Party Ideas - Themes and Decorations

Themes, decorations & favours.

Clever use of a theme and decorations can make all the difference in the success of your baby shower. Your theme could be anything as simple as 'pastel colours' or as involved as a 'Mad Hatters Tea Party' theme. You can run the theme right through your event from invitations to games and the food you serve, or you could keep it simple and just choose a few decorations that work well.

Decorations alone can create a sense of occasion, and make the guest of honor feel special. And even better - they don't have to cost the earth! Have a go at making some yourself or you can buy various party products such as baby-themed table confetti from our online shop.

Particularly as all the guests will have brought a gift, it is nice to send them away at the end of the baby shower with some kind of party favour. It really doesn’t have to cost much – just a small token for each guest to go home with. It is not as engrained in our culture as it is in the US, but why not have a look at our ideas and then decide whether you want to provide favours.

We know that lots of you out there like to be creative and think of your own ideas, and are often just looking for inspiration, so here are some ideas to get you going...

THEME IDEAS

Pretty Pastels
Choose your mix of colours i.e. 'pink, blue & white' or 'green & yellow'

Use lots of balloons in those colours
Sprinkle matching table-confetti
Tablecloth & napkins to match
Make flower arrangements in matching colours
Tie colour co-coordinating ribbons in bows to plants, lamps, door-handles
Provide cakes or biscuits iced in the theme colours

Primary Colours
Bright Red, Blue, Green and Yellow work well

Use lots of balloons in those colours
Tablecloth & napkins to match
Make flower arrangements in matching colours
Decorate the room using bright yellow rubber ducky fairy lights available from our online shop

Mad Hatter Tea Party
Use mismatched cups & saucers, tea-pots, sugar bowls and milk jugs

Club together to buy the Alice in Wonderland books and DVD as a gift
Serve a variety of teas from tea-pots
Sprinkle table-confetti on the table
Tie balloons to the backs of chairs
Some chocolate shops sell miniature top hats filled with chocolates (for wedding favours) - dot these around the table and offer them as favours as your guests leave
Display a soft toy doormouse in a teapot!
Have a Queen of Hearts design cake as a centerpiece

Posh Tea Party
Think tea at the Ritz and you are thinking along the right lines!

Chintzy cups, saucers and side-plates look great - try charity shops they always have sets
Serve milk from a milk jug and sugar-lumps from a sugar bowl
See if you can find dainty silver-plated tea-spoons in charity shops
Display cucumber sandwiches and dainty cakes on a tiered cake stand
Scones & Jam & Clotted cream
Serve a variety of teas from classy tea-pots

Baby Blue
If you know the mum-to-be is expecting a boy, why not go totally baby-blue?

Blue Hyacinths or other blue/purple flowers can be arranged around the room
Light little blue tea-lights
Decorate the room with baby-blue balloons, perhaps contrast with some white
Use a blue tablecloth and napkins
Serve some blue-coloured food & drinks such as raspberry hush puppies and bowls of blue jelly beans!

Pretty in Pink
If you know the mum-to-be is expecting a girl, why not go totally pretty in pink?

Pink lilies and roses can be arranged in little pots and vases around the room
Light pink tea-lights
Decorate the room with pastel pink balloons, perhaps contrast with some white
Use a pink tablecloth and napkins
Serve some pink-coloured food & drinks such as pink champagne, pink grapefruit juice, cranberry juice and bowls of pink jelly beans!

Teddy Bears Picnic
If the weather's nice, lay out a few large picnic blankets on the lawn, and scatter cushions and a few chairs around the outside (particularly for the mum-to-be!)

Ask everyone to bring their favourite teddy with them, or to buy a teddy for the baby - dot teddies all around your venue
Even if you are eating inside or in your own back garden, pack up large picnic baskets with at least some of the food & drink provisions
Pour tea or coffee out of ready-prepared flasks
Dot bouquets of helium balloons around the room or garden
Club together to buy one of those huge teddy bears for the baby's nursery!

Sophisticated Baby Shower
Why not make it an evening affair?

Decorate with lots of candles and fairy lights
Choose a subtle colour theme such as white and lilac
Sprinkle some table-confetti onto white linen table-clothes
Serve canapés and champagne (including non-alcoholic options of course)
Why not make it a cocktail party!
Play classical or jazz music - or hire live musicians!
Perhaps make it a sit-down meal and include partners

Nursery Rhymes

Take themes from just one or a number of popular nursery rhymes
Buy nursery rhyme themed gifts for the baby
Buy and play a CD of nursery rhymes as people arrive at the shower

Decorations
A Corsage for the Mum-to-Be
In the UK we only think of a corsage as something for the female wedding guests to wear, but they are used more widely in the US, for proms and such like. We liked the idea of providing the mother-to-be with a corsage to wear at the baby shower as it is a really nice way to make her feel special. We have provided 3 suggestions, but those of you who are creative may want to try an idea of your own. A corsage can be worn in a brooch-style to be pinned onto a jacket or top, or as a bracelet around the wrist

Homemade corsage

Tie a big bow onto a dummy (or teething ring or light-weight rattle).
The side where the bow is becomes the front of the corsage.
Take a pack of small silk flowers with wire stems (available from most haberdashery / craft shops) and wrap them around the dummy with all the flowers showing at the front.
Take a large safety pin and use the back of the bow to pin the corsage to the mum-to-be. Alternatively thread another bow through and wrap this around her wrist.

