Do I need Baby Shower Games?
Baby Showers typically last from 2-4 hours. Eating, chatting, and opening gifts will take up some, if not most, of that time. Baby Shower Games or Activities serve many purposes: to entertain guests, as an ice breaker for guests who don’t know each other well, and they are just fun.
There are some baby shower locations where some baby shower games may not be appropriate or guests who may not feel comfortable playing a baby shower game. For those situations plan an activity. You can plan something as simple as filling out baby shower advice cards or door prize thank you cards.
Baby Shower Verse
I just wrote this verse. Let me know what you think.
A star from heaven is on his (her) way,
Let’s celebrate his (her) special day.
Let’s shower him (her) with lots of love,
this baby’s a gift from above.
Diapers
Go to 1800diapers.com to purchase brand name diapers at bargain prices. Use coupon code CHCEX093 to receive $2 off your first order!
Easy Table Covers
You can create one of a kind table covers that coordinate with your baby shower theme just by visiting your local fabric store. Any decent fabric store will have a selection of baby related fabrics for you to use: Nursery Rhymes, Winnie the Pooh, Gingham, Solid Colors, Animal Prints, etc. You can create runners, overlays, or complete table covers using fabric.
Don’t know how to sew? Not a problem. Use Pinking Shears to create a zig zag edge that won’t fray. You can also buy iron on hem tape which is easy to use.
On a budget? If you plan in advance you can allow yourself some time to shop around. Lots of places have sales or coupons. Keep an eye on the papers or websites for sales.
Be sure to measure your table accurately. What they say on those home improvement shows goes for sewing: measure twice, cut once.
Christina
American Idol - Part Two
We’re back from the American Idol auditions held in East Rutherford, NJ. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law didn’t make the cut. She and I both had a great time. We met some nice, and truly talented, people. There were news crews all over the place. We did the promo shots of the entire group of people auditioning - yes, there were thousands. Then it was inside where we had our seats. They had the entire arena singing Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You”. More promo shots were taken. Then the set up for the auditions took place. 14 tables were set up between curtains on the arena floor. Each table had a producer and production assistant. Four singers at a time were brought in front of each table. They had 10-20 seconds to sing their hearts out. They were given a “golden ticket” if they were chosen to move to the next round. Otherwise they were led out of the stadium. We were lucky in that Ivy was one of the first few hundred people auditioning. So we didn’t have to sit around all day. Only 4 people received the “Golden Ticket” by the time Ivy auditioned. They were definitely picky about who they selected. It was an interesting experience.
American Idol - Part One
My sister in law is auditioning for American Idol. I am keeping her company while she waits to audition. Today we were in line for audition tickets at 4:15am. There were already about a thousand people in front of us! We were out of there by 8am, but the line was still huge! As tired as I was, I’m glad that we left so early this morning. We met some great people in line. Monday is the actual audition so I’ll give you an update then. This sure is an interesting experience.
Gift Registry Etiquette
Should you include gift registry information on the invitation? What about the theme for the baby’s nursery.
There are some people out there who feel that including registry information on the invitation is not proper etiquette. However, this idea is changing. Personally, I feel that a gift registry helps to guide guests to finding gifts that mom to be wants and that are in their budget. You can also include the baby’s nursery theme in the invitation under the registry information.
Add the registry information after the basics of who, what, when, where, RSVP info, etc. Wording should be as follows:
Melanie is registered at Babies R Us.
Baby’s Nursery Theme is Precious Moments.
Baby Shower Activity - Door Prizes
Let’s face it - some guests are just not into traditional baby shower games. You can still have them participate in the baby shower and save you some time as well. Hold a door prize raffle. When guests arrive provide them with envelopes that they will address to themselves. Mom to be will use these later to send thank you cards. Place the envelopes into a container or box and draw names for door prizes. You can have one door prize or many.
Cake Decorating - The Cake
Yesterday I baked a cake for my grandmother’s 87th birthday. It’s been a while since I baked and decorated a cake. I really enjoyed it. If you are decorating a cake for any occasion here are some cake baking tips:
- Unless your recipe says otherwise, grease and flour your pans.
- I use vegetable shortening to grease my pans. Take a pastry brush and lightly grease the pans. Make sure you haven’t missed any spots. Add a few teaspoons of sifted flour. Rotate the pan so that the flour sticks to the shortening in all places. Tap out excess flour into the garbage.
- Follow the recipe.
- While a pinch of this and a dab of that may work in cooking, it can have devastating results in baking. You may be able to substitute flavorings - add a little orange zest here, exchange almond extract for vanilla extract, but certain ingredients are necessary in baking (ex. baking soda).
- Use an oven thermometer.
- The temperature in my oven is always off by 25-50 degrees. I use an oven thermometer to make sure my oven is at the right temperature.
- Preheat your oven.
- The baking time of your cake assumes that your oven is already at the set temperature. If you add your cake to the oven before it is preheated, it may be undercooked when your timer rings. The result: you leave the cake in the oven longer to cook, the outside is done before the inside, and you have a dry cake.
- Set your timer for the lowest time possible.
- If your recipe calls for 30-35 minutes in the oven, set your timer for 30. You can always add time later if the cake is not done. You can’t take time away from an overdone cake.
- Your cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- I find that if the toothpick is completely clean the cake is a little dry. I take it out of the oven when there are some crumbs on the toothpick. I leave it in the oven if it still resembles cake batter.
- Check the middle and at least one inch from the sides for doneness. If you are baking a 9″ by 13″ rectangle cake, check the middle in three different areas down the length of the cake.
- Cool your cake.
- For rounds - let your cake rest in the pans for 10 minutes. Take them out of the pans and let them cool on a wire rack.
- For rectangle - most recipes call for taking the cake out of the pan straight from the oven. Cool on a wire rack.
- Yes, you need to invest in a wire rack.
- Have you ever noticed that when you let a cake cool on a plate that there is a wet, gooey film on it? That is because when the cake is cooling air is not circulating completely around the cake. Cooling your cake on a wire rack eliminates this gooey problem.
- Cool your cake completely before frosting.
- Personally, I like to let my cake sit for a few hours before frosting. Frosting a warm cake can produce disastrous results - especially if you have a frosting made with butter or cream cheese.
Next time - making the frosting.
Christina
Choosing Baby Shower Games
When planning your baby shower games keep a few things in mind: location and your guests.
Location: If your baby shower is going to be in a nice restaurant with fancy china then you may want to be reserved in the types of baby shower activities you have. Perhaps a restaurant is not the right atmosphere for sniffing chocolates from a baby diaper. However, holding a raffle for a door prize may be right up their alley. On the other hand, if you are having a small casual gathering in someone’s home, the dirty diaper game may be fun.
Guests: Some guests are simply not comfortable playing games where the spotlight is on them. Others may be uncomfortable, or even feel stupid, playing word games due to a language barrier or illiteracy. The purpose of games is to have fun and get to know each other.
Christina