Posts Tagged ‘baby shower’
The baby shower. What comes to mind when you think of one. Is it about fun? Presents? Friends? Family? Chinese catering? How about games and prizes? Yes, to those who have experienced it, a baby shower is many things. To a mother to be it is an important day, a day where your friends and family celebrate your soon to be little miracle. It’s about togetherness, maybe seeing some friends you haven’t seen for a while and some family who flew in from the opposite coast for the occasion. For someone who is planning the event, though, some different words come to mind: stress, drama, late nights and, depending on how far it spun out of control, nightmare.
There is an old saying that says the more something looks like it came together seamlessly, the harder it was to put together. If you went to a baby shower that seemed to work perfectly with not a hint of drama, there are probably a few friends who are not talking to each other for a little bit thanks to three weeks of trying to put it together. If you think about it, planning a baby shower is like planning a small wedding: there are guests to book, food to track down, favors and decorations to find, flowers to ready and of course a cake that doesn’t look like it’s going to be there on time. And all of it has to come off perfectly, or you get the wrath of a soon to be mother that has a few extra hormones racing around.
There are steps to take to make sure that your baby shower planning is less stressful, though. The first thing you need to do is get a list going. Might sound basic, but it’s easier to tackle 25 things one-by-one then 25 things at one time. Next, try and get the big things out of the way first. The guest list is typically the biggest stress item, so make sure you get RSVP’s right away. If you need to, hound them to get an answer. You don’t want 30 maybes the day before the party. If you can get the catering, cake and drinks done fairly early in the process too, that means less scuring around the week before.
When it comes to stuff such as favors and decorations, the internet is always a great place to get these items. There are entire websites dedicated to getting themed favors and decorations, so look for multipacks that can take care of both in one purchase. Remember the more stuff you get done right away the less you have to deal with in the days leading up to the party.
Author Kimberly Green has seen the difference planning makes in the success of a baby shower.
As the economy continues to nosedive, people continue to look for ways to save money. While boutiques offer quality that comes across in its price tag, online stores are beginning to offer designer invitations at cheaper prices.
Did you know that you could get quality baby shower invitations online at a great price? Amazing, huh? Alright, maybe I’m in the minority that I found this kind of shocking. Maybe I was always under the belief that you needed to go to someplace that dealt only with personalized invitations to get something of quality for an event like a baby shower. Didn’t you have to spend time going through pages of invitations looking for exactly the right one? Wasn’t this supposed to be easy? Apparently I missed the boat.
The baby shower invitations I found online weren’t pre-packaged in shrink wrap type invitations either, but they are made out of high quality paper and can be personalized using either ink or computer programs. Sure, they might cost $30, but that’s much cheaper than paying top dollar at some planner’s business.
This discovery got me to thinking: with these specialty online stores offering these types of services, are individual “boutique” stores becoming completely obsolete? These boutique stores used to thrive in shopping malls and upper-class strip malls. It used to be that for weddings or baby showers or major birthdays, these boutiques used to be the best place to get classic looking invitations. Of course, because they were “designer”, they also tended to be a bit pricey. Plus, it took time to sift through the mountains of available invitations. The only times you would go to an online store for invitations would be for a children’s birthday party or maybe a thank you card.
Now that the economy the way that it is people aren’t as willing to spend the money that these boutiques charge for invitations. Because of this, online stores have seen an opening to begin offering designer invitations. Most people are not willing to totally sacrifice quality in the name of saving some money, but if you can it within the same ballpark then that’s enough to win the people over. Remember, despite what you might think most people don’t really give an invitation that much thought when they receive them in the mail. It’s all about perception and, in a way, getting people on a subconscious level. Stuff like design and font make a difference, but only to those who are really looking for it to begin with.
So yes, if you’re looking to save some money on invitations online stores might be a good place to look. You might be surprised what you find.
Author Kimberly Green got baby shower invitations online at SimplyBabyStuff.com and was very impressed!
The baby shower is a time-honored tradition that has transcended many different cultures over centuries of generations. While times have changed, the idea of offering practical, helpful and unique gifts has remained paramount when trying to find that perfect gift for mommy and baby.
Today’s incarnation of the baby shower started shortly after WW2 and has become quite the celebration of life. We’ve transitioned from small family oriented celebrations to larger parties that, in some cases include entire towns and last several days. In America, traditions have stopped with pre-birth celebrations that usually see party sizes ranging from close personal family to large circles of friends.
If you are the mommy to be, a baby shower can be one of the most exciting times of your life. After all, that day is strictly to celebrate new life and a bond between mother and child. It should be a blessed day filled with joy. For a party participant it can be a day filled with emotions that stir up memories of a first child or for future plans for children. It can also stir up emotions of competitiveness. After all we are all human and pulling out the “best gift of the day” award is quite the accomplishment!
If your goal is to share in the glowing light of mommy-hood as well as being the top gift giver in the crowd it is very important to select a thoughtful, useful and exciting gift that will not only serve as a functional item but as a keepsake for years to come. One such item is the tiered diaper birthday cake that not only gives a great cake for future diaper storage it comes with 200 very practical disposable diapers. If you are going for the sentimental “hand me down” heirloom, the Rockabye Baby Rocking Horse would be an excellent time honored and traditional choice!
Often the grand slam of baby shower gifts will be the baby’s first plush teddy bear. A unique gift in that same realm would be the Jo-Jo Giraffe stuffed animal or Bailey the bunny cashmere bunny. If you decide to go this route, be cautious and check out the color scheme and layout of the baby’s new room. A bunny in a room of teddy bear prints would stand out like a sore thumb.
Ultimately the perfect baby shower gift doesn’t come down to how much money is spent but the thoughtfulness of the gift. Listen to the mommy, take notice of what the baby’s room looks like and find the perfect gift that will not only fit the needs of the mommy but will serve as a great keepsake for the baby.
K. Green sharing her insight to finding the perfect unique baby shower gifts. She knows that thoughtful baby shower gifts are definitely among the most cherished.
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