Baby showers are meant to help an expectant mother prepare for her baby. The guests will often bring gifts to the mother to help her, such as baby clothes or diapers. As a thank you, the mother will often make special favors that her guests can take home.
EditSteps
EditPlanning the Favors
- Choose a date for the baby shower. This will determine how fancy you can get with the favors. If your baby shower is only a few weeks away, you may not have a lot of time to do fancy favors that involve painting, cutting, and gluing. You may have to stick with simple ones, such as melt-and-pour candy or popcorn-filled treats.
- Some projects, such as candles and soap, can be prepared ahead of time. Other projects, such as succulents, need to be prepared closer to the date.
- Decide how many guests you will invite. This will help set a budget as well as the project. If you have a lot of guests, it might be a good idea to choose a quick and simple project, such as popcorn bags. If you don't have a lot of guests, you could make unique gifts, such as mini, potted succulents.
- Keep transportation in mind. Some items are easy to transport, like nail polish. Other items, such as potted succulents, are much harder. If you don't have a big car or people to help you, something that is easily stored in a box or basket would work the best.
- Potted succulents and chocolate will be the most difficult to transport. Potted plants need to be kept upright and chocolate needs to be stored in a cool area.
- Small items, such as mini hand sanitizers and nail polish bottles will be the easiest to transport. You can just put them into a bag or box.
- Plan your budget. Keep your project and guest list in mind. Fancier projects will require a larger budget--one that will increase with the guest list. If you have a huge budget, you can really splurge on unique gifts. If you have a tight budget, however, you will need to stick with simpler projects.
- Take advantage of coupons and sales. If you are shopping online, try wholesales.
- Develop a theme for your baby shower. It can be simple as "baby girl" or "baby boy." Another option is to do a unique theme, such as pirates, undersea, safari, or superheroes. Have some related colors, symbols, and images in mind. For example:[1]
- If you are doing a baby girl theme, you might want to include lots of pink, bows, baby rattles, and pacifiers.
- If you are doing a gender reveal theme, your colors might be purple or yellow. Baby blocks, diapers, and bottles are great neutral themes too.
- For a unique theme, such as undersea, you might want to have lots of blues (ocean), greens (seaweed), and yellows (sand) as well as fish and bubbles.
EditCreating Non-Edible Favors
- Decorate mini hand sanitizer bottles. Purchase a pack of mini hand sanitizer bottles. Peel the labels off, then remove the residue with some baby oil. Wipe the bottles down with rubbing alcohol, then decorate with stickers or homemade labels to match your baby shower's theme.[2]
- If you have a high budget, consider colored and scented hand sanitizer. It is more expensive than regular hand sanitizer.
- Mix up a simple sugar scrub, and present it in mini jars. Mix 2 parts white sugar with 1 part oil. Add some essential oil, if desired, then stir everything together. Fill mini jelly jars with the scrub, then screw the lids back on. Decorate the lids with personalized labels.[3]
- Coconut oil and olive oil make great choices for sugar scrubs.
- Lemon or lavender are great options. You can also try vanilla extract if you don't want to use essential oil.
- Make candles in mini jelly jars. Cut candle wicks down until they are taller than your jars. Insert the wicks into the jars, then fill them with melted candle wax. Let the wax set, then trim the wicks down. Decorate the lids with personalized labels and put them back on the jars.
- Give your candles a special touch by mixing fragrance oil and candle dye into the wax.
- You can purchase all of the required supplies at your local craft store.
- Make baby-themed melt-and-pour soap. Purchase some baby-themed candy-making or soap-making molds. Melt a melt-and-pour soap base, then stir in some soap-making fragrance and dye. Pour the melted soap base into the molds. Let it set, then pop the soap out.
- Both candy-making and soap-making molds will work for this project. Candy-making molds are much smaller and ideal for mini hand soaps.
- Examples of baby-themed molds include: alphabet blocks, baby bottles, pacifies, rattles, and rubber duckies.
- Decorate bottles of nail polish with ribbon and labels. Purchase bottles of nail polish that match your baby shower's theme. Use a craft punch to punch tags out of cardstock. Write a message on the tags, then tie them to the bottles with skinny ribbon.[4]
- You can also write the baby's name and due date on the tags instead.
- Some beauty supply stores sell mini bottles of nail polish. These tend to be cheaper than full-sized bottles.
- Give your guests mini succulents. Purchase a tray of mini succulents. Pop them out of the tray, then transplant them into mini terracotta pots or mini pails. Decorate the pails with ribbon, washi tape, stickers, or scrapbooking paper.[5]
- Prepare these no more than a week before your baby shower. Remember to water them before giving them to your guests.
- You can buy mini terracotta pots and pails in the craft store. They are about tall.
- Decorate seed packets for a unique favor. Purchase a bunch of seed packets, preferably ones that are in season. Secure a personalized label to the front of each packet with double-sided tape. Wrap a ribbon around the middle of the packet and tie it in a bow. Present each packet in a mini flower pot.[6]
- If you want something "baby-themed," try baby's breath.
- Easy-to-grow plants, such as most herbs (i.e.: basil, chives, mint, oregano, thyme, etc.) are also a great option.
