Gift Ideas and Holiday Tips

I recently started a baby shower cakes contest on my site. And I'm excited to have received my first 2 entries! The first one (pic to the left) is an orange lily cake with a cute baby girl in the center. Every inch of this cake is edible!

The second entry is a blue and white baby shower cake, decorated with a blue onesie with the baby's name on it (pic below).


If you want to learn more about how these cakes were made, or if you want to add your own entry to this contest, check out the baby shower cakes page on my site. There's a $50 visa gift card up for grabs! The contest ends on June 4, 2010.

Saving money is so important these days, when you're trying to plan any type of celebration. As you probably already know, I am a big fan of ordering customized baby shower invitations for stores like Tiny Prints. But, if you're looking for a more affordable option, consider making your own invitations at home.

I recently posted some new printable baby shower invitations on my site. Each template has 2 options, a pre-worded template, or a blank template that you can customize yourself.

Enjoy, and happy baby shower planning!

Hello everyone,

I am currently looking for some cute and creative baby shower cakes to display on my baby shower website. Have you ever made a baby shower cake before? Did everyone at the party simply "ooh" and "ahh" over your creation?

Then you should enter my baby shower cakes contest for a chance to win a $50 Visa Gift Card. All you have to do is follow the link for full instructions on entering the contest. Once you enter, I will review your submission and put your cake photo live on my site.

Then, once the contest is over (on March 26, 2010), I will select a winner based on the design and overally creativity. And best of all, the winning creation will be featured on my site, and the designer gets $50!!

I can't wait to see what you all come up with!!

I've searched my favorite baby shower stores for the best party essentials: invites, decorations, cake supplies, diaper cakes, favors, games, and gifts for both baby and mommy. If you still have shopping to do for your party, or you need a gift, visit the baby shower party supplies page.

While you're browsing, remember to keep these quick shopping tips in mind:

1. If you're a hostess, consider the baby shower decorating kits as an alternative to buying all your decorations separately. The kits come with a complete set of tableware (including a tablecloth for your head table), balloons, banner and streamers. A lot of the kits also have matching invitations and thank you cards.

2. If you are going to be a guest at a baby shower and you need a gift, the most important thing to remember is the baby's gender. Rule of thumb is pinks for girls and blues for boys. Not saying you have to stick with those colors only, but use them as a basis. If you're just stuck on what to get for the baby, buy a baby shower gift for mom instead.

3. Don't wait til the last minute to go shopping! Whether you're a hostess or a guest, it's always best to start looking around early. If you wait until the last minute, you may be rushed into getting something that you are not as happy with.

If you're looking for more tips and suggestions on baby shower shopping, or if you want to offer your own expertise, participate in the Q & A Forum.

Most likely, if you receive a baby sprinkle invitation in the mail, it will pretty much tell you what kinds of gifts to bring. Why? Because the whole purpose of a “sprinkle” is to not only celebrate the coming of another child, but to also stray away from the unnecessary gifts like baby furniture and lots of clothes.

Just in case your hostess does not specify what type of gifs to bring to a baby sprinkle, I’ve put together a list of 5 essential gifts for this type of celebration. Everything on the list is a crucial must-have for a new baby and the parents.

Diapers – All babies need them; tons of them! Don’t just buy the newborn ones either. Babies need diapers well into the toddler years. *Tip* - buy a diaper cake and you’ll be giving a gift that's not only useful, but beautiful to look at!

Wipes – If you have kids of your own, you know what it’s like to almost run out of wipes. For every diaper the parents use, they’ll use anywhere from 2 to 5 wipes.

Baby food – Even if the mom is planning to breastfeed, she’ll still need plenty of food for her growing baby. A baby food gift basket would be a great gesture.

Baby bath and lotion – This is another useful gift idea that can be presented as a gift basket. Include a few washcloths and baby bath toys to the collection.

Onesies – The parents might have some left over from the other children, but onesies can get messy fast. Many parents use them not only as undergarments, but also as “around the house” clothing for the baby. Babies tend to get food and other stains on their clothes. And a lot of them just get thrown away if the stains don’t come out.

