Tag Archives: Baby Shower

Pumpkin All the Baby Things! Fall Baby Shower Ideas

It’s that time of year again. Time for pumpkin coffee and pumpkin muffins and pumpkin ice cream and pumpkin shampoo and pumpkin dog food . . . oh, you get the picture. Well, if you are going to pumpkin all the things, you might as well not stop at baby showers.

Erin was pretty blown away when she went to this baby shower last fall, so of course she harassed the host until she coughed up all of her secrets. Now we are sharing all of her fall baby shower ideas with you. You can decide for yourself if this party is perfect for your little pumpkin.

Games

We know we have expressed our opinion about baby shower games in the past, but maybe we are softening in our old age or maybe the sheer volume of fun to be had just wore us down.

Pen and Paper Games

This is the treasure trove of paper party games. Click on this link and unlock a bundle of Baby Shower Games which include Bingo, Word Scramble, Name the Baby Animals, Celebrity Baby Names, What’s in Your Purse?, Price is Right, and Nursery Rhyme Quiz. Use a little or a lot. They are adorable, fun, and easy entertainment all packaged and ready to go with cute little pumpkins and everything.

Cutest Baby Contest

Of course if you want to crank the fun up to epic, it’s time to pull out the glue and glitter. This Cutest Baby Contest was the hands down favorite. Simply put, you provide a pile of washed potatoes and a boatload of craft supplies to a captive audience looking for fun. Just sit back and watch the magic happen. One caveat: If you are hosting the baby shower at your house, then skip this game altogether. Glitter is evil.

Decorate the Onesie

Everything about this is fun. Just remember to buy onesies in different sizes, wash everything before the party, and make sure you use only fabric markers and fabric paint. If you don’t, you could have a Nancy Drew mystery on your hands: The Case of the Disappearing Paint.

Measure the Belly

This is a game that would have probably made Erin dropkick someone if she had ever been able to summon anything more energetic than a waddle during her pregnancies, but this mom-to-be was adorable and friendly and happier than any pregnant woman we have ever met. Here’s hoping your mom-to-be has the same batch of pregnancy hormones, because people, especially all of the older aunties, LURVED this one. You can order your own Tummy Tape here.

Smell the Diaper

This is one of the grosser baby shower games but it provides adorable photo opps like this one so who can argue?

Tree of Good Advice

This is not so much a game as a tree-mendous idea that keeps on giving. Guests write good advice and then hang it on a tree or, in this case, some lovely fall boughs. The best part: you end up with gems like this. My heart melts.

Prizes

Don’t forget to have prizes for all the good sports who joined in the forced but fantastic frolicking. We loved the hosts’ ideas here too. She said she picked them all up at The Dollar Store.

Food

All good parties need good eats. The host of this party had a great spread that was very make-ahead friendly.

Easy Harvest Punch

This punch tasted like autumn in a glass. It turns out that apple cider, not apple juice, adds the depth of flavor. The recipe even contains instructions if you want to offer a “spiked” version too.

Red Peppers and Feta Bruschetta

Lightly toasted bread provided a great base for this savory appetizer. We would eat these on a train and in the rain and most definitely at a baby shower. Yum.

Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Fresh rye bread from Wegman’s was apparently the key to the yum in this case, but the simple idea was well worth imitating. There was not a sandwich left over.

Pumpkin Dip

Step 1: Place store-bought ginger snap into this delicious make-ahead dip.

Step 2: Sit back and bask in the glow of all the compliments.

Tomato and Mozzarella Bites

So simple, so delicious, and so easy to make ahead of time. This is the fall, party version of one of our favorite summer recipes.

Hard-Boiled Baby Carriages

These made Erin’s uterus hurt a little with the cuteness factor. Bonus: they aren’t that hard to make. Worth every toothpick, let me tell ya.

The CAKE!

