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 Parenting 101 - Mother Diane Warner’s Complete Book of Baby Showers By Diane Warner Potluck Picnic Baby Shower 
If the couple comes from large families and there will be quite a crowd at your party, why not make it a good old-fashioned potluck picnic? That way you’ll have plenty of room for everyone and there will be very little expense involved. You can reserve a designated area in a local park, rent a private park, or hold it at a family member’s backyard if anyone in the family happens to live on a sizable piece of land. Tie balloon bouquets to the ends of the picnic tables and place the gifts in large decorated laundry baskets. Set the tables with the usual red and white checkered tablecloths, bring several ice chests full of drinks, and let the fun begin. You might want to play one or two old-fashioned Sunday school or Fourth of July picnic games, which are fun for everyone, especially great-aunts and –uncles, grandparents, and any other older folks who remember them with fondness. For example, you could include a few of these favorites:
Note: See the “Family Shower” invitation in Chapter 7 and the “family tree” pattern in the Appendix. Family Heirloom Shower
This is a party for the female family members, and the theme of the party is to pass down family heirlooms or antiques in honor of the new baby. The type of heirlooms that are often passed down from generation to generation are:
You can use the “Family Tree” pattern for your invitations and place cards and a small tree as your centerpiece (see Chp. 8). For entertainment, here is one time your guests won’t be bored with home movies of family videos. Round up all the baby photos, home movies, and videotapes you can find of family members when they were young, especially those of the expectant parents. It will be fun to hear an aunt’s or grandmother’s story about some of the humorous things they remember about the mommy- or daddy-to-be as they were growing up. As for the food, you can serve an informal luncheon buffet or an elegant tea party (see Chp 12). Tip: In addition to viewing home movies, family members may enjoy predicting the baby’s physical characteristics, such as Grandma’s dimples or Uncle Fred’s freckles, etc. Supply 3x5 cards and ask each family member to predict at least one of the baby’s characteristics. See Chapter 4 for more themes suitable for family showers. Excerpted from Diane Warner’s Complete Book of Baby Showers, © 1998 by Diane Warner. Published by Career Press, Inc., Franklin Lakes, NJ. All rights reserved.
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