Olioboard Inspiration: Welcoming Winter Baby Shower

Entry #3287, February 26, 2014

Today we continue Stagetecture’s feature ‘Olioboard Inspiration‘. Before you were inspired by – ‘Spring Parties – Chinese New Year | Venetian Carnival‘ from Victoria L. Bass. Today, I feature Adele Baumann Healey who is a member of the the Facebook Olioboard Fan Room group and she gives us wonderful ways to have a welcoming winter baby shower! Look to her ideas to celebrate the parents and the new arrival on the way!

To see all the past Stagetecture’s Olioboard Inspiration members on Pinterest click here.

Olioboard Inspiration #67

Olioboard Inspiration: Welcoming Winter Baby Shower –  Adele Baumann Healey

When most of us would just like to stay cuddled up under a warm blanket or throw, how do we make coming out in the cold worth it for our baby shower guests?  Make it a winter wonderland baby shower, or so full of sparkles and shine that people can only uuuhh and aahhh.

Let’s begin at the beginning.  When deciding upon a theme for the baby shower, be sure to decide before invitations are sent out.  With that first invite, guests can anticipate what is to come.  Make your own, buy them at the store or find beautiful handmade versions.  With so many changes this day and age, don’t be afraid to invite either spouses or male friends to the shower.  Many are just as happy about your expected new family member as their female counterparts.

When decorating for the shower, go as elaborate or simple as you like. Just a few imaginative decorating pieces can be as striking as many beautiful decor items.  The board shown gives the example of a winter snowstorm with plenty of sparkly snowflakes.  (But, I’m a sucker for sparkles so used this as an opportunity to go wild!)  For some theme ideas, you can use snowflakes, winter animals such as polar bears, penguins, deer, fox or cardinals.   Snowmen can be fun or even igloos!

Welcoming Winter Baby Shower

When planning what to serve don’t forget the hot chocolate bar!  Have a large coffee urn filled with hot chocolate and place fun options to add to the cups.  If you want to keep things “virgin” use cinnamon, chopped up mints, flavored whipped creams, tons of marshmallows.  If alcohol is an option, rum in hot chocolate is delicious as is Goldschlager  schnapps (cinnamon).  But even if choosing to use spirits, don’t forget those marshmallows and whipped cream!

Gift bags for your guests can be filled with anything from useful items (hand sanitizer, mini-tissues) to personalized lip balms and candies.  Two items I found and really got a kick out of were a “ready to hatch” egg timer, and light pink nail polish when expecting a girl or light blue nail polish when expecting a boy.

It’s entirely up to the person giving the shower as to whether to play games or not.  I am partial to Baby Bingo, but others may have their favorites.  If you choose not to play games, that is fine.  I’m sure you’ll have such a special shower that people won’t miss them.  One thing that would be a keepsake for the mom-to-be is to take the time to have the guests each cut out a snowflake and write a little message to mom and baby on one side.  These can be saved in the baby book for years to come.

And don’t forget the theme when announcing the baby’s arrival.  Using the same theme by beginning with the invitations and ending with the announcements somehow makes the whole experience a little more special.  Now go and have fun and stay warm!

About Adele Baumann Healey

I am a mother of two and a grandmother of 4. Our family was a member of the military for 21 years and lived all over the U.S and in Europe, moving 13 times in 19 years. While residing in Germany, we travelled constantly (my little kids in tow in our old V.W. camper) and I absorbed, through osmosis, the many historical attributes of architecture and design. Even in the U.S. it was a learning experience to see how the many people I met decorated and used their creative skills, each influenced by the environment in which they were living. Simply put, when you move so much and live in so many types of residences it was always a challenge to achieve a homey place for your family to grow and be nurtured. What was my biggest challenge to make into a home? An old TB ward of an empty, Army hospital building! Follow Adele as Redadie on her Olioboard profile and Facebook profiles.