Butterfly Themed Baby Shower

The butterfly themed baby shower supplies and invitations shown in the photograph to the right are sold in packs of 8 or 16 and cost about $0.60 each which is really quite affordable. That said, you do have to hand-write all of the shower details inside each card prior to sending them out to your shower guests.

If you are running short on time and have a larger budget, an elegant alternative is to buy fully customized invitations that feature a butterfly theme. Online retailers such as Tiny Prints that sell pre printed invitations in a wide range of themes and color schemes will print and mail them to you. All you have to do is send them out to your recipients.

The final option is to create your own beautiful baby shower invites with a butterfly theme. I found several cute examples of DIY invites online. Get the full instructions on how to make the handmade butterfly themed baby shower invitations shown below. They were submitted by a contributor at Plan The Perfect Baby Shower. The woman did the design in photo shop....aren't they gorgeous?

I also love the following card that I found at Creative Memories. In their project idea center, they have the instructions on how to create this lovely invite and many others.

Decorating for a butterfly themed baby shower can be quite fun and you'll want to make your guests feel as though they've just walked into a garden that is filled with beautiful butterflies. Many online retailers sell silk or nylon butterflies that you can string and hang from the ceiling throughout the party area. You can use those same butterflies to scatter all around the party on tables, chairs, trees/plants, and on the streamers that you've hung for the party. You can also use cardboard or silk fabric butterfly cut-outs as decorations too.

To make tissue paper butterflies, follow these instructions at Family.go.com.



Use butterfly stencils or stamps to paint butterflies all over the various decorations for the party. I love the idea of using those fun outdoor round paper lanterns strung around the party. Just stencil butterflies on the outside of them prior to hanging them up. The stencils work great on table covers as well.

Use butterfly themed party ware such as the plates, napkins and beverage cups like those shown in the photo to the right. These items are available as a full party set or you can buy just a few of the individual items and then use other supplies in a matching solid color like lime green, yellow or pink to save a few bucks. You can even find butterfly shaped baby shower balloons.

Don't forget to have a butterfly themed diaper cake or a butterfly net filled with baby supplies on the gift table to act as the shower centerpiece.

The great thing about a butterfly themed shower is that you can create all kinds of interesting butterfly shaped foods and snacks for the party. Here are just a few clever ideas, but you can find many more by searching for butterfly snacks or butterfly food ideas on search engines like google.

Pepperidge farm sells Golden Butter crackers that have a butterfly shape. You can use mini butterfly shaped cookie cutters to cut cheese slices and even meats like ham and salami to put on the crackers. You can also use the same cookie cutters to create finger sandwiches and jello that are shaped like butterflies.

You can use long pretzel rods and apple wedges to create cute butterfly snacks. Just use some peanut butter or cream cheese to attach the two apple slices to the center pretzel rod to create the butterfly shape. Add some licorice antenna held in place with peanut butter too.



Butterfly biscuits can be made by taking round refrigerated biscuit dough and cutting each round in half. Flip the halves and press together in the middle to look like butterfly wings. Bake them and serve with your favorite jam or preserves.

Any sort of bow-tie pasta salad or main course is a great idea since bowtie pasta looks like butterfly wings.

You can also use vegetables like peppers, celery, olives, and cream cheese to create fun looking butterfly snacks as shown in this photo from Imagine.com.



For the beverage, consider a sunny lemonade recipe or any sort of yellow punch. A summery beverage is a must for a garden party.

Flickr Tua and Jule

Here are several ideas for some baby shower games that tie in perfectly with the butterfly theme....

Butterfly Hunt - a twist on a classic Easter egg hunt. Prior to the shower, you should hide some special butterflies around the party area (a special color or butterfly containers that have little treats in them). When guests arrive at the party, show them one of the butterflies that they are looking for. At the end of the party, the guest who has found the most of the special butterflies wins a prize. A variation is to hide maybe 5 special butterflies that have a number on them. When the guest finds a numbered butterfly, they win the prize that corresponds to that number. For instance, the number 1 butterfly might win a small plant, number 2 could win a butterfly shaped soap, etc.