You might not be able to have our awesome cousin make this cake for your baby shower but you can take this picture to your favorite bakery and demand some similar cuteness for your party. The oohs and ahhs are worth it.

Fall Baby Shower Food Ideas--Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

And then there is the cake that you MUST have,

but that will not, cannot, SHOULD not be eaten . . .

The Ultimate Diaper Cake

Finally, here is the link for all the printables . Now you can pumpkin all the invitations and place cards and paper products you want to your heart’s content.

Here’s hoping your own shindig is as sweet as this one was!

-Erin

Fall Baby Shower Ideas--Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

And look at the little Sweetie who came just a little while later!

Pumpkin All the Things! Including your Fall Baby Shower. Games, Food & Ideas Galore!

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10 Things A New Mom Should Do (Besides Sleep)

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Erin recently attended the cutest baby shower ever. The adorableness was off the charts, even with the games. You know how we love those!

Erin might have throat-punched someone who tried to measure her at the end of her pregnancy. But then she wasn’t this cute pregnant.

Seriously, could the Mom-to-Be be any cuter?? And that’s a bouquet of onesies, baby towels, and washcloths she’s holding! Genius.

And all the merry-making brought us priceless moments like this one.

Nothing says “I Love you” like smelling fake baby shizz for you.

And the hostess had lots of beautiful touches that really made the shower super special.

That’s a tree of good advice and wishes, a fabulous diaper cake, and an awesome baby stuck in a cake.

But Erin’s favorite touch was definitely the tree. It contained gems like this one from her sister-in-law, Kim.

It definitely made us both a little nostalgic for the old days of new baby smell, fuzzy blankies, and adorable onesies. We both have our oldest “babies” in high school now. Time has marched on, taught us a few things, and even had its way with us.

Time has also dealt us a healthy dose of perspective. If we were to go back in time and meet our younger selves, these are some of the things we would definitely tell them to do now. Consider it our contribution to the tree of good advice and well wishes.

1. Chill out. Looking back at how worked up we could get about certain things (milestone meeting, potty-training, and early school stuff), we cringe for our younger selves. Time has taught us that babies who walked at 8 months don’t look any different than those who first walked at 15 months when they are entering kindergarten. We could have used a nice telephoto lens into the future back then. . . or a back rub and a glass of wine.

2. Trust the Momma instincts. We second-guessed ourselves a lot back then. Time has proven that our gut instincts where our kids are concerned are dead on. Erin truly didn’t learn this lesson until her 4th child was born. Something was just “off” with him, and she was worried—that deep, sick-in-your-stomach, can-barely-say-the-words-aloud kind of scared—about what could be wrong.

So she burst into the doctor’s office at his one year check-up, held her head up, and laid out her case. And, wonder of wonders, this beautiful doctor did not dismiss any of her concerns. As it turned out, Erin’s baby had really, really poor eyesight correctable with glasses.

Erin: From the moment that baby held my face in his hands when he finally saw me through his new glasses, I have been a new mom. I would love to hug the younger me and tell her just how smart and capable she was.

3. Read Mom Blogs. Erin’s first baby was born in 1997, and Ellen’s the next summer. We barely did email back then. The online support and verification that our kids were NOT, despite all the evidence we were amassing, the spawn of Satan would have been extremely helpful and comforting. The lovely network of mothers supporting and encouraging one another through this big adventure would have been oh so welcome. . .

4. Find a Flock. . . . As was the very real, very supportive network we found in our local MOMS Club. Finding another mom that is right with you on the road is so important—birds of a feather and all that. You can all muddle through this parent thing together. And misery DOES love company.

5. Put Away the Parenting Books. We are both readers so it was natural for us to go there, but the conflicting advice and the nagging sense that we weren’t “one size fits all” kind of parents left us feeling a little lost.

Erin: Again, time proved that my inclinations were just fine, but the fact that I was “a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll” fueled my early mom insecurities. Now, I would read less parenting books and watch some more crappy TV.

