Guest blog: PartyPail

Whether you’re planning your baby shower on a strict budget, or simply want to check two things off your list at once, decorating with favors that guests will take home is always a good idea. You save money and clean up time, because after the party, your guests have already done their part in taking down decorations by taking them home as favors!

PartyPail encourages customers to send in photos of their parties to see how they turned out. Christina did a great job of incorporating her favors right into the party décor. Be inspired!

Tips from PartyPail:

Choose complementary colors, and keep your décor from going overboard with any individual color by throwing in some neutrals. Here you can see how Christina used Kate Aspen’s “Cute as a Button” soap favors in a polka dot box in complementary colors to the Tickled Pink theme, but kept everything from looking overly “matchy” with some neutral colored Kate Aspen “Bun in the Oven” candle favors.

If you’re adding in a bolder color, pick one accent color and stick to it. Christina’s baby shower theme uses pinks, purples, and a few neutral colors.  Then, in the center of each table, she added a pop of color with bright pink daisy-topped favor boxes which also draw the eye to the center of the table and up to the balloons, making the decorations feel more three-dimensional.

The right favor presentation can be just as impactful as a traditional centerpiece. By using three different favors, she offers color, texture, variety and symmetry.  But the best part? Her guests get to choose which favor they want to take home with them!

The days of simply setting a table by the door with stacks of boxed favors are gone! From using candle favors to add subtle lighting around the room to picture frame favors used as place card holders, get creative with favors and experiment with how they can enhance your décor.

Summer has so many sweet treats!  But, by far, everyone’s favourite has got to be ice cream.  Always yummy no matter what flavor you choose, it’s the coolest way to relax in the summer—bar none.  From the very first taste, ice cream just has a way of making us happy.

So, why not bring that happiness to another joyous occasion—the birth of your new baby—with an ice cream shower?  Sunny and sweet, it’s perfect for a summertime shower theme.  Super cute babies and super sweet ice cream—they just go together!  Why else do you think you crave it in the middle of the night?!  Satisfy your craving for this dreamy creamy treat with these ice cream baby shower ideas!

Invitations
Set the theme from the very start with a fun ice cream invitation.  Whether you choose a classy parlour theme with old-fashioned, pink stripes and an awning or a modern look with trendy ice cream cones in abstract, your guests are sure to get the message that they’re in a for a treat.

Activities
Counting games are always fun, so why not have them guess the number of jelly bean toppings in a jar?  You can even adapt a familiar favourite and have guests pin the ice cream on the cone!  Create DIY stations where guests can have fun making homemade ice cream, creating their signature milkshake and even enjoying a full sundae bar complete with a seemingly endless supply of toppings and flavors.

Decorations
Incorporating the ice cream theme into your décor is fairly simple.  Use tall sundae bowls as a vase for a simply sweet floral arrangement, and make ice cream cone name tags for everyone to wear.  Clusters of pastel balloons will almost look like scoops of ice cream when scattered throughout the room.

Favours & Gifts
Make sure that all the prizes for your games tie in with the theme, giving guests a chance to win a set of sundae bowls, an ice cream maker or gift certificates for a nearby scoop shop.  You get the idea.  Send the guests home with a little something to remember the day, like this delightful ice cream scoop baby shower favour.  It will continue to serve up the smiles and memories each time they use it.

By the end of the day, they’ll all be screaming for ice cream.  But, if you really want to heighten the experience, have an ice cream company, like Purbeck’s, cater the cream!

Happy Planning!

Honestly, Kate Aspen’s “Cute as a Button” baby shower favor blends in with any colour scheme.  Sew cute!

• Round, pure-white, lightly scented soap in the shape of a button
• Button soap sits in a bed of shredded, natural raffia
• Soap measures12.7mm h x 50.8mm in diameter
• Gift box has a pale-lilac base, a white top accented with polka dots in pastels of pink, blue, green, yellow, gold and lilac, and a white-satin ribbon and bow embellished with a small, white button at the centre
• Gift box measures 63.5mm h x 63.5mm square

• Stack in little pyramids round the food tables
• Present nestled in a basket filled with raffia near the door
• Stack in an attractive sewing basket atop bits and bobs of colourful fabric scraps
• One, centre plate, at each place setting if it is a seated tea or meal

If there will be games at the baby shower, you might consider “New Editions” Little Library Note Pads as prizes for the winners.

Happy planning!

Fabulous, imaginative baby shower favours from KateAspen.co.uk

For an exceptional baby shower idea, we turn to the storybook classic “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle.  You remember it from your own childhood – so why not carry that joy into your baby shower decor?  

Let’s start with a little fluttery hint of the theme on the invitations.  Bright and colourful or sweetly pastel invitations with darling caterpillars or endearing butterflies are readily available on the internet.  Browse through Zazzle.co.uk or a myriad of other fabulous stationer sites to find the perfect one for your celebration.  

If you are particularly handy, make your own invitations! Drop by the local craft supply, pick up some fancy papers and bits and bobs of decoration,  then embellish with sparkle and feathers for that oh-so-unique touch!  Or purchase simple invitations, and add a touch of your own dazzle to make it special.  

On to the decorations!  Fill the ceiling of your party room with pastel or brightly coloured, helium-filled balloons for a colourful canopy effect.  Then purchase fabric butterflies, also available at your local craft supply, and perch them on windowsills, lamp shades, and tables.  See?  A lovely party is already shaping up – and the guests have yet to arrive.  

Martha Stewart steps in (of course) with another crafty idea for your caterpillar-themed baby shower.  Butterfly straws!  Easy to make and cute as a button, she even provides the butterfly template and DIY instructions.  How simple!  

And here’s an easy punch idea – 1 large can of pineapple juice, 1 large container of frozen, concentrated pink lemonade, 1 ltr. ginger ale, 1tblsp. of almond flavoring.  Blend together and chill.  Serve in tall glasses over ice cubes featuring a small mint leaf frozen inside.  

Ooooo!  Now for our most FAVE part of the baby shower – the cakes.  We recommend a combination of caterpillar and butterfly embellished cupcakes – just look at the possibilities!  

And baby shower favours?  Look no further – butterflies and caterpillars galore!  

Happy Planning!