Baby Shower Etiquette For a Second Or Third Child

There is no doubt that the birth of each child in a family is a special event regardless of birth order. Baby showers not only "shower" parents to be with the necessary items they will need, but they also provide a means for family and friends to celebrate the upcoming birth of this child.

While many rules for showers have been relaxed over the years there are a few that you may want to consider when planning a shower for the second or third child...

• Since this is a second or possibly third baby shower the guest list should be limited to close friends and family. If this is baby number 2 or 3, Aunt Gladys shouldn't be invited unless you see her frequently during the year. The exception is guests who were not invited to the first shower (i.e. new friends or co-workers or that cousin you reconnected with) may be invited to this one.


• Baby registries may not be available. Remember parents to be may not need all of the essentials. Host a diaper, pot luck or clothesline themed shower to ensure that parents to be get what they really need.


• Have games as ice breakers or to fill up time. If you are hosting a diaper themed shower all the guests know what mom to be received....diapers or wipes. You won't be spending 30-45 minutes watching her open gifts. Give your guests something to do. If you are having a casual shower there are board or card games that are appropriate for smaller showers. If you are having something more formal then perhaps baby advice cards would fit the bill. The general rule of thumb is 1 game for every 1-2 hours of a baby shower.


• Include siblings in the celebration. They may be taking on a new role in their life and that should be celebrated as well as the baby. A small gift for big brother or big sister would be a nice gesture.


• If there is a considerable age gap between the first and second child then the above rules don't necessarily apply and a full scale shower is appropriate. This is especially true if parents to be are now in need of all the essentials because what they had either is out of date or has been purged from the house for one reason or another. For example, were you aware that car seats have an expiration date of 5-6 years due to the plastic deteriorating? That car seat sitting in the attic or garage may in fact be unsafe for baby to use now resulting in mom and dad needing to buy a new one.

The rest is up to you. You determine if you're going to have a backyard bbq or a cocktail hour style shower with pink and blue drinks. As long as mom to be is comfortable and guests are having fun then you can call this baby shower a success!

Christina Crea is a leading expert in baby shower ideas and has written a number of articles related to baby gifts, baby shower favors, baby shower games and so on. Please visit Baby Shower Depot to read her other highly regarded articles or to view fun baby shower games or unique baby shower favors.

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Baby Shower Themes For Girls

Choosing a theme for your baby shower makes the party more exciting to plan and more fun for your guests to attend. There are so many baby shower themes for girls to choose from, it can be a little intimidating to pick the perfect theme to fit the personality and needs of the new mom. Below are some suggestions for popular baby shower themes for girls that include a whole suite of products to help you carry your theme throughout the shower.

Pretty in pink. Yes, a theme can be as simple as a color. Pink is an obvious choice for girls, but not necessarily the only choice. Purple, green and yellow can also be beautiful colors to build the baby shower around. Or, find out what color the parents-to-be are using for the nursery and use that color to inspire your theme. For a traditional pink invitation, send your guests It's a Girl themed pink and brown invitations. Look for matching banners and thank you cards and purchase everything you need in one place instead of searching all over town (or the Internet) for coordinating decorations. A frilly pink little girl dress theme or a cute princess themed shower are also fun ways to welcome a new baby girl. For a younger, more modern couple, you can go wrong with pink baby bling themed invitations and decorations.

Baby items theme. Pink baby booties or an invitation as the graphic might be perfect for a baby sprinkle theme where you are only asking guests to bring some basics for the new parents who are expecting their first baby girl. Or, choose a diaper themed invitation and keep your theme going by asking guests to bring a package of diapers for a raffle, make a diaper cake complete with pink bibs and toys, and play the guess the type of chocolate in the diaper game. There are also pink baby carriage or pink crib themed invitations and favors available to inspire you.

Baby animals make cute themes. Animals aren't just for boys, girls love them too! Celebrate the upcoming birth of a new baby girl with a baby animal themed baby shower. To incorporate your animal theme into the entire baby shower, choose a theme with multiple animals represented such as a farm animal or a jungle animal theme. You can then assign teams based on matching animals for party games. Remember to purchase coordinating notes of advice for the mom-to-be, shower favors or personalized favor labels as an extra touch. Matching thank you cards complete the suite and will be greatly appreciated by the expecting parents.

There are countless invitations, decorations and favors available to help you host a baby shower to prepare for a baby girl. Remember to keep it cute, fun and feminine to create a memorable experience for the mom-to-be and your guests.

Candles and Favors is a family-owned Party Authority that provides high-quality baby shower invitations, party favors, personalized candle favors and stationary in many Unique Baby Shower Themes to help you plan the perfect event.

