I think throwing a baby (or bridal) shower is an honor because your friend or family member trusts you enough to do a fabulous job and help make their day memorable….but it can be expensive. I recently co-hosted a baby shower for my friend Sarah, and her mom Wanda and I were able to do it in an inexpensive but really cute way. Here’s some ideas you can use for a shower you might be throwing, and a lot of these ideas, even though for a baby shower, could be used for a wedding shower or even a birthday party. A lot of the items I used for decorating were things I already had, picked up at Goodwill (Sarah doesn’t mind Goodwill and bought a lot of her maternity clothes from there) or were bought from the Dollar Tree.
We have this table in our entryway that I clear off and use as a “statement” table for any event we have at our house.
The “It’s A Boy” sign we hung on the mirror came from the Dollar Tree. I pulled items we already had at our house (for our grandson) like the teddy bear, blue cars and blue blocks to decorate with and then Wanda found this cute frame that showcased the latest ultrasound picture. I love flowers but would rather spend money elsewhere so I cut a bunch of mint we have growing in our garden and then filled in the vases with baby’s breath. Pretty but cheap. The blue piggy bank also came from the Dollar Tree. The wicker basket is holding envelopes for the guests to fill out with their name and address so that it’s easier for the mom (or bride) to be to send out her thank-you cards. I had this football dish that I use for chips during football season (that I got at a garage sale) so I pulled that out and we used it for the “advice for the new mom” cards that were also picked up at the Dollar Tree. And the “God Gave Us You” book was picked up at Goodwill for 50 cents.
As “party favors” I pulled mint from the garden that can be easily replanted and put them in these yellow “favor” boxes that Wanda bought at the Dollar Tree. They came in packages of 8 for $1.00 and can be filled with anything from the mint I used to little chocolates or candies.
I bought a bunch of baby outfits from Goodwill for 49 cents each and used them for decorations that Sarah would later be able to use. I of course knew that she wouldn’t mind they came from a thrift store but you could always use new outfits (or just not tell the mom-to-be where they came from!) The little hangers were also picked up at Goodwill for 50 cents (for 8) and made it easy to hang the outfits throughout the house.
I found all three of these items at Goodwill and thought they’d look cute grouped together. When I threw Sarah’s wedding shower last year I picked up small items like kitchen gadgets (from the dollar store) and cookbooks from Goodwill to use like this.
The I Love Mommy” outfit was 49 cents, “Are You My Mother” book was 50 cents and this cute little mama and baby bear was 69 cents…all bought from Goodwill.
Fruit salad, fresh veggies, tuna sandwiches and deviled eggs….love serving deviled eggs at parties because they’re a good source of protein, are inexpensive and you can garnish them with bacon, herbs or vegetables.
We kept the food simple and only served foods that Sarah could eat (no deli).
Why spend a lot of money on paper plates and napkins when you can pick them up at a dollar store? These cute plates, napkins, eating utensils and cups were all picked up at the Dollar Tree. You simply can’t beat the prices! The plates came in packs of 18 and the napkins were a dollar for 20.
Just by adding a few items like the book, drill and little cars, you can add your “theme” to any area.
I found a “cake pops” pan at Safeway on clearance for $3.00 so we used that and just filled it up with a boxed cake mix, frosted them with canned frosting and then I mixed food coloring with sugar and rolled them in that. Everyone liked them and no one felt any “guilt” by eating cake because they were small.
I wish I had made this diaper cake but one of the guests brought it….SO CUTE!
All of the “prizes” Wanda bought for our party games were bought from the Dollar Tree (like lotions and note cards).
I emptied our shelves in the living room and we used the wrapped presents as the decor. For any shower you throw, it’s good to have a designated person to write down the gift and who it’s from so the mom/bride will be able to write her thank-you’s.
Typically I like to do everything way ahead of any party so I know I’m prepared but for some reason, I didn’t wrap my gifts until about an hour before the shower started. Had some friends come over to help with the last-minute things to do and one of them offered to do the wrapping for me…..and I didn’t have enough paper! So we wrapped only the front of one of the gifts which was funny when Sarah went to unwrap it….her comment, “Oh, so that’s how you save money….you only wrap half the gift!”
Hopefully this will give you some ideas for a party or shower you might be hosting in the future. Using what you already have in a different way (like the football dish), and picking up paper products and little decorations from a dollar store can really help you save money. And of course, if you’re a thrift store shopper…..well, that can help you save even more. Everyone had fun, it was easy to do and Sarah had a fabulous shower that she’ll always remember.