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Frugal Baby Shower?

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October 1, 20100 found this helpful

A frugal baby shower is very very possible. After having read previous posts from the last several years right here on this site I can assure you that the ideas offered are great ones. I will give some advice just to reiterate what others have previously posted. Food is not a necessity. Have the shower mid afternoon. After lunch time before dinner. Your guests will know to eat prior to arrival and will not want/need to eat while there. A cake, drinks, and nuts/pretzels is all that is needed. I had my shower at 2 PM and the biggest part of my food (at least 75%) was not touched because most people did not expect food and had already eaten.

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Also the cake is just as good home made. It shows you put more love into it than just going out and buying one. Throw away cake pans with lids can be purchased for $1 at just about any Dollar Store and cake mixes and icing are fairly cheap. You should be able to make a nice cake for less than $10 and it should easily feed 20-30 people. Once again I had plenty of cake left over too. I think out of 20 people 2 had ice cream so save $ there too. Most people will be just fine with whatever you have to offer. It is a day for Mom and baby, not a dinner party for guests. Just to give you a sigh of relief, my baby shower was done for less than $40 and I had food (BBQ on buns, pasta salad, chips) and ice cream that was not needed. I had matching decorations, plates, utensils, games, gifts for prize winners, and even balloons. I purchased everything except for food products at the Dollar Tree. I'm not sure if there is one in your area but it is available online(www.dollartree.com) and every item is $1. Good Luck with the shower. You will do great! And congrats on you to the new grandbaby!

 

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October 2, 20100 found this helpful

In our area baby showers consist of ladies coming to someone's house with gifts, to visit with the new mom and the baby. We give them after the baby is born. The hostess serves tea, coffee, maybe juice or punch, a decorated cake or maybe some dainties. The entertainment is mostly holding the new baby. Sometimes they have a memory game where the hostess makes up a tray with about 20 baby things on it (baby wipes, a soother, Orajel, a diaper, thermometer, brush and comb, diaper pin, and so on) and everyone gets to look at this for about 10 seconds each. Then they have to write down what was on the tray. Those that get closest to all the items, get a small prize -- decorated candle or something from the dollar store. Taking lots of pictures is also part of the deal. It is always quite low key; expense is not an issue as one uses their own dishes and decorations are optional. Sometimes someone decorates a box in some theme (like a John Deere grain wagon if it is a boy baby in a farm family) or gives a larger gift like a stroller that you can put the gifts in, and then make a big deal of bringing them in.

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A bassinet or even just a new clothes basket is also good, as babies always have lots of laundry. The mom opens the gifts, passes them around and everyone says nice things and admires them, and every one visits. Usually, there are friend and relatives, I'd say 15 to 25 is the usual number. You don't want hordes as it would be too overwhelming for mom and baby. If you are dealing with someone who might have lots more friends, you might give a shower for neighbours and family, and then one of the new mom's girlfriends might give a shower for the younger crowd and work friends. Whatever seems to work for you. It should be very informal and low key.

 

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October 2, 20100 found this helpful

Prizes for game winners, stock up on baby items and when all is done, the prize winners give the mom the prizes.

 
April 16, 20130 found this helpful

Here's what I did. My mother helped me plan my shower and although many ladies have their own ideas against throwing your own shower, I had quite a few coworkers and friends that I did not want to exclude from celebrating with me.

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I anticipated 20-30 ladies and started planning the event months in advance. Since I was only a few months pregnant over the holidays, I took advantage of after-holiday sales and bought gift sets from various stores like Bath & Body Works, KMart, and Target while they were 70-90% on clearance! I stayed away from anything that was holiday-themed, but it worked out well for game prizes.

Also, since I found out I was having a girl I kept an eye on all things pink after Valentines day and took advantage of the clearanced out items the day after at Target. I ended up with a ton of prizes, candy, gift bags, decorations, etc that I was able to use and saved a lot of money on!

As far as decorations, the dollar stores in my area carried a nice variety, but I decided to go with a large 6 foot banner from Party City for $1, as well as garland and spring flower themed decorations for $1 each. I was also able to borrow large tissue paper flower puffs from a family friend. If you have to make them yourself, look at Pinterest, they are very easy and inexpensive. You can also purchase table cloths from the dollar store. I actually splurged and got vinyl ones for $3.50 each, but I am sure you could borrow or get away with the dollar store ones with no problem!