6. Play, Play, Play. We played a lot with our kids, but this easy time with toys and silliness is over way too soon. Savor every minute.

7. Get a Decent Haircut. Ellen somehow knew this from day one.

Ellen: It’s a curly-hair thing.

Erin: I couldawouldashoulda have taken a little more time for me from the very beginning. I had 3 kids in 3 years, and my needs were deadlast in every equation. Looking back, this was a mistake in every respect. I let my family consume me, and it showed. Once I decided to take some time for me and scheduled some time for that decent haircut, I also developed the confidence that I was on the right track.

8. Write Down All the Funny Things Our Kids Said. We have always been fairly decent recorder of our kids’ lives. Erin even tried scrapbooking for awhile until Baby #4 came along. But we both wish, wish, WISH that we had kept a notebook with us at all times and gotten every last scrap of adorable and funny. Kids get big and beautiful and strong and competent, but they definitely lose their cute factor and you miss it when it’s gone. It would be nice to have every last morsel to savor when those days are behind you.

9. GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!

Erin: I had a honeymoon baby nine months after I moved to Maine. I had a few people I knew from work, but no real support network AT ALL. This is something I would definitely insist upon doing now. I would definitely take Ellen’s advice to get a babysitter at least twice a month so my husband and I could have a break simultaneously.

Ellen: Without the drudgery of the kids strangling you both, you can remember why you brought them into this world and discover that you do still like each other. This is a suggestion that usually draws a lot of protest from new moms, but I can’t stress its importance enough. Maybe I could convince everyone that it is easier than a mental breakdown?”

Amen, Sister!

10. Appreciate the moment. It seems silly to explain this one, but ssssssllllllloooooowwwww down. Breathe in their little baby smells until you can’t NOT smell them.

Ellen once said that mothering infants and toddlers was the hardest thing she ever did, and she did time in a trauma center. Stay strong, Sisters. They’ll be teenagers before you know it. Sniff. Sniff.

-Erin and Ellen

What would you add to the tree? What would you say to a younger mom? Your younger self?

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Sure That Baby Gift Is Cute, But Can You Bleach It?

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Oh, baby showers, it’s really nothing personal, you just offer up such good material.

Erin: First, we need to reiterate that we love babies, mothers-to-be, our families, our friends, and all uterus and non-uterus-bearing women.

Ellen: I think storks will be outraged because you forgot them in that disclaimer.

Erin: Whatever. Let the Audubon Society get in line because we are back to skewering baby showers.

Ellen: I really did enjoy our cathartic rant over baby shower games. I hate those games . . . except for the ones we made up.

Erin: “How Dilated is She?” has a touch of evil genius to it although you’re the only party guest I know who could win it.

Ellen: What’s the point of creating a game if you can’t win it? But just to be clear, we were joking. We know people freeze plastic babies in ice cubes, but it’s going way too far to pull out exam gloves at a shower.

Erin: Good advice, but I have bigger fish to fry than games. I say it is high time to give some traditional baby gifts the boot, too. I can no longer sit idly by–eating my quiche and sipping my punch served from a bowl with rubber duckies in it–and let the notion continue that these gifts are good ideas. I will be silent no more!

Ellen: Like you have ever been silent. Is this what you had in mind?

Favorite lovey or topic of future counseling?

Erin: Holy Cheez-Its, Woman! No! Burn it! WHY would you suggest that? I was thinking on a more subtle level.

Ellen: Maybe Dexter’s mom didn’t have enough sense to reject that gift, but you’re right, a gift doesn’t have to be terrifying to be bad. You know the gifts, the ones that seem all great, but once you’re in the thick of newborn parenting you realize they’re totally useless AND they’re a waste of a huge chunk of change?

Erin: Yes, those gifts take up nursery real estate and waste cash that could have padded the babysitting fund . . .

Ellen: Or the earplugs and caffeine fund. So you were thinking more along these lines?

Why is the myth of infant bedding still believed?

