Painting
Party:
Gather together the following: babies clothing (plain - no writing or
pictures), fabric paints, sponges, fabric markers, cardboard pieces,
and your imagination. Set up a table for this craft and as guests arrive
ask them to take a moment to decorate a onesie, hat, bootie, etc. They
can write their name, a wish, a picture, or anything to express their
feelings toward the baby. The cardboard pieces are fitted into baby
t-shirts, onesies, or anything else that needs extra support while decorating.
Be sure to wash the garment and dry it before the party begins. Set
up an area to let them dry. This activity helps get guests to mingle
and also gives the mom treasured keepsakes for the baby.
Preparations: buy clothing pieces, faric paints, brushes, sponges, and
a vinyl tablecloth or paper to set underneath the clothing.
Advice
Book:
Pass around a book and ask the guests to add a bit of wisdom to help
the new parents. You can also write the baby shower gifts in this keepsake
book as well.
Preparations: buy journal, pens
Labor
Bead Necklace (or Bracelet):
Ask guests
to write out one wish for the mom-to-be while she is in labor and one
wish for the baby at the time of the birth. After the party, string
beads together to form a necklace. Each bead should represent one wish.
Tip: use pink beads to represent the labor wishes and blue beads
to represent the wishes for baby at birth. (Any color bead will work)
So, if
you have 15 guests who participated in this activity, you should have
30 beads on the necklace. Write out the wishes in a journal or notebook
for a nice keepsake. Present it to the mom-to-be. Let her know that
the meaning behind this activity is that she should pack the necklace
in her labor bag and pull it out when labor begins. The necklace will
let her know that everyone is thinking of her and the baby at that special
time. Having the necklace can be a source of positive energy and strength
for her in the time she needs it most! A great activity for the mom-to-be
who lives far from family and friends.
Birthday
candle wishes:
Ask each guest to write out a wish for the baby. After the party,
write out the wishes onto small pieces of paper and wrap each one around
a candle. Place the candles in a pretty bag and present it to the mom-to-be.
The meaning
behind this activity is that one candle be used on the child's birthday
cake each year. So, if you have twenty guests to the party, the baby
can have one wish each year on his/her birthday cake up to the age of
twenty!