Farm Animal or Barnyard Baby Shower

On the right, you can see some pastel-colored invitations that are printed with all the custom shower details. Many online shops sell baby shower invitations such as these that range in price from $1 to $3 each.

Another more affordable option is to buy the fill-in style invitations where you simply write in all the shower details such as the date, location, time, and RSVP details. Fill-in invites are normally sold in packs of 8 or 16 and usually cost about $.50 - $.75 each.

Since I'm crafty, I often make my own invitations and the farm animal theme is perfectly suited to a barn-shaped invite which is pretty easy to make yourself. Simply buy some red cardstock and cut out a barn shape. Be sure to create the pattern so that you have two folded doors that the guests can open to reveal the shower details inside the invitation. Using white card stock with a glue stick or a white paint-pen, create the white barn edging and x's on the door. If the barn seems to complicated, you can always buy cow-printed scrapbook paper or cardstock and just create rectangular 5" x 7" cards.

Write all the shower details inside the card along with a clever saying like:
Down on the farm, that's where we'll be...to celebrate baby with the Mom-To-Be! Pigs, cows, and chickens, too... The only thing we need is you.
*Come on over y'all and join us for a hoopin' and hollerin' good time to celebrate (mommy-to-be name)'s baby shower.
*RSVP to (your phone number) with a yay or a neigh!

Then add some cow, pig, chicken, sheep, goat, duck, or other animal stickers to the card or in the barn loft. Here you can see an example of a hand-made barn-shaped invitation.

Photo Credit: Austin Party Animals

Decorating for an animal or barnyard themed baby shower can be fun whether you throw this party indoors or out. If you happen to be outdoors, buy some straw or hay bales from a local farmer or garden center to place around the shower area. I don't recommend hay bales or straw inside your house unless you don't mind picking the remnants out of your carpet for weeks to come. If you are going to be using hay bales, consider cutting out some animal shapes or buying pre-made animal shapes and put them around the hay bales. Be sure to also create a sign that says Welcome to (mommy-to-be name)'s Farm!

You can add some red/white picnic style tablecloths along with red, white and yellow streamers. If you have some stuffed animals like ducks, sheep, cows or pigs, distribute them around the area. Cow-print or animal-shaped baby shower balloons such as pigs and cows are a great way to incorporate the theme into the decorations as well.

Finally, many companies sell farm animal themed tableware such as the pastel colored set that is shown to the right. This color scheme works well for baby showers. However it is up to you to decide whether you want to go for a pastel look or a more traditional red and white color scheme. In either case, you can find plenty of tableware options to choose from.

Be sure to have a straw hat and maybe even a pair of overalls ready for Mom to wear when she arrives!!

For main dishes, consider Pigs in a Blanket or Chicken Fingers. You can also use animal shaped cookie cutters to create animal-shaped finger sandwiches, cheese slices and even jello jigglers (just make some jello on a jellyroll pan and use the cutters to cut-out animal shapes).

Don't forget to set out bowls of animal crackers and an animal or barn-themed baby shower cake is a must! See all the great ideas below for tractor, cow, pig, duck, and even barn-shaped cakes. The possibilites are endless!

Be sure to use some plastic animals on the food table. As you can see on the photo to the right, using a fisher price barnyard with tractors and animals can really dress up the table. Also, a farm themed diaper cake can be a terrific centerpiece choice!

Photo Credit: Flickr ajwhitney

Old MacDonald Game - Create this fun game on your computer. On the left hand side of the paper, spell out Old MacDonald vertically. Then during the shower, have guests and the mommy-to-be write in a baby name that begins with each letter. For example, O could be Opal or Orrin. After say 5 minutes, have the mommy call out her answers for each letter. Whichever guest has the most names in common (that are the same) as the mommy-to-be wins a prize.

Barnyard Animal Wordsearch - This game can easily be made on your computer by using the names of all kinds of barnyard animals such as duck, cow, pig, chicken, sheep, horse, donkey, turkey, cat, dog, goat and more. You can find a free animal wordsearch here. The creator of this game even put the search inside a barn. Fun!

Baby Animal Name Game - You can make your own version of this game on your computer or you can print out a FREE animal name game. The idea in this game is to make a list of farm animals and have your guests write in what the child of each given animal is called. For example, a cat is a kitten and a cow is a calf. Another twist on this game is a Baby Animal Crossword where the answers actually are put in the form of a crossword puzzle. You can download a free version of this game here.

Farm Animal Hunt - a twist on a traditional Easter Egg hunt. Prior to the baby shower, hide a bunch of those small plastic farm animals (you may have some or you can buy them at a party store) throughout the house or outdoor shower area. When guests arrive at the shower, tell them that they should be on the lookout for the farm animals roaming the party (have a few examples in your hand). The guest that finds the most plastic farm animals by the end of the party wins a prize.

Spoon & Egg Race - this game is laugh-out-loud funny and a great choice for couples showers when the barnyard party is held outdoors. Have all the guests line up at the starting line. Give each one of them a spoon and an egg. They place the egg on the spoon and hold it in one hand. When you yell start, they race to the finish line and the first one to cross without dropping their egg wins. Remember no HANDS are allowed to touch the egg after you yell start or go. This game is messy, but hilarious!

You can find many more printable themed baby shower games at Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets.

For a farm themed baby shower, you can either make your own fun favors or buy gifts for your guests like the ones shown above. Many local party supply stores sell cow-shaped candle favors, animal shaped soaps, and animal shaped candies. You can also find chocolate candy bar wrappers in just about any theme so you just buy the personalized wrappers online and the chocolate locally. Do a little gluing and assembly and voila!, you have great farm themed baby shower favors!

You can also find clear cellophane gift bags that have a black and white cow pattern or little gift bags that feature a barnyard animal shower motif. You can fill these little take-home goodie bags with just about anything including candies, candles, bath products, soaps, notebooks or anything else you think the ladies at your shower would like.

Either of the gifts shown above could do double duty as both the shower centerpiece and the hostess' baby shower gift! The Old MacDonald Welcome Wagon incorporates many farm animals along with some Baby Einstein learning products for baby. Diaper cakes are one of the best choices because what new mom couldn't use diapers! It doesn't matter if this is her first or fourth child, all parents need diapers.

Photo Credit: Baby Shower Gifts

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