Erin: Yes! Exactly! The only thing these lovely bedding packages have of any worth is the crib sheet and that gets bleached to white no matter what color it started out in life. The rest ends up balled up in a closet because it’s too nice to be used as barf rags. What a waste!

Ellen: Well wasting closet space is the only place for it because, don’t forget, it is also a suffocation hazard.

Erin: This set should also come with a helmet because the canopy would make an awesome escape route when your baby suddenly learns to climb during nap time–the nap time where you finally get the nerve to take a shower AND shave your legs.

Ellen: You know what the true travesty is? It’s usually the grandmas who are buying this shizzle. They should totally know better.

Erin: To be fair, it DOES look pretty in the catalog. Which brings me to another cute gift that should never be purchased. . .

Ellen: Wait a minute. I know we have been down on baby showers, but why are you hatin’ on cute? Remember I made this for my sister-in-law’s shower.

Erin: Your diaper cake is adorable, but it is also practical. Those are DIAPERS. Babies need a crapload of those.

Ellen: You’re so punny. But the practicality goes even deeper than you know. Those diapers are wrapped around a bottle of red vino. A little gift for momma for when the breastfeeding is over.

Erin: See! Everything about that gift is absolutely useful. I’m talking about this kind of cute.

Really? Do you really think it was a good use of those 2 hours to stuff me in this sweater?

Really? It took my mom 2 hours to wrangle my melon through this neck hole. See my face? I’m a baby and even I know this sweater is redonkulous.

Erin: A $200 cashmere, yes cashmere, sweater for a baby screams “My parents are clueless. Please save me.”

Ellen: It should also shout “Disposable!” because when the inevitable spit-up. . .

Erin: and explosive poop. . .

Ellen: happen, even a hazmat team is never getting it cleaned. Never! Who has the time or the cash for that?

Erin: Exactly! That money would better be spent on a fleet of indestructible, bleachable, versatile onesies.

Ellen: Ones you can chuck without feeling like a mortgage payment was lit on fire.

Ellen: Alright, I have another gift. It wastes money and it’s not even cute: The Wipe Warmer.

Want to upcycle yours? Toulouse and Tonic has some hilarious ideas.

Erin: This present hits all the right buttons with the over-eager, ready-t0-dominate-the-game-of-motherhood-types. No lukewarm or chilly wipes will touch the fanny of their precious offspring. This gift sends a message that every detail of parenting is important. The fact of the matter is that you will be changing that baby on the sofa or the rug or your grandma’s antique tea cart, putting you miles away from that lovely plugged in wipe warmer. Good thing too because all that sucker does is dries them out.

Ellen: You know what, Pollyanna? I’m going to take your crown of sunshine and positivity and throw out a shower gift that is always right: books.

Erin: Perfect! There are always so many hours in the night that need to be filled while you’re feeding . . . and feeding again. And you can only watch so much crappy TV in between the feedings before you start to go a little crazy.

Ellen: Don’t forget the sleepless nights when you’re pregnant too.

Erin: Especially towards the end.

Ellen: I had never experienced insomnia in my life until my third trimester. Between sleeping with what felt liked a honey badger burrowing under my ribs, the heartburn eating through my chest, and the constant peeing, I felt like I slept 15 minutes at most. I wish I had these books to pass the time.

At Least My Belly Hides My Cankles

by Paige Kellerman

We’re not completely suggesting you toss out your “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” but you have to realize it lacks one important thing: HUMOR. “Cankles” gives pregnant women and all moms really, the satire they need. Let’s face it, being pregnant is ridiculous. From the morning sickness, to the epic peeing, to always being the designated driver, Paige lampoons them all in the most hilarious way possible. We are partial to her roast of the sexy Halloween costume.

THIS should be your next baby shower gift because the back of the book sums it up nicely: “This book is a must-read for any mother, or anyone who has a mother to whom they probably need to apologize.”

