At InvitationBox.com there is more to us than just pretty invitations! We have a wonderful gift shop of many ceramic gifts, baby décor, baby gift items and more. One of our baby item vendors, 3 Marthas, has just introduced a plethora of new products which we are offering on InvitationBox.com.

The materials used by 3 Marthas are simply superior – thick 100% cotton terry for their towels and bibs, double-napped 100% cotton flannel for their blankets, and extra thick 100% cotton burp pads with an 8 ply center for extra absorbency! Their products are made with high thread count ginghams, imported grosgrain ribbons, fabulous waffle pique and more. 3 Marthas is known for their beautiful appliqués in which they take the art of the appliqué and tweak it to create designs that delight modern mothers while retaining their hand-made appeal.

The new products include fabulous new designs that appeal babies, toddlers, children AND moms. The newest designs include trains, puppy dogs, fish and chicks in various gingham, stripe and plaid designs. Choose from a vast array of burp pads, bibs, hooded towels, wash cloths, stroller blankets, onesies and satin cold blankets.

The 3 Marthas collection includes items that are great for baby shower gifts for the mommy-to-be, birthday gifts for young children and for items for everyday bath and mealtime use.

Baby showers are a great time to get together with friends and family to have food, cake and presents to celebrate the mommy-to-be but games are a great ice-breaker to get the group into baby-mode and to introduce new guests to each other. While browsing on Baby Shower 101, I found a bunch of GREAT baby shower games to play to incorporate the entire baby shower group, including the expecting mommy. Take a look at some of our favorites below. Remember to have little baby gifts to give to the winners:

Guess Mommy’s Tummy Size: (Materials- String or yarn and scissors) Have each woman pull the yarn to the size they believe would fit perfectly around the Mother-To-Be’s center of her pregnant tummy. After everyone cuts their string, compare the results to the Mommy-To-Be’s actual tummy. Give a prize to the woman who is the most close! This is a baby shower favorite.

How Many Baby Items Can You Name: (Materials- pad of paper and pen for each woman). Have each woman write down as many baby products as they can name (bottle, blanket, pacifier, etc) within 5 minutes. Sure it is easy at the beginning, but towards the last few minutes, the women will start racking their brains for more :) Give a prize to the woman who gets the most baby products named!

Baby Bingo: (Materials- Pens, Pre-Printed Bingo cards that use the numbers of how many people attend the baby shower) Prior to opening the baby shower gifts, number each gift on the box starting with one. If you know that 15 people will be attending your shower, pre-print bingo cards with numbers 1 through 15 and randomly place them on 15 cards. When the mommy-to-be’s decides to open the presents, she grabs the present she wants to open and reads the number out loud. As soon as someone receives bingo, they win the baby shower game and the baby shower prize.

Guess The Baby Pictures: Ask for everyone’s pictures prior to the baby shower. Have all the pictures in a collage and make lines for people to fill in who they think the babies are out of the girls at the baby shower. If most women don’t know each other, just have the pictures of the mother, mother-in-law, sisters, and mommy-to-be. See how many people guess right. You can make copies of the baby picture collage to see how many can guess right!

Guess The Dirty Diaper: (Materials- 5-10 diapers with 5-10 different types of chocolates). This game is one of the funniest and most popular baby shower games. Have the baby shower host or appointed person moderately melt 5-10 different candy bars separately, placing each one in a diaper to be viewed by everyone. Mark each diaper as A, B, C, D, etc. Have everyone guess which candy is in each of the diapers. Make sure to use some candies that have nuts, toffee, caramel, etc. You are sure to get great laughs!

Blindfold Diapering: (Materials- blindfold, baby lifesize doll(s), diapers). One of the funniest baby shower games is for the women break into teams (up to five persons per team). Each team has a doll, blindfold and diapers. The object is for each participant to place the blindfold on, take the current diaper off the doll and place the new one on while blindfolded. After the first person finshes diapering, they run to the next team-mate who places the blindfold on and has to do the same. The first team to finish diapering wins!

Pregnant For A Day (Co-Ed): (Materials: Bag of medium balloons, a roll of yarn cut into approx. 20 inch pieces, and a chair for each male participant). Don’t tell the object of the game up-front. Make a statement to the women in attendance– “How many of us women wished that men could be pregnant just for one day?” This statement will leave the men full of suspicion as to what was about to unfold. Hand each man a balloon. For each man that doesn’t have on shoes with shoe laces, tie the piece of yarn around each of his slip on shoes to mimic a shoestring. Do not form the bow. Only make a knot to help keep the yarn around the shoe. For those who do have on string up shoes, instruct them to untie their shoes.

