Animals are a time-honored way to celebrate the birth of a new baby. They are a sign of life in abundance. And, let’s face it, who doesn’t love cute little baby animals? There are so many ways to incorporate animals into baby shower invitations. You can make your invitations as simple or as complex as you wish, depending on your supplies and your skills.
Regardless of the invitation you make, when you choose your invitation, go ahead and make matching thank you cards. While you’re addressing the invitations, go ahead and address and stamp the thank you notes as well. Then pack them away with a pad of sticky notes. During the shower, write down each gift as it’s opened and stick the contents on the thank you note addressed to the giver. This makes it easy for the Mom to write her than you notes and send them off.
Nursery Rhymes
Think about using nursery rhymes as a jumping-off point for your invitations. Think about animal themed nursery rhymes such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” or “Hey Diddle Diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle.” You can use the first stanza as the headline of the invitation, and then follow it with a pithy statement. For example, you might say: “Mary had a little lamb, not we’re awaiting ours.”
If you really want to get crafty, or have a die cutting craft machine, consider cutting out the invitation in larger shapes that go along with the rhyme such as lambs, a fiddle, or the moon. Then cut smaller sizes for the thank you notes.
Ark of Love
Consider incorporating Noah’s Ark into your baby shower invitation. This is especially appropriate if the Mother is expecting twins. You can Write something like “The animals came two by two, now (mother’s name) is expecting too! So, let’s flood their home with gifts and good wishes!” Again, if can add an extra touch by cutting out the invitations in the shape of a boat. You can make the thank you notes in the shape of drops with the phrase: “Just dropping by to say thanks!”
Wild Life
If your guests are uncomfortable with Judeo-Christian tales, you can take your guests to the jungle. You can use the headline “Parenting is WILD!” and follow it with the information for the shower. Decorate the invitations with jungle animals such as lions, tigers and apes. If you wish to keep the baby theme, use baby animals. Or, use adult jungle animals for the invitations and baby animals, mirroring the adults, in the thank you notes.
Animal Farm
Looking for a more down-home theme for your invitations? Why not buy the farm? Simply cut out your invitations in the shape of a barn and decorate them with baby farm animals. You can also make your own barn. Simply print the words “We’re raising more than a barn!” in the center of a sheet of red card stock. Then print the particulars of the shower on yellow card stock. Then cut out a large barn shape out of the red card stock. Place the barn on the piece of yellow card stock and punch holes near the top. Tie the two pieces of card stock together with a piece of rough twine. For the thank you notes, try cutting a smaller barn out of matching sheets of red paper. Cut the barn “door” out on three sides so that the mother can open the “door” and write her note.
Family Circus
While few circuses have animals today, there are plenty of great pictures of days gone by. You can cut your invitations into a ticket. Consider writing something like “You are invited to the greatest show on earth!” and follow it with either “admit one” or “admit two” if it is a couple’s shower. Be sure to include plenty of circus animals such as lions, tigers and elephants decorated with plumes. If you want to mail put smaller invitations, stack two ticket shapes and tie them together with brightly colored ribbon. On the top “ticket” write the headline and on the bottom one, add the particulars of the shower.
Create a matching thank you note by printing out pictures of popcorn or cotton candy on the front of a folded card.
Nature’s Child
The only thing cuter than baby forest animals might be the baby him, or herself. Add a fawn, baby raccoon, fox cub, and other baby forest animals to a natural colored background. You might say something like “We’re wild about the newest addition,” or “It’s only natural that we can’t wait!” You can create a folded card, or stack two sheets of card stock and tie it with a burlap ribbon. If you have access and the season is right, glue a pine twig, a pressed real leaf or a sham one to the card to represent the forest home of the baby animals.
For the thank you note, make a smaller version of the invitation, or simply add one or two of the animals.
Nestlings
Baby birds can be a wonderful image to celebrate a new baby. A fun way to create a unique card is to have a picture of a nest full of eggs on the first page of the card with the words: “Look what (Parent’s name) is hatching!” On the inside, show the nest full of baby birds and list the particulars of the shower.
Another option for this theme is for a very special shower. In some cases, a couple is facing a pregnancy long after all their children have grown. It can be fun to have an invitation with an empty nest on the front saying: “Just when you thought you were facing an empty nest…” then on the inside you can say “Someone new is flying in!” Try making the thank you notes in the shape of an egg. Simply cut a white sheet of the card stock. Cut a slightly larger egg out of colored paper. Cut the larger egg as if it had cracked down the middle and overlap the “cracked edges” on the white paper. Punch a hole through the overlapped colored sheets and the white sheet. Push a paper brad through the hole creating a hinge for the cracked egg. Trim the rest of the colored paper to match the white. The mother can then write on the white page.