Daily Party Dish

Easy Baby Shower Centerpiece Ideas

 

The centerpieces for my cousin’s recent baby shower were cute and a snap to make!  If you’re not really a DIY-er, but you’re looking for some sweet Baby Shower Ideas with a personal touch, than using children’s books, stuffed animals, and balloons as centerpieces is an easy way to go. 

Check out some pictures of a few of the centerpieces below, along with a list of centerpieces ideas that pairs even more classic children’s books and toys.  Of course, we have a bunch of Baby Shower Invitations and Party Favors for you to look through to help jump start your brainstorming, too!

To start, we paired some of our favorite children's picture and board books with matching toys, like 999 Tadpoles by Ken Kimura and some plastic bath frogs.  A balloon bouquet with white and blue balloons (It's a boy!) added some height to the centerpieces, and a 12x12 piece of craft paper underneath each centerpiece tied it all together.  (Notice, the craft paper says, "It's a boy!")

What's great about these centerpieces is not only how easy they were to set up, but also how reusable they are.  Little goes to waste!  The books are sent home with mom and dad to start off baby's library, and the new baby will need a huge pile of toys and stuffed animals, of course. Even the craft paper can be used in baby's first scrapbook!

Here are ten more ideas for book and toy centerpieces:

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin with a Teddy Bear
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter with a Stuffed Rabbit
• 10 Little Ducks by Eric Carle with Rubber Bath Duckies
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats with a Red Baby Hat and Mittens
• Angelina Ballerina by Katherine Holabird with a Pair of Children's Ballet Slippers
• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems with a Fisher Price Yellow Bus
• ABC by Dr. Seuss with Wooden Alphabet Blocks
• Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin with Pairs of Baby Shoes
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg with a Toy Train
• Curious George by H.A. and Margaret Ray with a Barrel of Monkeys game

Of course, make sure to have a special centerpiece for the head table.  Mom and dad along with the grandparents sat a table with an enormous diaper cake, which served double duty as a gift and centerpiece!

Enjoy planning your baby shower, and don't forget to keep it simple and fun!

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Ombre Rice Krispie Treats for a Milestone Birthday Party

Ombre is in!  So I decided to make some blue ombre rice krispie treats for my cousin’s tenth milestone birthday party. This dessert was a favorite with the kids and also was one of several fun milestone birthday party ideas we had for a blue theme party table.

I lined up the rice krispies on a white platter – lookin’ sharp! And I refilled the tray as the party went on.  Follow my easy tutorial on how to make these fun birthday desserts, and take a look at our other kids birthday party ideas for more inspiration!

Materials

• Large cookie tray
• Wax paper
• Spatula
• Cooking spray
• Rolling pin
• 3 batches of Rice Krispie Treats (click to see the classic recipe)
• Food coloring or food gel (any color, I used blue!)

Directions

1. Make three separate batches of Rice Krispie Treats according to the directions on the Rice Krispie website.
2. As you are mixing in the marshmallows for each batch, add in food coloring/food gel.  Make the first batch the darkest, and then add half as much food coloring to the next batch.  Do not add any food coloring to the final batch. 
3. To layer the Rice Krispie Treats, first line a large cookie tray with wax paper. 
4. Then, spread the darkest layer of Rice Krispies on the tray with a spatula that has been coated with cooking spray.  Use a rolling pin (also coated with cooking spray) to squish the layer down. 
5. Set the layer off to the side to harden. Repeat this process the remaining two layers.
6. Combine all three layers by flipping the second layer onto the first layer and rolling them together.  Then, flip the third layer onto the first/second layer and roll once more.
7. Cut the rice krispies into squares with a knife sprayed with cooking spray and serve to hungry guests!

Have fun planning your milestone birthday party, and check out more posts on this blue theme party table here:

• Milestone Birthday Themes
• Milestone Theme Invitations and Party Favors
• Blue Milestone Birthday Party Ideas
• Ombre Link Chain Party Table Backdrop

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Milestone Birthday Party: Ombre Link Chain Party Table Backdrop

Milestone Birthday Party: Ombre Link Chain Party Table Backdrop

For my cousin's milestone birthday party, we made a blue ombre party table backdrop to match a blue theme.  Instead of using just a plastic cloth or banner as a backdrop, the link chains added some fun texture and color.  Plus, it's something a little different! 

