Instead of playing games at the upcoming baby shower why not get the gals together and have a scrapbook party? The rest of the baby shower will be the same: baby-theme decorations, a cute cake and other foods, lots of gifts for the new mom. However, instead of the same ol’ ho-hum games and gifts to the winners the guests can get creative and pool together to make scrapbook pages for the new mom. Then, she won’t have to invest a lot of time and effort – which she likely won’t have with the new baby – to put together the scrapbook that shows off her new baby’s photos.
There are various ways to put together a simple scrapbook baby shower. Either the person throwing the party can provide some ordinary scrapbook supplies or each person can bring their own. The invitations can announce that each guest should bring their own paper, stickers, frames and other supplies or it can state that each person bring one thing: a pack of paper, a pack of stickers, a set of baby-theme stencils, etc. Or, the guests can be asked to donate a couple of bucks each to cover the cost of the supplies. The person putting on the shower can cover the cost of the supplies initially then the hat can be passed to collect some money to reimburse her or a set amount can be asked of each guest.
It’s necessary to know the size of pages that are needed. So, it’s a good idea to purchase a scrapbook for the mom so she’ll have everything she needs. It won’t do any good to give her a stack of nice, completed scrapbook pages if she has no book in which to display them. Since scrapbooks come in a variety of sizes it’s important to know what size of pages you’ll need. After that decision is made the scrapbook party can get underway.
There are lots of things you might have around your house that can be added to the purchased scrapbook supplies. A small list of these things include markers, pens, ribbon, lace, fabric swatches, scissors, colored tape, Scotch tape, foil, gift wrap, wallpaper leftovers, letters and numbers cut from product boxes, buttons, sequin, thin cardboard, and even baby-theme pictures cut from magazines. Lay these things out with the purchased scrapbook supplies and everyone can get started creating fun and interesting scrapbook pages for the new mom.
Each person will create one or two pages in their own manner. They can use the supplies at the table to create the page they want. It can be helpful to have a list at the table which offers suggestions on pages that will go well with the baby theme. Some suggestions include “The Day I Was Born,” “The Day I Came Home From The Hospital,” “My Family,” “My First Vacation” and “My First Road Trip.” It’s best if each person crosses their chosen title off the list so that the mom doesn’t end up with a multitude of “My First Vacation” pages.
Add everything you want to the page you’re doing. For example, glue on the borders around the chosen page, attach the stickers, glue on fake jewels or sequin, use markers to write on the page, and glue on a picture frame cutout. However, glue only three sides of the picture frame so that the new mom can simply slide the picture into the frame. The mom-to-be can also offer suggestions as to what types of themes she would like for the pages.
The new scrapbook, along with the pages made by the guests, can be given to the mom after the shower. They can be given separate from the scrapbook, and the mom can arrange the pages in the manner she prefers, or the pages can be assembled in the book and presented to the mom. It’s a fabulous gift that she’ll cherish forever. Knowing her friends and family made the book for her just makes it all that much more appreciated. She might get new diapers, bottles, blankets and toys for her baby but the unique scrapbook will be her very favorite gift – for sure!