Pin the Antennae on the Butterfly - played just like a classic pin the tail on the donkey game. Prior to the party make a large butterfly on a posterboard. Hang it at arm level. Give each guest some antennae made of black pipe cleaners, blindfold them, and have them try to place their pipe cleaners where the antennae should go. The guest closest to the correct location wins a prize.

How Big is Mom's Cocoon - this game is usually called how big is mommy's tummy. Buy several rolls of super cheap single-ply toilet paper at the Dollar store or Walmart. Pass the roll of toilet paper around to each guest asking them to tear off the amount that will be the same length as the diameter of mommy's cocoon. After all the guests have torn off their paper, have Mommy stand up and then have each guest try to put their toilet paper around the largest part of her mid-section. The guest that is closest to the right size will be the winner.

Butterfly Drop - similar to a clothespin drop, but you use plastic butterfly hair clips instead of clothespins. You will need a clean juice bottle, peanut butter jar or other clean container that has a fairly small opening. Give each guest 5 butterfly clips that either have their name on or are different colors (each guest has their own color). Have each guest kneel on a kitchen chair where the jar has been set on the floor. They must drop each clip into the jar from a given height (say the top of the chair). The guest that gets the most butterflies in the container wins the game.

Give your shower guests a treat that they will never forget. You can purchase live butterflies from Swallowtail Farms that will be delivered to you via FedEx overnight air just prior to your shower date. Each butterfly arrives in its own little individual envelope so that you can give one to each shower guest. You purchase them by the dozen and they cost about $7 each so they are a bit extravagant, but let me say again that it is something that the mom-to-be and guests will remember forever.

When you hand out the butterflies to guests, be sure to give them a copy of the Native American Legend which reads:
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If anyone desires a wish to come true, they must first capture a butterfly and whisper that wish to it.

Since a butterfly can't make a sound, the butterfly can't reveal the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit who knows and sees all.

In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly its freedom, the great spirit always grants the wish.

So, according to the legend, by making a wish and giving the butterfly its freedom, the wish will be taken to the heavens and granted.
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Then ask the guests to make a wish and release their butterflies on the count of 3. It is a truly amazing site as the butterflies linger and flutter away to freedom.

As you can see in the photograph above, there are a wide array of butterfly themed favors on the market today. Butterfly candle favors featuring wire and pink or clear butterfly designs, place card and photo frames with butterflies, and butterfly-topped bottle stoppers are just a few of the items shown in the photograph. I especially like the sage green and pink favor gift boxes that can be filled with whatever you choose and then tied with the matching pink or sage green ribbon. They are stunning!

If you prefer personalized baby shower favors that have a butterfly theme, consider personalized mint tins or personalized lemonade favors which are a great choice for garden parties. In both cases, the favors can be printed with the Mom-to-be's name and the shower details.

For a creative and fun DIY favor, buy some mini terra cotta pots and stencil or stamp a butterfly design on the outside of each pot, then fill it with either a votive candle or some of your favorite candies in tulle. Add some beautiful ribbon and a lovely butterfly hang tag.

Another easy DIY favor is to make some butterfly shaped cookies using refrigerated sugar cookie dough. Decorate them with piped icing and let them dry. Place them inside clear or butterfly covered cellophane bags and tie them with a ribbon and favor hang tag for a lovely presentation. Don't have time to make your own cookie party favors? You can buy them at Gourmet Cookie Bouquets.

Baby gift baskets and diaper cakes are an excellent choice for butterfly themed baby showers. Both of these items can do double duty serving as a centerpiece at the shower and as your gift to the expectant Mom. As you can see from the photograph, you can buy items such as hooded towels, onesies, baby blankets and more embroidered with a butterfly applique. In addition, you can find essentials such as rattles, teethers and baby bottles with a butterfly motif.

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