So I mentioned a little while ago that I had the opportunity to help throw a baby shower for my sister Kelsey! I promised pictures and details and you will get those today, along with a few tips for how to keep things affordable. My mom is amazing at throwing parties/gatherings/get togethers. She knows just how to keep things fun and special and people wanting to come back for more (even if it was just my friends hanging out on a Friday night way back in high school). I loved that about growing up in her house and I want to learn to emulate her in that way. The trouble is, as I’ve grown up and started hosting showers and parties of my own I’ve realized how easy it can be to dump money into those things. Extravagant parties just don’t fit into my current budget (anyone else with me?) so here are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned on how to throw an awesome baby shower on a tiny budget!
1. Team up. Having multiple hosts is an obvious way to share the financial burden. Hosting with friends (in this case, I hosted with my sister Paige at my Mama’s house) also splits up the workload and it is more fun! I can’t stand for an exciting event to turn into a chore, and keeping the workload manageable and the planning fun are key to a successful shower.
^^^Here is a picture with me and my gorgeous sisters and mama. Is Kels the prettiest mama to be, or what?
2. Accept help. Often, people who aren’t even hosting are generous enough to offer to help in some way (ie: “can I bring anything?” or “who is watching your kids during the shower?”) Take them up on it. If you are worried about having enough food ask them to bring a dozen treats. Keep it manageable for them, but every little bit helps.
Speaking of food, I know you’re dying to know about our menu details, right??
3. Plan ahead. If the shower is in March, buy your gift in January, the favors in February and the food stuff in March. Splitting things into increments will help you fit things into your budget without feeling like you’re breaking the bank. Plus, thinking ahead allows you to shop the sales and find good deals. Also, prepare the food you can ahead. My mom had the brownies and cookies made the day before, so all we had to do the morning of was throw the salads together and whip up the fruit dip, so nice!
^^^How beautiful is my mother, no? And I love her to-do list in the corner of the photo, because I am obviously her daughter.
4. Use what you have. My mom had an adorable white coffee filter wreath so we hung that on the front door and just made a sign that matched the colors we chose to hang over it. It looked adorable but cost nothing. Also, my mom bought baby boy a couple of outfits as her gift and instead of wrapping them we hung them on clothesline so they doubled as decorations! For table settings we used any white or clear glass dishes (because who won’t have at least a few of those right?) If you need a fun shower gift idea that can also double as a fabulous centerpiece check out this Classy Diaper Cake video tutorial! Everyone always LOVES these, and you get two uses out of it!
^^^Free front door decor.. so everyone knew they had come to the right place!
^^^Clothesline gift/decor!
5. Make what you can. I love paper crafting. Paper is so cheap and so versatile. As part of my contribution to the shower I cut out about a million triangle pendants using my evolution tool from We R Memory Keepers. I made the pendants into several banners and hung them on the windows, railings and above the clothes line. You can buy scrap book paper in any color for a couple bucks and have enough to make tons of banners! (Remember if you need paper or other crafting supplies you can use the code PRETTY to receive 20% off your order, anytime from We R Memory Keepers and the LifeStyle Craft products!) We also made a couple tissue paper pom poms for the center of the table, and my mom had a friend throw a vinyl together that said, “Oh Joy it’s a Boy” for the inside of a blank frame she had.
^^^So you can see the fun color scheme we chose, up close and personal!
^^^Up close on a few of the banners once they were hung.
^^^Vinyl sign and balloon bouquet!
6. Let’s talk favors. Depending on how many people are invited favors can be tricky. For our shower, I bought a bunch of mini hand sanitizers (like these) using an amazon credit I had and it was super cheap! Typically though, I usually give fun food favors that I can make like caramel apples or peanut butter balls.
^^^Sorry for the blurry iphone pic.. blah! But you get the idea ;).
Some notes to end: The balloons were bought at Walmart (.50 each for adorable helium filled balloons, you won’t find cheaper! At my store they fill them over in produce). The table cloths were from the dollar store (sometimes you have to get two and layer them, depending on your table color). I typically always use white paper plates and napkins for serving food, unless I’ve found a killer deal on patterned stuff, the other colors and decorations add enough life that no one will even notice and white ones are so much cheaper!
Hope these tips will help some of you when celebrating the mamas to be in your life!
xoxo,
If you liked this post you may also like how to celebrate birthdays on a budget or how to be a great host on a budget!
Original article and pictures take prettyprovidence.com site
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