the various
seasons to mirror your theme. For example, you could decorate
the food table with leaves and other fall décor, use your
Easter decorations to symbolize spring, 4th of July (or red,
white & blue) for summer and snowmen and snowflakes from your
Christmas decorations for the winter.
2nd
Marriage Shower
Wedding
showers were originally held to set up a first household for
the bride. Today, second-time bridal showers are for good
sentiments in the spirit of the upcoming wedding. Since most
2nd time brides will likely have all the traditional household
items, you can be very creative with this kind of shower.
Use the couple's interests to come up with a shower that
Consider
a Media Shower for the couple who loves music, theatre
and movies. Use movie posters, album covers and old playbills
for decorations and serve popcorn (you can even rent a movie-style
popcorn machine). Gift Ideas include DVDs, CDs, MP3 players,
theatre tickets, etc.
For
the wine lovers, try a Wine
Tasting Shower. Ask guests to bring a bottle of wine for
the tasting and suggest wine-related gifts like decanters,
glasses, wine racks, etc. Decorate liberally with grapes and
other wine-related items. When guests arrive, place their
wine in black cloth cover and assign it a number (keep a list
of the name of the wine and its number). Give each guest a
sheet with a list of the wine bottle numbers and ask them
to "rate the wines".
A
coffee shower is great for the couple who enjoys their
caffeine! Hold the shower on a Saturday morning and serve
a variety of coffees and sweets. Ask guests to bring coffee
related items such as gourmet coffees, espresso cups, travel
mugs, etc. Or, a group could go together and "shower" the
couple with a cappuccino maker.
Showers
are no longer just for the "women folk" and they are far from
the boring Sunday afternoon obligations - they are parties
that everyone can look forward to and enjoy. You don't need
to spend a fortune to host a shower; with a little creativity
you can create an event that is truly memorable. How PERFECT
is that?