You can purchase it here:
At Least My Belly Hides My Cankles: Mostly-True Tales of An Impending Miracle

Ketchup is a Vegetable: And Other Lies Mothers Tell Themselves

by Robin O’Bryant

This New York Times Bestseller is the perfect blend of charm, humor, and nod-your-head-along truth. In our society where mothers are constantly encouraged to strive for perfection, Robin makes it clear that ‘Imperfectly Good’ is a high compliment. She will make you laugh until you cry when she talks about her family’s improbable visit from the FBI,her Big Berthas,and her faux cuss words. Her awkward naked moments are worth the price of admission into her world. This book is a nugget of comedy gold with a sweet center of tenderness.

You can purchase it here:

Ketchup Is A Vegetable: And Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves

Erin: You may not be able to bleach these either, but they make a fantastic gift. . .

Ellen: For the new Momma and all the Mommas throwing back the punch and cupcakes.

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We Hate Baby Shower Games

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Yes, the usually perky, always ready for some fun Sensible Moms is throwing it down: We hate baby shower games.

Erin: Just to be clear, we did not say we hate the actual baby showers.

Ellen: We enjoy the sweet celebrations of new life and new motherhood. And the cake. Baby shower cakes are always good.

Erin: But most of all, we especially enjoy seeing another sucker, I mean newbie, accepted into the fold.

Ellen: But the games, oh, the games! I was so grateful that my best friend and I made a pact that there would be NO games at ANY of our showers of ANY kind – not bridal, nor baby, nor communal. There are just so boring, pointless, and more often than not, humiliating.

Erin: Communal? I don’t want to know. But in my experience, I hate them because they are a time suck. Opening the gazillion presents takes forever, then you want to add on games? Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Ellen: Now I’m feeling a little harsh. Maybe Baby Shower Bingo is okay? You know, where you circle baby items received on a bingo card? That game trudges along during the present opening.

Erin: No mercy. I was recently at a shower where the cards were BLANK! You had to fill in your own items. If you hadn’t had a baby in the past 6 years, you were hard pressed to guess what was coming out of those boxes. I didn’t know what some of that stuff was. But my mother rocked it. She filled in her card AFTER the presents were opened. She won.

Ellen: Love. That. Your mother has inspired me anew to zing some games. Let’s get on it.

1. My Water Broke!

So for this little gem, you cryogenically suspend plastic babies in ice cube trays. Okay you’re just freezing them, but this game needs all the promotion sizzle it can get because basically you’re watching ice melt. Fun. You put a little creeper cube in each party guest’s beverage and when she sees the baby free floating in her drink she hollers, “My Water Broke!” Like we said, fun.

Source: confettiprints.com via Sisterhood on Pinterest

Erin: My family was able to up the fun on this! So at the same shower where my mom was bamboozling the bingo, my aunt was sucking on her ice cube like a mad woman to free her baby first. It was perversely hilarious! She would not be beaten.

Ellen: For the love of plastic fetuses, you come by your competitive nature honestly.

2. How Big Is That Belly?

Everyone has to take a guess at how big around the guest of honor is. Seriously. Then of course, she has to be measured to see who wins.

Erin: Perhaps the inspiration for this game came from a cattle auction? I’ve seen it classed up even further where instead of using a tape measure – because , you know, you want to save the mother-to-be the embarrassment of having her digits announced – you guess her girth in sheets of toilet paper.

Ellen: The mark of a truly fantastic shower game is to work toilet paper into it. But the entertainment value of this game comes from it’s follow-up game: Pregnant Woman Shanks The Guest Implying She Is Bigger Than A Hippo.

3. What’s The Poop?

This game is also known as “Dirty Diaper.” You take a stack of newborn diapers, smear a different food substance that resembles crap on each one, and then pass them around for the victims to guess what they are. Some versions have you melting different types of candy bars, but true dookie veterans use things like tapioca pudding and Dijon mustard. If you’ve done newborn diaper duty, you know it does NOT look like chocolate.