Nikki Heinrich lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and 2 children. She enjoys spending time with her family and in her spare time, loves to write and cook.

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Baby Shower History

There is no way to determine exactly where or when the "baby shower" originated. There are several theories on baby shower history, but none can be proven. No matter where and when baby showers were first introduced, today they are a very special event celebrating a new life.

Some historians have found evidence of baby showers, or something similar, quite some time ago. These discoveries lead experts to believe that celebrating birth started in ancient cultures, like those in the Egyptian and Roman times. No definitive proof is available, but historians have deciphered data which could mean baby showers took place.

When you look at baby showers from long ago, you see that most of the gifts given to the family were handmade. Articles of clothing, blankets, and even food items were provided as gifts for the new family. Showers in the past occurred after the birth of the child, so many times part of the "baby shower" was the viewing of the new child.

The "baby shower" as we celebrate it today began after World War II. Family and friends gather together, in a party atmosphere, to celebrate the birth of a new baby. At the start, only woman were invited to attend such a gathering, but today these celebrations can include the father, grandfathers, and any male family members.

In recent years, the baby shower has started to occur before the actual birth of the child. With the new technology that is available to expectant parents, the gender of the child is not so much a mystery. Therefore, a baby shower can be thrown early in preparation for the baby's arrival without the worry of buying the wrong thing.

No matter what the baby shower history is, the baby shower of today is a supportive and generous event toward new or expectant parents. With all the current trends toward "unisex" items, it is hard to buy the wrong thing!

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino is the internet's leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies, using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. Free Baby Shower Games, printable activities, party planning tips, menus, recipes, and party supplies to help complete your event.

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Planning a Baby Shower From the Ground Up

When Should the Shower Happen?

It becomes an important question to ask, not to mention, to answer. And as usual, there are some different viewpoints on when you should contain the baby shower celebration. Fortunately, however, these views aren't as debatable because they sometimes are when it comes to whether a family member or non-relative should hold the baby shower (as we discussed above). So don't worry; this is a rather simple and easy, straightforward challenge to solve

Now, the actual problem here's simply that there isn't a definite response to the question: when should the shower happen? The answer to this will more often than not depend on factors which are specific towards the mother-to-be, the guests, along with other issues.

So instead of providing a "one-size-fits-all" answer here - which is something which we can't do without knowing the details of your particular baby shower - let's just consider the variables. Knowing these, you'll easily be able to determine once the baby shower celebration should be held.

The Mother-to-Be

We begin with mother-to-be. She may judgemental about when the shower ought to be held; and this preference should be heeded. The father-to-be might also provide input here, that is wonderful and really should be part of the overall decision-making process (we take a closer look at "couples" baby-showers afterwards in this book).

What kinds of things might influence a mother-to-be's preference on once the shower ought to be held? Some of them prefer to have the shower when they're showing; they might feel that there's something more appropriate (for lack of a better word) about holding a shower when people can in fact see that a baby is on the way.

In practical terms, this means that a shower may be held well into the second trimester, or into the third.

Your guests

As everyone knows, December is really a season for parties and events; both business, and private. As a result, it might be polite to not hold the baby shower celebration during "party season", as it might influence whether people could attend (or have the ability to relax once they attend, because they do not have three more "get togethers" to go to after the baby shower!).

Furthermore, if you live inside a wintry climate, it may be a pleasant idea not to possess the baby shower celebration within the dead of winter. True, life does continue in the center of January and people start working and do most of the stuff that they want to do (shop, visit restaurants, and so on), but when it makes simply no difference to you and also the mother-to-be (and/or the father-to-be) if the baby shower celebration is held in late January or late April, then it might be advisable to select the second; simply for climate concerns.

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Baby Shower Decoration Ideas

Have that great looking background for your baby shower by setting up decorations at the party. Keep in mind the amount of money you set aside for the baby shower party. There are many great ways to setup the baby shower decorations. The party can be way more exciting if the host takes a little time and plans the variety of ways the baby shower decorations can be setup.

As a matter of fact, baby Baby shower decorations can be just as the host likes them. They can be plain or very complicated. The way the decorations are setup can make the mom-to-be feel very special. The way a baby shower can be decorated is practically endless.

Well as a party consultant, and as such, am called upon all the time in my chosen career to come up with baby shower ideas. By the time they reach adulthood, most people have plenty of ideas for birthdays, Christmas and other holiday parties, and even for weddings, but there is often a shortage of experience which leads to ideas for baby shower decorations. What I am trying to say is few people really go to more than one or two baby showers in their young life, and many don't even go to any. That is why so much thought has to go into baby shower decorations - more thought than goes in to almost any other kind of party supplies.

