Entertaining Center

Provided by

Modern Mom

By: Pam Gaulin

Cute baby showers are ones that use creative ideas in unusual ways through games, food and party decorations. Plus, they all have to be focused on the main event: the baby. Create a baby shower that people will be talking about for weeks to come ... Make a guest list, including the expecting mother’s friends, coworkers and relatives. Decide whether young children will be invited, and whether the shower will be for women only. If the shower is a surprise, solicit the input of the expectant mother’s significant other, her siblings or her parents to help with the guest list.

Pick a location that’s large enough for the number of invitees. An intimate shower can be hosted comfortably in someone’s home. Larger showers may be hosted in private rooms at restaurants. Very large showers may need to be hosted at a local banquet hall.

Plan to have the shower seven to eight weeks before the baby’s due date. Be flexible with the date and work with various location options if you can’t get the date you want on the first try. Consult with the couple or with the couple’s parents when choosing the date to lessen the chance of scheduling conflicts.

Mail the invitations six to eight weeks before the shower to give guests ample time to shop and save the date. Include an RSVP postcard in the invitation, as well as a phone number and email address guests can use to RSVP or ask questions.

For more information, please visit www.modernmom.com.

About the Author
Pam Gaulin is a professional writer and with a B.A. in Journalism. She writes B2B and B2C content for the automotive, credit card, party planning/wedding and home improvement industries. Previously she edited a K-12 database used by U.S. school libraries. She served as an editor for a library reference book and as an arts and entertainment editor for a major weekly newspaper

The baby shower meal can be as casual or formal as time, budget and expectations require. Whether you are serving multiple courses and a complete menu or just snacks and finger foods, these recipes are a great place to start.

• Roast Pork Tenderloins with Apple Sage Stuffing
• Spinach Alfredo Lasagna Roll-Ups
• Crunchy Vegetable Make-Ahead Salad
• The Stack
• Banana Cream Pie

You can add life and laughs to any celebration with the right drinks, and baby showers are no exception. While alcoholic beverages may be fine for some guests, though, be sure to include tasty non-alcoholic options for the mother-to-be and non-drinkers.

• Ginger Champagne Granita
• Strawberry Shirley Temple
• Floridita Punch
• Blueberry Lemonade

Provided by

Modern Mom

By: Alina Bradford

What would a baby shower be without games? These fast, fun and easy activities are sure to get your baby shower bouncing as all your guests laugh and play along.

Diaper Race
Each player gets a baby doll (borrow from children you know) and a newborn disposable diaper. At the word "go" the players scramble to diaper their babies before the other players. First baby with a diaper wins.

Don’t Say Baby
Every guest is given a small necklace with a baby-themed charm on it (think ribbon and plastic charms). Each guest is told that throughout the party she is not to say the word "baby" or she will have to give her necklace to the person standing or sitting to her right when the word was said. The person at the end of the party who has the most necklaces wins.

Baby Prediction Banner
If you know someone that is good with photo manipulation, have him take baby photos of the father and the mother of the baby and merge them into a prediction of what the baby-to-be will look like. Print the photo out and take it to a copy shop. Have the copy shop enlarge the photo to banner size.

For more information, please visit www.modernmom.com

About the Author
Alina Bradford has been a writer for 11 years. She has written for dozens of online and traditional health and parenting publications, such as Pregnancy.org, Mama Health and Tots to Teens. She is also a gamer that has written dozens of gaming articles and several gaming guides. As an artist for more than 20 years, her work has been used in magazines and websites around the globe.