Baby shower crafts and activities

Writing the newborn messages

When Nicole Atkinson attended a baby shower for her sister-in-law, she and other guests were given envelopes with the numbers 1 through 18 marked on them. Blank note cards were inside the envelopes. Each guest selected an envelope and wrote a special message to the newborn. The cards were sealed, and would be opened on the birthday that matched the number on the front of the envelope.

Creating a keepsake for the mommy-to-be

Another activity Atkinson remembers from her sister-in-law's shower was creating a special necklace for the mom-to-be. According to her, "Each woman chose a bead from a bowl — really different, beautiful glass beads. When everyone had one, each person shared why they chose the bead and then gave a blessing or wish for the mom or baby. The beads were strung and it was given as a gift to the mom-to-be."

Designing onesies

Give guests an opportunity to get creative and design a unique onesie for the newborn. Purchase plain onesies in a variety of colors and sizes for guests to decorate. Also, provide an assortment of fabric markers, stick-on fabric and iron-on letters, numbers and transfer sheets. You may also want to give guests a pencil and scrap paper to sketch or jot down their ideas. Then, consider stringing a clothesline nearby and having guests hang and display the onesie once they’ve completed it.

Having a raffle

At Jessica Torchia's baby shower, her mother organized a raffle. "There were three prizes: a $100 dollar gift card, a $50 gift card and a $25 gift card. Everyone enjoyed the raffle because it was something different. Also, I'm not a big game person so this was the perfect idea for my shower," she explains.

To conduct the raffle, you can give each guest a ticket or draw their name from a bowl to determine the winners. Another idea is to tape paper plates or envelopes beneath chairs. Guests who are sitting in the chairs with the plate or envelope win prizes. Also, to encourage guests to bring diapers for the newborn, you could have the shower invitation announce that for every package of diapers guests bring to the shower, they’ll receive one entry in the raffle.