Baby Shower Centerpieces

Who doesn't love the look of fresh flowers? If you want to give your shower a touch of elegance but don't want to spend a fortune, go to a crafts store and purchase some inexpensive glass (or plastic) bud vases of varying heights. For each table, you will want anywhere from three to five vases. You can simply choose to leave the bud vases as is, or decorate each one with a loopy bow of raffia or ribbon. In the center of the table, put a few bud vases (making sure they are all different heights for an elegant effect). Put a single flower in each vase (try to pick the mom-to-be's favorite flower) and a few sprigs of baby's breath (see how this all ties in to the baby theme?) for an elegant look. If you'd like, you can give these vases away as favors for the guests or as prizes for some of the shower games.

At a friend's baby shower a few years back, her mother made a fantastic centerpiece for the main gift table. She covered a new baby tub she purchased with a lace fabric (pink for the baby girl-to-be) and filled it with bath toys, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and wash cloths. The best part was that she purchased wash cloths of various colors and rolled them up tightly and cinched them with a bow. She painted a few dowel rods (about two and a half feet long) green and inserted them into the wash cloths and then stuck them in the center of the tub. This created the illusion of a flower bouquet. The best part of the centerpiece is that the mother-to-be could use everything in the tub (including the new tub itself) for the arrival of her new baby.

Another cute idea I once saw was a cake centerpiece made entirely of diapers. I know it sounds strange but it actually works. Buy a bag of diapers (newborn diapers are great so the mother-to-be can keep them and use them for her baby) and roll a few up into burrito shapes. You will probably need two people to do this. On a round plate or doily, set one diaper burrito in the center standing upright and then place diaper burritos around it until you have formed one large circle of diaper burritos (the size of a cake). Wrap the entire cake of diapers with a three-inch wide ribbon (you can buy a ribbon in the theme of the shower or simply a colorful ribbon of your choice) around the diameter. This will help keep the diaper cake together. Top the "cake" with a large bow for a great effect.

Guests tend to get hungry during showers (especially with all the fun shower games), so help appease their appetites with a snack centerpiece. At a crafts store, buy some small wicker baby carriages. You can keep them in their natural color or spray paint them pink for a girl shower or blue for a boy shower. Line the inside of the carriage with colorful tissue paper (especially if you have spray painted them). Fill the carriages with bite-sized candy (like M&Ms) or peanuts. You can also fill the baby carriages with homemade cookies or brownies when serving dessert.