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!