Rule of thumb for selecting baby sprinkle gifts – stay away from the big and unnecessary stuff. You are more than welcome to buy nursery décor, cute outfits, toys, etc. But you don’t want to overcrowd the home with stuff the parents will have no room for. If you know they already have a crib, don’t overload them with another one.

Remember that the idea here is to “sprinkle” the baby and mom-to-be with gifts.

So, summertime is here and judging by this heat, looks like it's not going anywhere for another couple of months! What says "it's Summer" better than an old-fashioned bar-b-que? If you know someone who's having a baby soon, that's a perfect theme for her baby shower. Check out these useful tips to help make your bar-b-que baby shower a success:

1. Serve great cookout food.
Make sure your menu include the classic bar-b-que items. Serve hot dogs, burgers, grilled chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, and garden salad. For dessert, serve cold stuff to give your guests some relief from the heat. And don't forget some punch and lemonade.

2. Display cool centerpieces.
You want to make sure your guest feel like they're at a cookout as well as a baby shower. So make sure you incorporate baby stuff into your decorations. For your centerpieces, take plush dolls or teddy bears and dress them up with an apron and chef hat.

3. Bar-b-Que themed party favors.
If men will be attending the shower, give them baby bottles filled with bar-b-que sauce or dry spices. For the women, give them scented insect repellant candles or baby bottles filled with chocolate candies.

4. Choose a nice open space.
Obviously, you'll want to have a bar-b-que outside, and your backyard would be the perfect location. If that's not an option, look into having the party at a community park or at the beach.

5. Have a solid back-up plan in case it rains!
Hopefully the weather will cooporate for the party. But just in case the forecast calls for a chance of rain, make sure you can quickly change the party's location. If you're having the shower in your backyard, you can easily move it indoors. If you're going to a park, lots of public parks have indoor recreation centers. But make sure you find out if you are allowed to use the facility first.

And there you have it - everything you need to know for planning an awesome bar-b-que baby shower.

Happy Planning!

For any gift giving occasion, many would argue that giving cash as a gift is a little too impersonal. To some, giving cash implies that you didn’t take time to actually look for a gift, or you didn’t put any thought into it. It’s basically a quick fix.

Despite what most people think, more and more people are resorting to this gift giving technique. I think it has a lot to do with our current economic situation. People are realizing that times aren’t as easy as they used to be. We’re straying away from the “cutsey” unnecessary gifts like personalized Lenox, and opting instead for diapers, baby formula, etc.

People always want to give the best present for a new baby, and I always tell people to go for what a baby needs, not what the mom wants for her baby, or what you think would be "so cute" for the baby. For example, A cute Easter outfit is a great gift, but a pack of diapers and wipes would be much more useful.

I actually think giving cash is a great gift idea. Imagine if you had 20 guests at your baby shower and each of them gave you $20 (average price of a gift). That’s $400 for your new baby! You can do a lot more with $400 as opposed to a porcelain photo frame or a "designer" car seat.

Of course, you can always give gift cards too, which are pretty much as good as cash. The only catch is that the card will have to be used at a specific store. If you are considering a gift card, go with a Visa card. They are accepted everywhere.

*If you were expecting a baby, what types of gifts would you rather get at your baby shower – clothes, toys and collectibles, or a stack of cash? Do you think it’s tacky to give cash as a baby shower gift?

How hard can it be - Tea, milk and two sugars! Frustrating isn’t it, when colleagues fail to remember, even though you’ve had the same drink every day for the last 15 years? From now, it will take a true idiot to get it wrong, as this funky office cup comes with sliding discs for you to select the hot drink, milk or no milk and number of sugars of your choice for them!

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The hourglass clock is a brilliant design and contraption for the person who is a bit bored of the typical time telling techniques. With it’s glorious hourglass figure, with hours on the bottom and minutes on the top, it is a unique gift for the unique person!

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These men’s brown flip flops will show off your fashionable and optimistic side at the same time. Yes, it may be a little cold, but if you’re lucky enough to be in the one warm pocket of the UK…or abroad, this could be perfect! Stylish brown flip flops!

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