Ellen: I was forced to play the version that had things like mustard and pureed peas on them. We were given toothpicks to sample the fares as they passed by to help us in our identification. Gives a new layer of disgusting to double dipping.

Erin: I will see your double dipping and raise you licking! When I looked this game up to see if it was for real, the instructions said to pass around the candy encrusted poop slings and have everyone lick them. Lick. Them.

Ellen: This game is no good. It also brings back bad memories. I call bullshiz on anyone who has kids and claims not to have come at least close to getting poop in her mouth. We don’t have to talk about it, but let’s not deny it.

Erin: This game should come with a counselor in the corner.

We could go on, but we’d rather suggest some new games of our own. Seriously, if it’s okay to ask guests to lick a communal melted Hershey bar you’re parading around as poop, these should be acceptable.

1. How Dilated Is She?

The lucky guest who finds the sterile surgical gloves under her luncheon plate gets to check!

2. Canned Ham or Pregnant Feet?

Take a picture of a gelatinous hunk of pork and one of the guest of honor’s feet, attach them to a poster board and have guests guess! To up the fun, have guests vote by dropping sausage links into their chosen ballot box.

3. Scoop the Litter Box

We all should know that a pregnant woman is freed from cat doodie duty for the health of the baby. If your guest of honor has a cat, this game is a gift as well as just plain good old fashioned fun. Everyone gets a shot at scooping the box. One lucky winner walks away with a purse sized Bath & Body Works hand sanitizer in her scooper!

Feel free to use any of these for your own party because we were thinking of taking this show on the road anyway. Maybe we should go into business like the Menarche R’Us people – Awkward Baby Shower Games R’Us?

-Erin and Ellen

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It’s a Baby Bash for Alison

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Can you believe what a fantastic idea this is? In our relatively short time cavorting through the blogosphere, we feel like we have made so many friends. And the reason? Because people are so open, real, and caring, no one more so than Alison at Mama Wants This. This virtual baby shower is an excellent example of blogging friendships: three ladies from across the United States, Ado, Stasha, and Erica, have teamed up to throw a party for Alison who is across the world in Malaysia. Isn’t the Internet grand?

The first party game, from Ado at The Momalog, is to post a favorite baby picture with a motherhood quote. With seven of the most beautiful babies in the world to choose from, this could have been pretty darn difficult. So we made the executive decision that since Eddie is the baby of our bunch, his pic wins. This is Erin’s little bouncing ball of joy.

As for the quote, well Erin wants Tina Fey to play her in the story of her life, and Bossypants was a fantastic read. There is nothing a second child needs more than a great blessing on his sweet little head. So here is a great quote from Tina’s prayer for her daughter altered slightly, because we know Alison is having a boy:

“Guide him and Protect him when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.”

It should also probably say something about your sibling in there too, so we just did. God bless you, little one, from two ladies half a world away.

The second party game, from Stasha at The Good Life, is to find a gift on Pinterest and share it. While Erin was setting up the picture, Ellen did the shopping.

My first gift is for the baby because every Scrumplet needs a lovey. And I love that this has the soothing sounds. I swear it made the difference for my older daughter, Coco.

Source: chapters.indigo.ca via Sisterhood on Pinterest

My second gift is just for Alison because a new Mama has to keep up her strength. 😉

Source: upload.wikimedia.org via Sisterhood on Pinterest

The third party game, from Erica M. at Yeah Write Me, is to guess the baby’s date of birth, weight and length. Ellen is fielding this one because, well, she used to be a professional.

Ellen – I’m kind of like Joey Fatone on Dancing with Stars, playing like an amateur despite the fact that I made a living doing this very same thing. However, it is pretty hard without feeling her belly. Thank goodness she lives far enough away that we don’t have to go through THAT awkward conversation. But I did have pictures to go by on her Facebook page. So here goes: