“She’s havin’ a baby!”

Sun.Star Davao, Nov. 12, 2011

Welcoming another baby into the world is a thrilling and magical moment for any proud parent.

Equally happy to commemorate the arrival of another bundle of joy are relatives and friends who are eager to show their love and support to the growing family through a baby shower.

According to Wikipedia, a baby shower is a way to “celebrate the pending or recent birth of a child by presenting gifts to the parents at a party. The term “shower” is often assumed to mean that the expectant mother is “showered” with gifts”.

As part of tradition, baby showers, in the past, were given only for the family’s first child. During the celebration, the seasoned mothers would share their “wisdom and lessons on the art of becoming a mother”. However, over time, it also became acceptable that subsequent or adopted children were also given baby showers.

TO SURPRISE OR NOT TO SURPRISE

A baby shower is usually organized by a close friend or relative of the expectant couple.

The occasion can be a surprise party or a pre-arranged affair.

Personally, I prefer that the occasion be announced in advance to ensure that the parents-to-be and their important guests could make it to the event.

Baby showers used to be dominated by an all-women guest list. But, in recent years, even the expectant father and his male friends are included in the party as well as the older siblings and young cousins and future friends of the coming baby.

The baby shower can be held in a house of a relative or a friend. Or, for bigger groups, staging the baby shower in a function room of a restaurant can be another option.

In a recent baby shower which I co-hosted for a dear member of the family, we held the affair at New Orleans Café located along J.P. Laurel Ave., D.C. (Telephone number 2240481). With its chic and colorful interiors, the café’s second floor was the perfect place for such a special and intimate event. And, the price of the food was very reasonable, too!

Together with friends, in-laws and cousins, we divided the responsibilities of venue decoration, restaurant reservation and food ordering as well as game planning among ourselves and came up with a baby shower worth remembering.

SHOWER OF GIFTS

Whether big or small, gifts for the new baby will surely be appreciated by the parents.

To save the guests time and effort in buying an appropriate gift, the baby shower host can ask the mom-to-be for her nursery wish list.

Popular baby shower gifts include baby clothes, bottles, diaper bags, receiving blankets, shoes, activity gym, baby monitor, bath sets, among others.

During last weekend’s baby shower, my relative’s good friends Irene, Johanna and Aireen creatively included their gift items as part of the décor.

For instance, Irene’s family arranged their gifts into a baby diaper cake which also doubled as a table centerpiece. A baby diaper cake is designed to look like a multi-layered cake made up of essential baby items such as disposable diapers, blankets, bibs, shoes and other infant toys. Beautifully holding them together are dainty ribbons and scrapbook papers festooned with baby-inspired stickers.

The artistic ladies also displayed baby clothes into dainty clotheslines and clothespins with whimsical designs. Colorful balloon arrangements coupled with baby toys were likewise spread all over the party venue.

Another nifty gift idea is to surprise the expectant mom with a baby shower-themed cake or cupcakes. My cousin Susan ordered a fondant cake by Emily Lim-Cimafranca of Cake Monster (cellphone number 09177049660). The delightful cake had a topper with a pregnant mom surrounded by gifts and baby toys. This was accompanied by adorable and scrumptious cupcakes topped with edible baby bottles, bibs, pacifier and shoes.

To add that extra oomph, the gift wrapping color and accessories can be inspired by the gender of the baby.

BABY GAMES

During the baby shower we organized last weekend, the hosts, guests and expectant parents unanimously decided that we would also bring our kids to the affair.

Being the game master, I thought of fun games (with loads of prizes) that will involve the big “ates” and “kuyas” as they welcome the new baby. This is also a great way to let the older siblings feel excited about their new role as the doting brother or sister in the family. I got a lot of ideas from the website, www.babyshower101.com.

We started off with the diaper changing game where two groups tried to best each other in putting on disposable diapers on a baby doll.

Another game was the Nursery Rhyme Mystery played by reciting a popular nursery rhyme and leaving a word out. The fastest group to provide the correct answer and reach five points was declared the winner.

The Baby Things Word Scramble was another challenging game reserved for the older kids who were tasked to decipher scrambled words such as pacifier, stroller, burp pad, bottle, crib, onesies, mittens, powder, etc.

The last game was the Draw the Baby contest. The kiddie guests interpreted through art how they think the new baby would look like. Judging the art contest was the mommy-to-be who gamely announced that everybody was a hands-down winner.

More than the gifts, décor and games, the baby shower was made memorable because of the gathering of close friends and relatives who shared the joy of the proud parents. The outpouring of love was contagious!

Special thanks to Mimi Vergara-Tupas for sharing some of her baby shower photos.

A big thank you and congratulations to my co-hosts Julie, Fenny, Irene, Aireen, Johanna, Maricel, Glenda and Susan for an uber successful baby shower!

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.