Baby Carriage Themed Shower

Several online retailers sell a line of shower party supplies with a 'Shower Fun' motif and you can find fill-in baby shower invitations that coordinate perfectly with all those supplies.

Alternatively, you can purchase fully customized baby shower invitations such as the ones shown to the right that feature both a carriage theme along with all the shower details preprinted. These invites are available at Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets, but you can find custom invites at many online and local retailers. Keep your budget in mind when choosing the type of invite that you plan to use for the baby shower because fully personalized invitations can run anywhere from $1 to $3 each.

Another, often more affordable option, is to make one-of-a-kind invitations yourself. You can create your own adorable carriage themed baby shower invites by following the detailed instructions for the card shown below from Creative Memories. They have tons of cute themes and invitation designs so be sure to check out their website.

Decorating for a stroller themed baby shower can be quite fun. If you have little girls, you'll likely have a few doll strollers around the house. If not, you can borrow a few from friends. Fill them with stuffed animals or use them as a place to display gifts at the party.

I suggest buying at least a few pieces of carriage themed shower tableware such as plates and napkins like those shown in the photo to the right or like the 'Stroller Fun' collection shown below. As you can see, the tableware is gender neutral in terms of color scheme. However, you can theme your entire shower around the tableware. If you choose the items to the right, you can use pink and blue streamers and balloons whereas if you choose the stroller fun partyware shown below, you should go with yellow, green and black streamers and baby shower balloons.

For the centerpiece, consider making a gift presentation in either the stroller that the group bought as a gift for Mom or buy a diaper cake that is shaped like a stroller. The one shown below is available from Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets. Another option is to buy a small baby carriage at a craft store like Michaels, add some floral foam, and make a fresh flower arrangement for the centerpiece.

For the baby shower, pull out your favorite appetizer and bite-sized snack recipes. One fun way to theme the food around a baby carriage is to make sandwiches such as chicken or egg salad and then use a baby carriage shaped cookie cutter to cut-them into small stroller shapes. This same technique can be used to make some fun carriage-shaped jello (make the jello in a large jellyroll pan and then cut-out with the cookie cutter), carriage shaped cheese slices and of course iced cookies. When choosing a punch recipe for the shower, choose something that coordinates with your color scheme. You can find recipes for just about any color including pink, blue, green and yellow punches.

One of the most clever centerpiece and shower buffet ideas that I've seen for a carriage themed baby shower is the watermelon fruit-filled carriage shown in the following photo. You can get VERY detailed instructions on how to create your very own carriage masterpiece by clicking here.

There are a few baby shower games that are especially suitable for a carriage theme, but if you are more of a traditionalist, I've included a couple ideas for common games below:

Baby Stroller Obstacle Course - If you are having an outdoor party where you have a large lawn or area for the race, this game is a fun activity for guests that don't mind running around. Before the shower, you will need to find a stroller and put a baby-sized doll in it. Then you will need to set-up an obstacle course in the yard using things like flags, orange cones, or yard objects such as lawn chairs, toys, pink flamingos, etc.) in a pattern around your yard to serve as the race course boundaries. Use the trees in the yard as course corners to go around.

When you are ready to play the game at the shower, show the guests the obstacle course by taking them around the boundaries so guests can see where to go. Have each guest take a turn pushing the stroller with baby through the obstacle course recording how long it takes them. If baby falls out of the stroller, they are automatically disqualified. If they hit a cone or another object such as a lawn chair, add 2 seconds to their time. The guest with the fastest time wins the game. Be sure to have your camcorder ready to record this funny event! Great for co-ed showers.


Baby Food Guessing Game - Buy 10 to 12 small jars of baby food and remove the labels (be sure to mark a number on the side of the jars with a permanent marker and keep a master list of what food corresponds to what number (so you can determine the winner). Give all of the guests a blank piece of paper and a pencil. Either place the jars on a tray or pass the jars of baby food around the circle and have the guests write down what kind of baby food they think is in each jar. They can't taste or touch the food - they are only allowed to smell and look at it. The guest who gets the most right wins the game.


Don't Say Baby Game - When the guests arrive at the shower, give each of them a yarn necklace that has a tiny plastic baby carriage on it (available at party supply shops). Any time they get 'caught' saying the word baby during the shower, they must give one of their carriages to the person that caught them. At the end of the baby shower, the person with the most mini baby carriages wins a prize.


Guess How Many Game - Fill a jar or large glass container with a baby colorful blue and pink or green and yellow jelly belly jelly beans. When guests arrive at the party, have them estimate how many items are in the container. The one closest to the correct number wins (either the jar of candy or another prize).


ABC Baby Alphabet Game - Make up game sheets on your computer (add some baby carriage or stroller clip art in the corners) or hand out blank pieces of paper where the guests write down the letters A thru Z in a long column down the left hand side of the piece of paper. Then, tell the guests that they have 2 minutes to write down a baby related term or item for each letter of the alphabet. For instance, Carriage for C and Stroller for S. The guest that has the most letters filled in wins the game. You could award extra points for hard letters like Q to make it easier to determine a winner.

As you can see from the above photograph, there are a wide range of favors with a carriage theme on the market today. That means that you can likely find a party favor within your price range ($.75 to $4 each) and taste preferences as well. Just a few of the options are personalized drink mix favors such as lemonade or coffee, pink or blue glitter carriage candle favors, carriage themed photo frames, and high-quality crystal baby carriage favors. For those of you that want a more eco-friendly favor, consider the carriage shaped favor seed packets that guests can use to plant wildflowers in their yards.

If you'd prefer to make your own favors, you can find carriage-shaped favor gift boxes or small round pink or blue boxes that have a stroller motif. Fill them with your favorite candies or small thank you gift to show your guests how much the expectant Mom appreciates them sharing in her special day.

Photo Credit: Baby Shower Party Favors

If you are hosting a stroller themed shower for a Mom on the go, she'll likely have a stroller or baby carriage on her gift list. These items are often quite expensive so try to coordinate with several of the other guests to buy the carriage and get it assembled prior to the shower. It can double as both a gift from some of the guests as well as a great place for other guests to place their gifts when they arrive at the shower. Just leave the stroller unwrapped and have guests either place their gifts in or around the stroller for an adorable present display.

As shown in the above photo, you can find cookie gift baskets with a carriage themed tote bag, stroller-shaped gift baskets filled with all kinds of baby necessities such as bath products and baby blankets, personalized room signs with carriages, and even diapers rolled to look like a baby carriage (add some socks for wheels and a teddy bear baby). You can find any of these gifts online at stores such as Baby Gift Baskets & Gifts.

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