Spring is the season of new life. Trees begin to bud. Flowers begin to blossom. What better time to celebrate the new life growing inside? Spring Baby showers can bring out the best in your skills and be the best for your favorite Mom-to-be.
The first thing you need to do is choose a theme. Spring lends itself to a wide range of lovely theme ideas. Once you have chosen a theme, invitations, food, decorations and activities all fall into place. Let’s take a look at several different spring baby shower ideas.
April Showers Bring May Flowers
Just consider the phrase
It’s absolutely perfect for an April shower before a May birth. You have the combination of a baby shower with a rain shower. You have the idea of birth as you shower the mother with gifts. Create the perfect spring-themed shower starting with the invitations. Choose rain-themed invitations with phrases such as “Let’s Shower (Mom’s Name) with our love!” or “Just drop by to honor (Mom’s name) with a baby shower.” While you are choosing and addressing the invitations, go ahead and have the thank you notes printed as well. Consider, “Thanks for ‘dropping’ by.” If you can stamp and address the envelopes before the shower, you can save the mom-to-be precious time.
Stick with the rain theme for decorations
Hang umbrellas from the ceiling and dangle large, sparkling raindrops from the edge. Use a curtain of raindrops as a picture backdrop, or to decorate the area behind your seat of honor. But rainstorms aren’t only raindrops. They also involve rainbows and the sun coming back out. So, you might add rainbow gel paint on the windows to create your own personal bow. Instead of a banner, hang the letters of the baby’s name and appropriate clothes from a string across an empty wall.
Food can be a lot of fun with this theme
Of course, you can always have the cake decorated with a rain and a rainbow. But use your imagination. You can put a puffy cloud on a cupcake and top it with rainbow candy or picks. You can create meringue “clouds” and serve them with raindrop shaped cookies. If you want to limit the sweet treats, consider the fact that a well cut knob of cauliflower looks remarkably like a cloud. Pair it with sugar-free gelatin jigglers cut in the shape of raindrops and you have a healthy, low-cal treat.
There are lots of fun games to go along with this theme
You can play “Drop in the Bucket.” Where contestants race back and forth between a bucket of water on one side and a clear vase on the other. They carry water with a dropper, and the first team to fill their vase to a specified line. Or you could play “Don’t Drop the ‘Baby’” Give each guest a hard boiled egg to decorate. Then ask them to race across the room, carrying their “baby” on a spoon.
Spring Beauty
Spring means flowers. They are blossoming everywhere. And, when you think about it, they are carrying the seeds of the next generation. What could be a better metaphor for your favorite pregnant mother. So why not use flowers as the unifying theme of your baby shower.
There are a multitude of floral baby shower invitations on the market for both boys, girls, and genderless showers. Consider phrases like: “Look What’s blooming!” or simply use blossoms as a decoration. Don’t forget to order matching thank you notes at the same time.
While fresh flowers are a delightful feature of this type of shower, don’t limit yourself to a trip to the florist. Consider large, paper flowers for a fun, modern look. Or, you can pair silk roses with antique frames for a vintage look. Use individual nosegays as table cards and let each guest take theirs home as a favor.
Besides frosting roses on cakes and cupcakes, there are lots of ways to enjoy flower-themed food. Consider cutting vegetables into floral shapes for the table. If you lack the skill, think about hiring a caterer to carve fruits and veggies into flowers for your party. There are also recipes online for sugared violets and floral salads. Just be sure to choose edible flowers, since many flowers in the grocery and florist are treated with toxic chemicals.
There are a few games that are specific to floral showers. For example, why not play “Martha Stewart.” Choose one guest to be the face of Martha, while the other is her hands. Simply have the “face” stand with her hands behind her. The “hands” stand behind the “face” and put her hands through the arms of the “face.” Place a large shirt over the pair. Then place a vase and flowers in front of them. While “Martha” describes what she’s doing, the hands have to figure it out and go along with the instructions to fill a vase with flowers and water.
Spring Bunnies
Whether you celebrate Easter bunnies or Peter Rabbit, bunnies are a wonderful spring theme for a baby shower. Look for bunny-themed invitations and thank you notes. Whether you decide on the classic, Peter Rabbit watercolors or a pop art bunny, can help you decide on the rest of the shower.
If you decide to go with the classic Peter Rabbit, fill your celebration space with soft pastels and nature. Decorate with some of the soft, stuffed characters of Beatrix Potter’s world that can then find their way into the baby’s nursery. Use lush flowers and vintage frames to highlight your gift table and set places at the table. If you decide to go with pop culture bunnies, go crazy with color. Thankfully, there are often a wide range of bunny gifts and décor available in the spring. Use those colors throughout in tableware, napkins and banners.
When thinking about games, its fun to consider a bunny hop race, but leave the mom-to-be out. No one wants that baby coming early. If you are doing a Peter Rabbit theme, try a sheet matching the names to the pictures of some of Potter’s characters. They might recognize Peter, but will they recognize Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle?
Highlight your party with the fresh foods of spring, bright green salads, fresh berries and other healthy choices.
But don’t forget carrots.