Frugal Baby Shower

I am helping plan a baby shower for a 16 year old. I need any frugal ideas you may have. There will be approximately 50 guests. We are on a tight budget.

By Colleen Stuchal from Greensburg, PA

Answers:

Frugal Baby Shower

For food stick to cake and drinks, a punch made with ginger ale, strawberry frozen, and lemonade frozen, and 2 cans of the purple Juicy Juice is very yummy. You can use underwear, mens or ladies to create a sign, saw this in NJ at an ice cream store it was really cute. They put letters and hung on a line. You could use dollar store undies or diapers, etc., including a washable marker. Hang a clothesline in the main area as a decoration. Play fun games with baby items.

Have all the "gift prizes" be baby items to give to the mother to be. I just bought some baby items at the dollar store, really nice stuff, here in Philly. Drop clothes pins in a small mouthed jar timed for a game, put items on a tray everyone has to look and remember, get free pencils from banks or real estate offices. Contact your local church see if they or a girl scout group would like to donate items. Go to thrift stores too, lots of used items. Have fun. (08/28/2010)

By shellyfrompa

Frugal Baby Shower

In addition to all the great ideas others have shared, how about this: instead of making or buying a whole sheet cake. Why not make cupcake rattles and arrange them in a circular fashion (even tiered) to create a stunning centerpiece? Making them is easy. You get 24 cupcakes from 1 box of mix, so 2 boxes would be 48 (so for the price of 3 boxes of mix and frosting) you'd have a nice dessert!

To make them, simply bake in paper cups and cool; frost them and then use different designs (squiggles, dots, etc. across the center or top and bottom), add some jimmies or sprinkles, insert a white candy stick into the side of the paper, tie a pretty ribbon there, add a big gumdrop at the bottom of the stick! (You can get pretty creative with these, use small plastic food bags filled with colored frosting to make the squiggles and lines).

For a keepsake for the new mommy: pass out 3x5 cards to everyone and have them write down "Words of Advice" to give her for the new baby and sign their name: she can later put these into a scrapbook as a lasting memory.

If your insistent of having food: first see if others would pitch in to help. Serve small dinner rolls filled with ham, tuna or egg salad; make deviled eggs (2 1/2 dozen), a pasta salad, an ambrosia salad for a fruity touch. Serve punch with sherbet floating.

Balloons and streamers if you need some decorations are cheap enough to get, but cut fresh flowers from a garden are just as pretty.

A nice touch is to have a couple plastic totes handy for new mommy to pack small gifts in to take home and also can be used to store baby items in. But no matter how frugal you have to get, have the shower! She will most definitely be grateful :D. (09/01/2010)

By Diane