There are many ways to have a baby shower – here are a few different ideas for you to use…

Cyber Shower
For those that may live too far out of town to make it to the baby shower, a great new idea for this millennium is to have a Cyber Shower. Invite your baby shower guests that can be in person and decorate one of your rooms with baby shower decorations. Make sure to have a webcam (which are very inexpensive) and a laptop to make this happen (as well as the guests that will be participating from another location). Play baby shower games and eat just like if you were with the mommy-to-be in person. When it was time to open gifts, you could open them with her looking on which is a cool experience from anywhere in the world! Thanks to Pat for this excellent idea!

Welcome Baby Shower
There are many reasons why some mommy and daddy’s to be prefer having a baby shower after the baby is born. Welcome baby showers are becoming more popular where a party is thrown after the mom is out of the hospital and has time to recuperate. Throwing a welcome shower is fun as you will already know what gender the baby is as well as the name.

It is fun to have the baby at the shower (even though most of it for them will be sleeping). It is important to make sure the mommy-to-be is involved as she may be a little tired and stressed at having people over if too soon after the birth. Baby shower gifts can still be given prior to the Welcome shower by mailing them or dropping them off if they are functional and can be used when the baby comes home. Some friends and family like throwing both a baby shower before the baby is born as well as a welcome shower after to make sure they parents have everything they need and to get them the baby supplies they may still be missing in the house.

Father To Be Party
Throwing a baby shower does not only have to be for the women or co-ed. Have the guys get together for a Beer and Diaper party. When the women are having the shower the father-to-be can host a bbq at his house and he can provide the hot dogs and the baby shower guests can bring their own beverages and diapers. It is nice because they usually receive enough diapers to last about 6 months! Thanks to Kim from Vermont for this baby shower planning idea!

Come-‘n-Go Baby Shower
This is a great idea if you are having a lot of people or having it at a work party. The come-‘n-go baby shower would consist of having the food ready, decorations up and having a baby shower host who opens the party at a certain time and states that everyone should come between the hours you set for the party. People can come visit with the mommy to be, drop off any baby shower present they would like to give (optional) and then eat and go. Usually, baby shower games would not be played and there can be a set time to open baby shower presents (unless the mommy to be wants to open them as they come in prior to the baby shower guests leaving who brought the gifts). The mommy-to-be can also not open the gifts until the party is over and open them with family or the friends that want to be present. In today’s day and age, the baby shower Come-‘n-go parties are becoming a hit.

Baby shower slide show
A great baby shower idea is to create a slide show of the parents to be, leading up to this great day and the soon-to-be birth. You can include such pictures as:

The soon-to-be parents own baby showers (when they were being born)

Both of the soon-to-be parents as babies (especially funny pictures)

Growing up pictures

Together pictures with your significant other

Pregnancy pictures in different stages

You and your friends

Babies soon to be room

Recent pictures of the mommy-to-be

Place music behind the baby shower slide show including the mommy’s favorite bands and artists plus songs that include the word baby in it. You can even throw in some funny Barney, Mr. Rodgers, Disney and Sesame Street music.

Ingredients:

1 (9-inch square) cake
1 cup dark chocolate frosting
Black, neon blue and blue food coloring
2 cups canned vanilla frosting
1 cup large chocolate nonpareils
¼ cup Snow Caps
3 yellow fruit chews (Laffy Taffy, Tootsie Roll Fruit Chews)

Tools:

Bread knife
2 freezer weight ziplock bags
Rolling pin
Small duck shaped cookie cutter or template
Paring knife

Trimming the cake:

Place the cake on a work surface. Use a bread knife trim the top of the cake to make level and discard scraps. Turn the cake over to have trimmed side down. Use a 3-1/2-inch glass or round cookie cutter to remove a piece of cake at center of one edge of cake. Use a paring knife to remove a 1-1/2-inch piece of cake along the edge to make the opening of the bib.
Cut the large chocolate nonpareils in half with a small knife.
Microwave the unwrapped yellow fruit chews for no more than 3 seconds until slightly softened. Roll out each piece into a 2-1/2-inch oval. Use the duck cookie cutter or template and cut out 3 duck shapes. Set aside.

Frosting the cake:

Tint the dark chocolate frosting black with the food coloring. Spoon the frosting into a zip lock bag. Tint 2 tablespoons of the vanilla frosting bright blue with the food coloring. Spoon the frosting into a zip lock bag. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting light neon blue with the food coloring.
Spread the top and sides of cake with the neon blue frosting and make smooth.

To complete the cake:

Press the cut side of the chocolate nonpareils along the outside edge of the frosted cake.
Snip a small corner from the bags with the black and blue frostings.
Pipe a line along the circular edge of the cake (neck opening) with the black frosting. Place the Snow Caps on top of the frosting.
Arrange the 3 fruit chew ducks near the bottom edge of the cake. Pipe the word “Baby” above the ducks with the black frosting. Pipe the ducks’ eyes with the black frosting. Pipe some water at the base of the fruit chew ducks with the blue frosting.