- Fill the flower pots with shredded, crinkled paper (basket filler) to mimic soil.
- For a rustic look, forgo the label. Tie some twine around the packet like a present, then add a personalized tag instead.
- Make commemorative favors to remember the baby shower. These favors will typically include the baby's name and due date. Sometimes, they include a quote from a book or famous person as well. Here are some popular ideas:
- Make bookmarks with the baby's name and due date. Add a special quote or book passage.
- Print unique wrappers for chocolate bars. For gender reveal parties, make them blank on the outside and colored on the inside!
- Decorate disposable cameras and give them to the guests so they can take pictures throughout the event!
EditMaking Edible Favors
- Make some chocolate candies or lollipops. Purchase some candy molds that match your baby shower's theme. Purchase chocolate candy melts that match your theme, then melt them according to the instructions on the package. Pour the melted chocolate into the molds, let it set, then pop the candy out.
- You can use baby-themed candy molds for a traditional baby shower, or unique molds. For example, if you have an undersea theme, try shell-shaped molds!
- Tuck the candy into cellophane bags, then tie the bags off with ribbon.
- Create lollipops by getting a lollipop mold, then inserting lollipop sticks into the provided grooves before the chocolate sets.
- Create a clever pun with "Ready to Pop" popcorn bags. Cut small rectangles or tags out of cardstock and write "Ready to Pop!" on them. Punch a hole through the top of each tag, then thread a piece of skinny ribbon through them. Fill cellophane bags with flavored popcorn, then tie the tagged ribbon around the top into a bow.[7]
- Caramel popcorn is a great option, but you can also try kettle corn. Avoid plain buttered or salted popcorn as it may taste stale after a while.
- You can make the tags on your computer then print them out to save time.
- Serve up some mini champagne bottles. Purchase a bunch of mini champagne bottles from the liquor store; they are typically around 2 ounces (30 mL) each. Use a craft punch to create mini tags, then write a cute message on each tag. Tie the tags to the bottles with matching twine, then present the bottles in a mini metal pail.[8]
- Alternatively, create your own adhesive labels on the computer, then stick them over the existing label on the bottle.
- Take things a step further and spray paint the pail to match your baby shower's theme.
- Write a message like "Bottoms Up!" or "Mommy Bottles."
- Decorate mini jars and fill them with candy. Purchase a case of mini jelly jars. Remove the lids and spray paint them to match your theme. Decorate the top of the lids with stickers or personalized labels. Hot glue a ribbon or trim around the rim of the lid. Fill the jar with candy, then screw the lid back on.[9]
- Save money buy re-using baby food jars. Make sure that they are clean, however!
- For a princess or baby girl themed jar, hot glue a mini tiara to the top of the lid.
- Hard candy like M&Ms or jelly beans works the best. Be sure to match the color to your baby shower's theme!
- Make a baby shower candy pacifier party favor. Prepare a batch of royal icing. Transfer it into a piping bag, then snip the tip off. Use the royal icing to glue 2 white lifesavers perpendicular to each other; they should make a T-shape. Use the royal icing to glue a gumdrop to the top of the "T" to finish the pacifier.[10]
- Tie a piece of ribbon to the bottom lifesaver for a cute touch.
- Create marshmallow rattle lollipops. Add a large marshmallow to the end of a 4-inch (10-cm) lollipop stick and a mini marshmallow to the other. Coat both marshmallows with melted white candy melts. Let the chocolate set, then dip the larger marshmallow halfway into melted blue or pink candy melts.[11]
- Add a nicer touch by sprinkling white confetti sprinkles onto the colored chocolate before it sets. It will look like polka dots!
- Tuck the lollipops into cellophane bags, then tie them with ribbon.
- If you have more time, consider making cake pops, then decorating them to look like rattles instead.[12]
- Create marshmallow baby bottles. Glue 2 large marshmallows together with melted candy melts. Let the chocolate set, then use a toothpick to dip the entire bottle into the melted candy. Roll the bottle in sugar sprinkles for more texture and let it set. Use more melted candy melts to glue a mini marshmallow, a gumdrop, or a chocolate kiss to the top of the bottle.[13]
- Remove the toothpick before serving the baby bottles.
- Use white chocolate candy melts for basic bottles. Use colored sugar sprinkles if you want to match the theme of your baby shower.
EditTips
- If you are making the favors for someone else, double-check with her to ensure that she likes everything.
- Double-check your guests for any allergies. Write an ingredient label for the edible favors, if needed.
- Consider making some interactive favors, such as word searches or crossword puzzles. There are many websites that allow you to create your own.
- Make favors that your guests can use. While baby sock roses and diaper rattles are cute, your guests may not find much use for them.
EditThings You'll Need
EditCreating Non-Edible Favors
- Soap or candle-making supplies
- Small jars
- Hot glue
- Cardstock
- Craft punches
- Ribbon
EditMaking Edible Favors
- Chocolate candy melts
- Candy
- Small jars or cellophane bags
- Ribbon
- Tags
EditRelated wikiHows
EditSources and Citations
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