Do you need Milestone Birthday Party Ideas for your color theme birthday?  You can't go wrong by decorating with this fun DIY backdrop in any color.  Another great place to start is with our Milestone Theme Invitations and Party Favors - there are all sorts of color options to choose from, including blue!

While everyone knows how to make link chains, below are a few helpful tips to help you save time and avoid any problems:

• I started off by buying heavy card stock in white and various shades of blue to create the ombre effect.  Heavy cardstock looks better and is more durable then construction paper but is a little more expensive.  I say, it's definitely worth the extra cost!
• Use a paper cutter to cut 6" x 1 1/2" strips. I got 8-10 strips out of each 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock.
• While you might think glue is the best way to go, a stapler was actually the easiest and fastest way to make the link chains. 
• To hang the backdrop, we attached two Command hooks to the wall and strung the chains on a dowel rod (from lightest to darkest).  Then, all we had to do was set the dowel rod on the hooks.
• Keep in mind, your backdrop will look better if you pack the link chains tightly.  You'll need 25-30 chains to make a backdrop for a 6-ft table (or about 5-6 chains per foot).

Want to see more ideas from this blue theme birthday party?  Check out these posts:

• Blue Theme Milestone Birthday Party Ideas
• Blue Ombre Rice Krispie Treats
• Milestone Theme Invitations and Party Favors

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Blue Theme Milestone Birthday Party Ideas

Every year, my sister and I throw a birthday party for our cousin Lily.  We celebrated the big 10 this year, so I had to make sure to come up with some pretty great Milestone Birthday Party Ideas for the birthday girl to choose from. We tossed around a bunch of great Kids Birthday Party Ideas: Ocean Theme Party, Bubbles Galore, and even Knights of the Round Table. But in the end, Lily picked the theme, and she chose blue.  Just blue. 

At first, I was a little stumped with this party theme!  How could I take it beyond just blue paper goods and crepe paper? It didn’t seem like I’d be able to come up with any ideas that would top last year’s party.

Our Milestone Theme Party Invitations and Favors helped to jump start our planning process (lots of color options, including blue!), and then we got down to planning the all-blue decorations and menu.  In the end, the party table we put together was a huge hit with the birthday girl!  Who said a color theme party wouldn’t work?  Not me! :)

Of course, the WOW factor of our table was the ombre link chain backdrop!  See my instructions on how to make your own party table backdrop here.

All of the delicious desserts needed to be blue, too!  Blue Jello cups were easy to make and perfect for our young guests.  A blue ice cream cake made an eye-popping centerpiece, and rice krispie treats along with Oreo favors were party favorites.

These ombre rice krispie treats were not only tasty but they also fit the theme perfectly and looked absolutely beautiful! See how to make them here. I served most of the menu on white or clear platters and serving trays.  It helped give the table a bright look while breaking up some of the blue.

It was easy to pick up blue bottled drinks that the kids would love.  Just rip off the labels and add a fun paper straw that you can find at any party store.  Pile extra straws in a themed cup or bucket! (See my blue one in the background?)

Don't forget party essentials to match your theme, too.  Blue cups, napkins, and plates are a must!  And a few extras make a party fun and memorable.  We bought a blue inflatable crown for the party girl, and scattered homemade card stock confetti to finish off the decorations.

Make sure to handout party favors as guests head home!  My aunt made these chocolate covered Oreos (with blue sprinkles!), and we piled them in a bowl on the party table. They looked great!

Even the birthday girl wore blue to go with the party theme!  Happy Birthday to Lily from the Party Girl, and good luck planning your milestone birthday.  Check out these links for more ideas:

• Blue Ombre Link Chain Party Backdrop
• Blue Ombre Rice Krispie Treats
• Milestone Theme Party Invitations and Favors

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