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Baby Sprinkle (Shower)
No matter how many children you have, there is an excitement that is always present. You dream about what he or she will look like, you wonder how your other children will adapt, and you worry about all the little things baby brings. It is an event that is filled with many trials and tribulations and is as deserving of the same celebrations as a first time pregnancy. Baby showers however have historically only been given to first time moms, and other pregnancies were often left at the wayside. Over the last several decades, more and more women, their friends, and their families are increasingly celebrating the arrival of second, third and later children by throwing a baby shower. It has become perfectly acceptable, but for those who hesitate to throw a full shower for a second time mom, why not have a sprinkle instead? A sprinkle is a baby shower only in a smaller sense of the word. It is more about coming together to celebrate with the new or expectant mom and to alleviate her worries over integrating a baby into an already full house. There is a sprinkling of gifts, a sprinkling of advice and the laughter falls like a warm sprinkling of summer rain. You can use a number of themes for a sprinkle including a Pampering for Mom theme which is wonderful for a second time mom who already has everything that she needs. Other great ideas for a Baby Sprinkle is to make it a Baby as Special Guest party where everyone gets the chance to ooh and ahh, or another idea is to make it a Big Sibling shower so an older sister or brother gets to feel special too.
A Sprinkle can be decorated in many of the same ways that a regular shower can be. Pull out one of our many themes and easily adapt it for your party needs. Generally, a Sprinkle is considered lighter than a shower so I would keep the decorations low key even when following a theme. If you are doing a generic sprinkle without a theme, I would suggest using decorations that bring to mind a warm summer rain. Soft colors of green, blue and purples presented in the balloons, streamers, napkins and table cloths. Create a centerpiece featuring a basket of small flowers and a closed parasol to reflect the thought that everyone loves to walk through a light sprinkling of rain so they keep their parasols and umbrellas closed. After you have a few decorations in place, it will be the perfect atmosphere to sprinkle the mother-to-be in gifts and advice. See Also: main decorations sectionInvitations Although Sprinkles can be fairly large, we recommend that you keep the guest list to close personal friends, and family. The motto “Less is more,” holds strong and can be defined in the invitations. A closed parasol embossed onto an invitation can be a wonderful way to get the simplicity of the Baby Sprinkle across to guests that you are inviting. The invitation doesn’t have to be overdone and it can follow any theme that you are having. One point to make is to identify the shower as a sprinkle instead and provide a brief note defining what a sprinkle is since many people are still unfamiliar with the term. You can have the invitation written with the following verse if you choose, “A baby shower for the first, but a sprinkling for the second [or subsequent]. Please join us on [date] to sprinkle [mother’s name] and baby with a few presents [or special items like disposables that are needed new for each child or new gender] and a whole lot of love - a sprinkling, not as large as a shower but just as much fun!” If mom has a specific kind of item she needs, the invitation is an appropriate place to mention it. See Also: main invitations section
Since this is a shower for a second - or more - time mom, gifts do not need to be the big ticket items like cribs and car seats. Some of the larger items may need to be updated but for the most part you will have thousands of little items to choose from. A popular thing to do for a baby sprinkle is to focus on disposable items, like diapers, or new colors and toys for the first of a particular gender. When it comes to gifting the guests, you could do gifts that reflect the number of children the mother-to-be has. Two children could be reflected in bubble bath and bubbles, three children could be a tea cup, teapot and tea cosy, and so on. If you would like something different make a “Sprinkling of Wisdom” book for each quest. Fill it with little stories, bits of advice and age old proverbs. This can range from mothering advice to healthy living advice, from Socrates to Oprah; there really is nothing that you can’t put in the book. As prizes, I would keep them small. Little containers of hand lotion, some bath supplies, little card games, small books, etc. Also: main gift section & main favors sectionFood Like all baby showers, the food at a sprinkle is decided by the time that you host it. One suggestion that I would make when it comes to a baby sprinkle is to have light finger foods; shrimp with sauce, chips, and different types of crackers with multiple spreads like a cheese ball spread or chocolate spread. Little things that people can munch on. See Also: main recipe section
Games are always fun, even at a sprinkle, so don’t forget to have a few. There are many games that you can play but one that I recommend is “Remember When” since a sprinkling is about the advice and support more than it is about the gifts. When you play “Remember When” you will need 2 or 3 judges (this can rotate as the game progresses) and then every other guest takes turn telling a story about their own children or their childhood. You can set categories, funny, sad, dreamy, cute, etc. The person with the best story and storytelling technique wins the round and the prize. This game is great for gleaning a few tidbits of advice from truly wonderful stories about life and motherhood. See Also: main games section
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