How To Throw a Baby Shower For Less Than $100

Almost every mom receives a baby shower when she has her first baby. When the second (or third or fourth, etc.) pregnancy rolls around, many woman won’t receive another shower. Personally, I think every new baby is special and mother and baby deserve a special day to celebrate. Recently I was given the opportunity to host a baby shower for the expectant moms in my life. Since I have a number of pregnant friends (and friends who recently had babies) who I knew did not receive a shower, as this was not baby #1 for them, I was SO excited for the opportunity!

Showers can be expensive, but they don’t have to be.  I (like many of you) live life on a budget and try to stick to it. A $500 party was out of the question. I set a budget of $100 for this shower and stuck to it. Here’s how!

Food

You’ve gotta have great things to eat and drink at your shower! Pick a time to host your shower when you won’t need to serve a full meal, just finger foods. You’ll want to make sure you offer varrying foods for different diets. My good friend Heather is on a gluten-free diet. I made gluten-free brownies so she could enjoy some sweets and also provided a veggie tray for her and anyone else trying to eat healthy. I also had some candy, cupcakes, chips, and my signature Pesto Tomato Bites. I have made this for every special event I’ve coordinated and they are always a huge hit plus they are super easy to make.

Pesto Tomato Bites Recipe

Ingredients:

Roma Tomatos, Baquette (long, skinny piece of bread found in the bakery department of your grocery store), Pesto Sauce, & Shredded motzerella cheese

To Make:

Slice the baquette into slices that are about 1/2 inch thick. Spread a layer of pesto sauce. Next sprinkle shredded motzerella cheese, then top with sliced roma tomato. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Decorations

This is one of the areas where you can really overspend – but you don’t need to. A few parties ago I purchased 3 white tablecloths that I reuse for each party. I also purchased white napkins, cutlery, and white paper cups that can be used for any party.  No matter what the theme of the party, white works! Then I purchase party specific plates (blue and pink in this case) balloons, and streamers. If you purchase solid color plates, rather than ones with theme specific images, you can also save the unused plates for future parties. A few years ago I purchased a $13 cupcake tree at TJMaxx which I reuse for almost all of our parties. Although the decorations might not be over-the-top, once your home is full of guests, gifts, and good food, no one is really even going to notice the decorations.

Party Games

What’s a party without a few games, right? I made my printable game sheets at home for FREE.

Name That Price! If you enjoy The Price is Right, you’ll enjoy this game! You pick 10 baby items and ask party participants to guess the correct price, without going over. Of course, you’ll want to show off each of the items, so I’d suggest you make the 10 items used in this game ones that you will then gift to the new mom. For instance, you could purchase a nice basket and fill it with: A package of diaper, a package of wipes, diaper rash cream, a package of onesies, a jar of baby food, a pacifier, a bottle, baby wash, baby lotion, baby powder, and baby socks. Save the receipt from the purchase and go by those prices for the game (make sure you let participants know where you are sourcing the prices). After the game has ended, put everything back into the basket and hand it to the new mom.

Name That Food! For this game, you’ll need 10 containers of baby food. Peel the labels off of the jars and add a number (1-10) to each jar. Hand each participant a spoon and start passing the food around. Participants then try to guess what ingredients are in the food based on smell, look and, if they would like, taste.

baby Shower Bingo: It’s classic Bingo but with a baby twist. Participants can fill each block with the name of an item you’d use/need when you have a baby: car seat, high chair, baby lotion, diapers, wipes, etc. They can also choose any block for a free space. Once everyone has filled his/her sheets, the Bingo Caller begins to name items until someone yells Bingo!

Prizes

You don’t have to go all out spending a fortune on prizes. You could spend $15 or three $5 prizes, or look for things you already have around your house that are sitting in your re-gifting pile (maybe you were gifted a lotions set for Christmas but didn’t like the scent or have a stack of candles you don’t plan to use). The moms at my party had some pretty amazing prizes to choose from! Some of the items were things I’d been given over my blogging years that I wanted to pass along and others were great items provided by the party sponsors.

The grand prizes included a HUGE gift basket full of goodies from Munchkin and a Munchkin Safe Step Gate with Trip Guard. Munchkin seeks to rid the world of tired and mundane products. They develop clever solutions that make parenting safer, easier and more fun. Because as parents know, it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. Click here to learn more.

Party Favors

This party was all about spoiling the new moms in my life, and sponsored by some amazing brands who also provided the party favors. Inside of each bag, my party goers found:

• Dreft To-Go Instant Stain Remover Pen: From keeping your highchair squeaky clean to getting stains out of onesies and bibs, Dreft Home products are on every mom’s must-have list. Click here for a coupon.
• Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus: If you’re a new mom, ironing probably isn’t your top priority. Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus to the rescue! Just spray, tug and wear. Put that iron away, and grab the spray. Click here for a coupon.
• Boogie Wipes: Kids and moms alike love Boogie Wipes. They’re gentle enough for the most sensitive skin – and they’re also a great way to wash your face. (Not that new moms would be too tired or busy to wash their faces, Ahem.) Click here for a coupon.

All of these great brands can be found at Target!

Of course, your baby shower probably will not have favors provided by a company, but you can still provide favors on the cheap. Grab a bag of Hershey’s Kisses and a second bag of Hershey’s Hugs. Put a few in the center of a piece of plastic wrap, tie it with ribbon, and attach a sweet message that says something like, “Thanks for attending Janessa’s baby Shower! XOXO” You could easy make 25 or more favors for less than $10 this way.

I am declaring this baby shower a HUGE success! All moms went home loaded down with goodies for their new babies and everyone had a great time! It was so much fun, and at a cost of less than $100, I’d like to make it a yearly tradition for my mommy friends!

I would have loved to have been able to invite all of YOU to this shower but obviously that wasn’t a possibility. SO – I’ve got the next best thing: a great giveaway for you all to enter! The giveaway runs from now until 11:59pm ET on Friday, May 22, 2015. One winner will receive the following items:

• One (1) Munchkin Safe Step Gate with Trip Guard
• One (1) Blooming Bath
• One (1) $50 Target Gift Card
• One (1) Chicco Stroller
• One (1) Space Saver High Chair
• One (1) Orla Kiely Diaper Bag
• PLUS products from Boogie Wipes, Dreft Home and Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus!
• Prize is valued at over $300.

 

 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Boogie Wipes, Dreft Home, Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus, and Munchkin. All opinions are my own. The sponsoring companies are responsible for prize fulfillment.