It's party time for the mother-to-be, and one thing is clear: limbo dancing is out! If you are planning activities for a baby shower, it is important to know your audience. Flag football on the front lawn probably will not work, but musical chairs are a possibility.

Consider three areas of activities for baby showers: games, crafts, and food. If you make the expectant mother's comfort a priority, your baby shower activities will be perfectly matched to the event and the guest of honor.

Baby Shower Games

Baby shower games are supposed to be fun, and are designed to help the shower guests get to know one another. Games tend to focus on baby themes, and never require the expectant mother to leap from the comfort of her chair.

Typically, two to four games are played after all the guests have arrived and the host has gathered them in a common area. The host is in charge of the games, and should have a good idea of how long each game is likely to take to complete. Small prizes should be awarded to the winners of each game.

Possible games to include at your party include:

• Baby Shower Name Game
• Baby Food Shower Game
• Baby Shower Candy Bar Game

Baby Shower Crafts

Craft activities are another way to include your shower guests in welcoming the new baby into the world; plus, they let you shower the mother-to-be with loving gifts made right in front of her. An idea for a craft project that is easily done by any number of guests is scrapbook page making. A new mother's time is rarely her own, yet she still hopes to somehow get a special scrapbook put together for her baby's first year. The gift of a scrapbook that only requires a few photos and personal notes to make it complete is the perfect group craft project for a baby shower.

Give each guest access to all the supplies needed to construct a scrapbook page including various clipart images, specialty papers, craft scissors, embellishments, and glue, and encourage them to use their imaginations. Have craft books available, and if possible, have one person who regularly makes scrapbook pages help the guests to organize their designs and make suggestions.

Provide each guest a title for their page and ask them to design their scrapbook page with that topic in mind. Be sure to mention the importance of leaving areas to add photos and personal notes.

Some scrapbook page titles to include:

• Baby's First Smile
• Baby's First Tooth
• Baby's First Bath
• Leaving the Hospital
• Finally Home
• Baby's Room
• Baby's First Month
• Baby's Second Month, etc.
• Baby's Grandparents

Compile all of the pages into a scrapbook for the guest of honor before she leaves the party. Make sure each guest signs the back and writes a personal note to the baby.

Baby Shower Refreshments

As activities go, eating good food can't be beat. A baby shower is a wonderful place to serve the expectant mother's favorite foods in a unique way.

For example, if she enjoys cheese and wine tasting, but cannot have alcoholic beverages due to her pregnancy, consider a fondue party. By serving fresh fruits, homemade breads, melted chocolate, gourmet cheeses melted in a fondue pot, and various kinds of sparkling grape juice, you can have special cheese and wine tasting sans alcohol!

Baby showers are intimate gatherings of family and friends, designed to surround the mother-to-be with warmth and support for the wonderful life change to come. Making the activities for the baby shower relaxing, creative, and fun through games, crafts, and food will ensure a warm "Welcome to the World" for the new mother and her baby.

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