Gift-bow corsage

Cut out of thick card a baby-shape such as a bottle or dummy.
Take a large safety-pin and attach this to the back of the card with sticky-tape so that it is effectively a badge.
Pin this to the mother-to-be just before she starts opening the gifts.
Stick the gift-bows to the badge as each gift is unwrapped, transforming it into a pretty corsage (and a nice keepsake).

The 'royal throne' for the Mum-to-Be
Choose a comfortable chair for the mum-to-be to sit in while she opens her baby shower gifts. Find a creative way to decorate it and make it special for her:

Drape it with a nice throw, sheet or themed material
Using co-coordinated ribbon, tie dummies, balloons, rattles and bows onto it
Make sure there are cushions so that the mum-to-be is going to be really comfortable
Place a table next to the chair so that there is somewhere for her to put her drink

'Nappy Cake'
Popular in the US, you can use nappies to make a two or three-tiered 'cake', which makes a very useful and practical gift as well as a really fun and effective centerpiece. See our beautiful range of stunning Nappy Cakes in our on-line shop.

Balloons
Our online shop features an extensive range of latex and fab foil balloons. Most card shops and party shops have helium available, where you can just pay a few pence per balloon to have them filled there and then. Here are some ideas on how you can use balloons:

Use helium-filled balloon bouquets as table centerpieces
Tie balloons to the gate or near the front door
Tie helium-filled balloons to the backs of chairs

Flowers
A few small floral arrangements can make all the difference. Here are some ideas:

Visit your local florist and ask them to create a few simple arrangements in the colours that suit your theme
If you are short on time, order flowers online (i.e. www.interflora.co.uk)
Visit your local garden centre - they usually have a good range of fresh-cut flowers, as well as small, inexpensive potted flowering plants
Cut a few from your garden!
Dot small arrangements around the room and on the table
Use one large arrangement as a centerpiece
Pink, yellow and white roses look particularly cute together if you are going for a pastels theme
Tip - a floral arrangements or potted plants could double-up as a prizes for the games.

Banners & Other Decorations
We offer an extensive range of banners in our on-line shop including jointed banners, flag banners, giant 5ft banners as well as a lovely range of string decorations, hanging decorations, door signs and even lawn signs.

Table-Confetti & Sprinkles
A sprinkling of themed table-confetti looks really effective. Our online shop features a range of baby-themed table-confetti from bibs to bottles, buggies to rattles and more. Here are some ideas on using confetti at your shower:

Include a small handful of confetti with each of the baby shower invitations when you send them out to the guests
Sprinkle confetti over the tablecloth where you plan to lay out the food and/or gifts
Little sprinkles of confetti over any side tables or coffee tables look really effective.

Candles
If the baby shower takes place at a time of day when it is getting darker, or on a particularly dull day, then candles can creative a lovely ambiance in a room. Not recommended if you are expecting toddlers and young children to be coming along though. Here are some ideas on using candles:

Buy coloured tea-lights to match you theme and dot them around the room/table
Light plain tea-lights in coloured tea-light holders to match the theme
Arrange floating candles in a glass bowl
A centerpiece of candles of varying heights
Avoid strongly scented candles in areas where you are serving food as it can detract from the flavour of the food

Fairy Lights
Our online shop sells a selection of fairy lights that make ideal decorations for a baby shower. Rubber-ducky fairy lights - what could be more perfect for a baby shower? The range also features little cats and little bunny rabbits. Alternatively plain white fairy lights also look affective and very pretty. Some ideas for using fairy lights:

Wind a string of lights down the centre of the table of food or around the gift display
Drape lights over banisters and over doorways
Use fairy lights to decorate any large potted plants such as ficus trees.

Tableware
For an informal baby shower, coloured paper tablecloths will do the job and create some strong colour. Matching or contrasting napkins work well - we have baby blue and pretty pink napkins and tablecloths for sale in our online shop. Here are some more ideas for making your table look great:

Buy a pack of inexpensive baby bibs and use them as napkins
Use dummies as napkin rings
Wrap the napkins around the cutlery, or fold into a nappy shape, and fasten with a nappy pin
Whether using glass or plastic glasses, tie a coloured ribbon in little bow at the bottom of the stem of each glass - a really pretty effect
Use baby bottles instead of glasses - you can remove the nipple and insert a straw, then after the party, wash the bottles and give them to the mum-to-be.

Favours
Depending on the size of your guest list, the favours can be as simple or elaborate as you want to make them. Depending on your centerpiece these could also be used as favours. We have a lovely range of favours which can be made extra special by adding a personalised label to soap, candles, mini frames, organza bags, boxes and booties are all possibilities.

Personalisation is hot! We have a beautiful collection of personalised items ranging from labels, bookmarks, invitations, sashes, hand painted pottery, chocolate bar wrappers, plus teddies, bibs and blankets which make great gifts. See our extensive range.