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Games--I used a roll of crepe paper streamer I got for $.65 and had the ladies try to guesstimate my belly size. It lead to a lot of laughs and was inexpensive.

I purchased baby raffle tickets for $1.99 and had a large baby bottle that we drew from. That lasted for a few rounds and we also did 2 grand prizes (large gift giveaways) to end the games.

We also did a word scramble and a guessing game that I purchased for $6.00. These games are available online, but I was in a pinch and purchased them on the fly.

For invitations, I purchased clearanced DIY invites from Target for 70-80% off and found the matching Thank you notes a few weeks after for $2 a pack.

For utensils, I purchased the silverware at the dollar store, the napkins from big lots $2 a pack for pink 75 ct. The cups I also purchased from Big Lots $2.50 for 50 ct. Hefty brand. I purchased 2 packs of thermal cups with lids from the dollar store and plates from Aldi as that was the most inexpensive place--cost about $2.50 for 50 ct.

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For favors, I purchased small plastic flower pots from the dollar store (12/$1) and since they were thin, doubled them up and filled with pink themed candy, stuffed with green Easter grass and stuck a packet of flower seeds in them as a thank you. You can throw in a poem as a thank you--for the ladies to plant the flowers and watch them grow and think of baby.

The menu was simple, I purchased most of the items from Aldi to save on money.

Menu:
Deli sandwiches on mini croissants or soft artisan rolls (It was recommended to me to purchase 6-7 lbs of meat for the event. In actuality I purchased 4 1/2 lbs of deli slices and had almost half left over to give away.

For cheese I purchased deli slices 12 in a pack for $1.99 at Aldi. I had cheddar, swiss, provolone and colby. I also had a pack of pepper jack that was not opened.

The rolls/croissants, I used approx 2 packs of mini croissants/rolls cut into halfs that ladies could make small sandwiches. I had a tray of croissants and a bag of artisan rolls left over.
Salad (used approx half a 5 lb bag)
2 dressings: Italian & ranch (had many other varities not open)
Veggie Tray ( 2 lg. cucumbers, 1 tub of cherry tomatoes, 1 red bell pepper, baby carrots)
Hummus (From Aldi)
Salsa (Aldi, $1.69 for a large jar)
French Onion Dip (A little over $3) had a lot left over
tray of Strawberries (Took advantage of a 10/$10 sale at Meijer) Used probably 4-5 pints, had half left over.
Bowl of honeydew and cantaloupe melons (took 1 melon each cut up) Had a lot left over.
Potato Salad
Crock pot of Baked Beans
Pampered Chef cold veggie pizza
Mini garlic bread "Sandwiches" cut into small squares, topped with pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella & spinach (Vegetarian Option) (only used 1 large loaf of frozen bread--purchased store brand $2 a loaf.)
Chicken Salad

Bowls of chips and pretzels around the room as centerpieces for people who want to chat & munch.

Desserts:
Cupcakes (funfetti & red velvet) with 1 can of frosting (Not homemade, but cost $2 total
Cookies $2.50 from Aldi
Donuts $2.50 from Aldi
Ice cream Bar:
-Purchased a large tub of Neopolitan ice cream from Aldi for $4.99
-Various cones, waffle bowls ($1 each box, generic brand)
-Sprinkles, coconut, candy like gummy bears, orange slices, maraschino cherries (all $1-2 each) and a bag of M&M's from Aldi
-Can of Whipped Cream less than $2
-Fudge sauce, caramel (Less than $2 each)
-Also made a "chocolate peanut butter eclair cake" that used a half box of chocolate graham crackers, 2 packs of Vanilla pudding, cool whip, peanut butter and a tub of chocolate frosting. I purchased everything generic.

Drinks:
Water bottles (24 for $2.75 at Aldi)
Name brand Soda (Purchased 10/$10 on sale, only used maybe 4.
I had the option of punch but ran out of time. You can use 2 liters of ginger ale, 1 frozen limeade and 1 frozen orange juice---delish!
Coffee (Keurig K-cups), tea (supplied from home & hot cocoa set out)
Purchased 1 large hazelnut creamer ($3)


I purchased a lot of the items that did not perish ahead of time and so saved money and time. I also had about 5-7 helpers and everyone loved it! Planning is key. Don't be afraid of just doing a simple punch and cake shower either. It doesn't have to be overboard but can be frugal & fun! Also ask your friends or relatives to possibly bring a dish, people don't mind! :)

 

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