| When you are in charge of planning
a baby shower, there are many opportunities to fill the party with
as many baby-related elements as possible. One of the nicest ways
to do this is with centerpieces – when carefully designed
and carried out, they will give your event a special touch. You
can easily put them together at home, and the mom-to-be will certainly
appreciate your effort.
Baby shower centerpieces can include many items, such as balloons,
streamers, flowers, bottles, teethers, rattles, lollipops, bibs,
etc. Choose some of these items for your arrangement (such as a
few flowers in a vase with a balloon or two tied around it; this
can be placed inside a basket that contains the other baby-related
items, and wrapped in a ribbon).
But if you really want to make your centerpieces special, try to
take the mom-to-be’s tastes into consideration, as well as
what you know about the baby. If the mom-to-be loves lilies –
well, those should obviously be your choice of flower. If green
and yellow have been selected as the colors for the nursery –
try to incorporate them, too, perhaps as the ribbon or balloon color.
If mom is a big sports fan, you might purchase small footballs,
basketballs, baseballs – even keyring attachments will work.
You can also go thematic, by choosing a popular, baby-friendly cartoon
character or other theme, such as “nature” or “Winnie
the Pooh.” In the case of the first, you might choose sun-shaped
confetti to scatter on the table beneath the centerpiece or place
inside the vase, as well as tiny baby animals, either as stuffed
toys or cut out from magazines as stick-on decorations. You could
also adorn the table with pine cones or twigs, either as they are,
or spray-painted and glittered. Woodsy-scented votive candles arranged
around the centerpiece might also be a nice touch – and work
for a take-home gift for your guests.
If the room where you are having the event is compatible, you can
even make mobiles to hang above the table (either as a complement
to or in place of the centerpiece); again, choose a theme or go
with the mom’s tastes when designing these. These can be even
more inexpensive than a centerpiece, as they require fewer “objects”
and more images, which can be easily found in magazines, books,
etc.
You don’t even have to buy items to make a separate centerpiece
for your baby shower. The centerpiece can be the cake itself. If
your shower is smaller and you only have one centerpiece, you might
let it simply be the cake – especially if it is a larger,
stacked cake, or one which has a special shape, such as a diaper
or bottle. If you have several tables of guests, you might consider
making cupcake towers for each table, using thematically-colored
frosting and baby animal-shaped sprinkles or letters of the alphabet
on top.
As you get your creative juices flowing, more and more ideas will
come to you. Remember that pretty much any idea will “work”
as long as you think and plan it through. Visit craft and party
supply stores for ideas – and remember, make your baby shower
centerpieces something your friend will appreciate and remember
for years to come.
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