I'm nowhere near having a shower, but I thought I'd throw this out there --
Not to insult anyone, but I frankly find most baby showers to be torture. You sit around and play silly games; watch gifts be opened; blahhh. It's just not enjoyable to me, which is why I think most end within 2 hours with people running for the door. I told my sis and best friend that I'd love to make mine a bit more enjoyable -- but I am stumped as to how. The one idea i had was to make it a brunch, where we have some really yummy food and mimosas (for those that can drink), perhaps even tables set up for a sit down meal if there's room (doubtful),.. I mean, we can still open gifts, because I think people expect it, but at least there will be some enjoyable ladies' time.
Any other ideas?
Re: creative shower ideas
I went to one that was at a hibachi place! Something I've done in bridal showers was have a timer, and whenever it goes off, whoever's gift is being opened gets a prize. That kept people engaged.
Sorry not much help. I hate baby showers so much that I asked my Mom/girlfriends specificallly not to throw one. Went for a girls lunch out in the city (kind of a PG bachelorette) with my closest friends and that's it.
Sometimes to speed up the gift portion of a shower, I've seen some request that all gifts be wrapped in cellophane/clear wrapping-so that the presents don't have to be physically unwrapped while everyone waits. The trouble with this is that people (including me) balk at instructions on how they should wrap their gifts.
They asked what I wanted.. and it will be hosted at my home (with all of us doing the cooking) so it really wouldn't make for a big expense. Food would be provided regardless, I just mean have it focus more on the meal -- or act of eating -- and less on the games, etc.
Completely agree with this.
Fun!! Something like that is great.
I once threw a shower where we painted onsies and bibs. It was a fun way to get people interacting without the cheesy games.
i went to a really cool shower last year , they had rope hanging across the windows like a clothes line throughout the whole place ( of course no curtains on the windows) and on them were little plain white and pink onsies, socks, pants, and it wasnt just decoration because they had a painting station set up with fabric paints, so people could pick what they wanted to paint and then hang it back up to dry. it was so cute and i thaught a great idea.
they also had tea cups as favors wrapped up nicely and then had different stations to fill up your cup, like hot chocolate, and coffee and a variety of teas. it wasnt the typical shower, most all showers i have been to have been all the same but this was a nice change.
they had round tables set up for everybody to sit and eat, in the begining it was more mingling they had wine cheese and fruit, then they braught the food out so every body served themselves, it was winter so they had a few soups to choose from and finger foods, sandwichs. i loved it.
However, this is because my mother and MIL chip in for the bill - I wouldn't expect a friend to pay for a restaurant sit down meal plus alcohol. However, I've seen people buy catered food in trays (not nearly as expensive) and hire a few waiters to serve it, which is also really nice.
If you want to avoid games, you could hire entertainment, like a psychic/tarot card reader. Honestly, I hate the game stuff myself, and it was limited to bridal bingo (which would work for a baby shower) and a game with necklaces at my bridal shower, so I can empathise.
For my Bridal shower, I asked my MOH to request that the gifts not be wrapped. She put a note in the invitation that we were going "earth friendly". I'm not sure how some people felt about it, but I personally can't stand that portion of the shower with all the oooh's and ahhhh's. Most of my friends were in agreement (or at least supportive). I felt it gave me more time to spend with my guests too. I just don't know how I can get around it again this time.
I think something like a PG bachelorette would be great. Or a informal lunch. Looking forward to some creative ideas and feedback when the time comes.
Wow! that sounds amazing.