When it comes to realization, the first thing that you have to in your baby shower decoration is that people have few expectations, because they probably have not been to too many baby showers in their life. Besides this, if you are a new mother or father, or an expectant one, people will not really expect the type of lavish party that you might throw for, say, your daughters graduation or for your sons first birthday. This means the choices of how elaborate you want your party to be, how much care you wish to take with the decorations, and what themes you want to use are entirely up to you. You can not really go wrong with baby shower decorations as long as you keep them light and tasteful.

We all know that a lot of people however, see this as an opportunity to explore and expand creatively, and as such will really take baby shower decorations to a pretty deep level. They might come up with elaborate ribbons and custom banners, or table settings that are out of this world so that people will remember the beauty and thoroughness of their baby shower decoration. If you are like this, then a party consultant such as myself might be the perfect aid to providing the perfect baby shower. After all, unless you are quite the experienced socialite, you may lack the party experience that is so necessary to coming up with the ideas behind a perfect festival. Anyone can think of all of the standard baby shower decorations - cute little ribbons and bows, napkins with watercolor prints of little infants playing with puppies or sitting in cribs, little baby shaped cakes. But to get a really classy party, one that will be remembered by all your friends for years to come, you must have the perfect baby shower decorations.

There are many great ways to setup the baby shower decorations. The party can be way more exciting if the host takes a little time and plans the variety of ways the baby shower decorations can be setup. Remember that it is not necessary to spend and excessive amount on decorations. Being resourceful and thoughtful will allow decorations to be made that are most memorable. Using a little creativity when getting the party organized prevents the bank account from taking major damage. The simplest of items can be used for decorations. Be resourceful in creating great baby shower decorations that are inexpensive.

For more ideas on the ideal baby shower and for baby gifts like baby blankets, please visit our web site.

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Creative or Traditional Baby Shower Themes

A theme can provide the framework for your party and is almost certain to make your celebration more enjoyable. Your baby shower plans could center on your extraordinary collection of teddy bears or the mom-to-be's immense passion for gardening. Or maybe the decor thats planned for the baby's nursery is all the party inspiration your need.

What follows are fifteen different wonderful themed party ideas designed to help you celebrate baby's arrival in style.

• Stork Baby Shower Themes - Here is a salute to our long-legged friend who has always been associated with the arrival of the new bundle of joy.
  


• Mother Goose Baby Shower Themes - Base your baby shower on the classic collection of nursery rhymes, and you will be sure to receive rave reviews.
  


• Pea in the Pod: Garden Party - The can be a garden shower or even a twins baby shower theme. Whichever you choose, it is sure to be a hit.
  


• Pitter Patter, Pat a Cake Baby Shower Theme - This delightful shower salutes the baby's hands and feet. You're sure to get a thumbs up from all who attend.
  


• Baby 101 Shower Theme - This shower theme is perfect for the first time mom who may need some help in learning everything there is know about have and caring for her new baby.
  


• Noah's Ark Baby Shower Theme - Double the fun and joy with this shower theme. It's also terrific for twins, but works equally well for single babies.
  


• Teddy Bear Picnic Shower Theme - Base your celebration around these classic childhood companions and your guests will be certain to have a beary good time.
  


• Bottles, Bibs and Blankets Shower Theme - Celebrate the arrival of a one of a kind baby with these essential baby items in your shower.
  


• It's Potty Time! Baby Shower Theme - The fun you will have at this non traditional baby shower wont be an accident.
  


• ABC Shower Theme - Throwing an alphabet party is as easy as ABC 123
  


• Pink or Blue, Hope your Dreams Come True! Shower Theme - Nowadays, most couples find out the gender of the baby during pregnancy. But for those who are keeping it a surprise, this is a shower theme that is a perfect way to celebrate the mystery and keep everyone guessing.
  


• Somebunny Love Me Shower Theme - Hop to it and plan a shower that is sure to please everybunny on the guest list.
  


• Shake, Rattle and Roll Shower Theme - Shake it up baby and let the good times roll with this great theme.
  


• A Star is Born Shower Theme - This starry celebration is sure to be a heavenly for all who attend
  


• Once upon a Time Shower theme - This party is sure to have guests celebrating happily ever after.
  

Whatever you decide you do, we are sure your party will be a hit so make sure you have a good time while the moment lasts.

Caroline Miller lives in Flemington, NJ with her husband and 5 month old daughter and is an expert contributing author for a luxury baby gifts boutique offering variety of baby shower favors, baby gift baskets, handprint footprint kits and more. Caroline Miller and Babygiftstation is also dedicated to providing valuable and informative articles on childcare, baby safety tips, pregnancy health, parenting, potty training and more.

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