Instruct each man to blow up his balloon and tell each man when to stop filling it with air. The balloons should be filled with enough air that it could fit under each participant’s shirt, yet be a bit uncomfortable for them to sit down and tie their shoes without popping the balloon. Keep in mind that men who already have a “pot-belly” might need to blow up a smaller balloon. Give the object of the game and the rules. Start the game and whoever ties their shoes without popping the balloon, or lifting their feet from the floor wins. You’ll see husbands, cousins, boyfriends come up with such creative ideas as how to attack this difficult task. Naturally, you get a roll of laughter from the baby shower guests as they watch this hysterical event and the men will get to see what it’s like to be pregnant for a day!

Got any more shower game ideas that aren’t listed above?! Feel free to comment and fill the rest of us in on them!

Having a baby is a very exciting time for the parents-to-be. Helping the expecting parents prepare for their new baby by hosting a baby shower in their honor is essential and so very much appreciated. When planning a baby shower the sky is the limit. It can be simple and understated, moderate and full of family and friends or extravagant and over the top. Do the parents-to-be already have everything they need? Not a problem. Host a charity baby shower and donate all gifts to a needy family while still celebrating the expecting couple.

When planning a baby shower, it’s a good idea to set the shower date for about a month before the mommy-to-be’s due date. This way if she goes into labor early she will have already had her shower and she won’t be completely uncomfortable while attending the shower.

When choosing a baby shower theme, there are so many to choose from. Take a look at some of the most common showers we’ve listed below:

Gender Neutral
Couple’s Shower
Everything Pink
Everything Blue
Umbrellas
Diaper Shower
Jungle/Safari Animals
Tea
Pampering Mom
Books for Baby

Whatever the theme, the main goal should be to provide the mom with what she needs so that she is ready for her new arrival. So whether it’s building her baby’s book shelf or filling up the nursery with decorations or baby clothes – she’ll have everything she registered for. Remember to have the mommy and daddy-to-be register at a few places so that all attending and non-attending guests can give a gift if they’d like to; some place that is convenient and has multiple items that is on the parent’s wish list.

Next up…Invitations! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog…

Soon the mommy-to-be’s home will be filled with baby furniture, a crying newborn and very busy parents. Before the little bundle of joy is brought into the world, why not celebrate with a baby shower and assist Mom in obtaining all the things she needs to help her baby play, learn and grow?

Planning a baby shower is a very caring and selfless thing to do for your family member or friend. It all begins with an invitation which will set the tone for your event. You may want to start by picking a theme that you will use to decorate your invitations and party favors.

Below are a few suggestions for baby shower themes:

Nursery rhymes
Animals
A to Z
Books
Couples
Baby feet
Ducks
Noah’s Ark
Solids and stripes
Cute as a button

After picking a theme, search through the many baby shower invitations to find the perfect invitation. You will find invitations with bottles, babies, ribbons, curls, pastels, pacifiers and bows – the possibilities are endless and there are many invitations to choose from in formal or casual styles. Be sure to choose an invitation that compliments your theme and portrays the formality of the shower. You do not want to choose a cartoon animal invitation for a very formal pastel themed shower.

Your invitation wording should also indicate the type of shower you are hosting – whether it is a couples or women’s shower, if there are any themes and if needed, where the mommy-to-be is registered. You may even want to include whether or not the mommy-to-be is having a girl or a boy and if their name has been chosen. If you indicate the baby’s name, be sure to make certain that this will not be changing. You do not want Grandma to embroider a blanket with the name “Sarah” if this will later be changed to “Rachel”.

Below are a few suggestions for invitation wording:

Please join us for a couples shower
honoring
Jessica and James Miller
and their baby boy-to-be
Saturday, August 24, 2007
at 3 o’clock
1256 N. Messing Blvd.
East Hampton, CT

Your letter is ______

Your invitations should be sent approximately three to six weeks before the baby shower. If you have a reply-by date, this should be no longer than two weeks before the date of the event. Be sure to allow yourself enough time after the reply-by date to plan for food and games for all attendees.