When it comes to having a baby, you need a lot of stuff. There’s no way around it. Period.
But, what happens when you are getting ready to welcome baby #2 and you already have most of the baby “stuff” and your amazing, wonderful, very generous friends and family still want to get you something to welcome your new little bundle of joy? What do you tell them? What do you really need? I found myself in this predicament earlier this summer when we were asked by our friends and family if they could host a sprinkle (not a full blown shower) for our new little lady, who is due in about 6 weeks. I was so honored that our loved ones would want to do that again (we were so blessed the first time around) and I of course said, Yes! I mean, c’mon, I love any excuse to get together, open presents and chat. Showers/sprinkles of any kind are my favorite.
FYI – According to UrbanDictionary.com, this is the most popular definition (below) of a baby sprinkle if you are new to the lingo:
Truth be told, I am a purist at heart and am not a fan of clutter and the thought of having even more baby items in our house than are already there and that aren’t really needed can cause me to break out in hives. So, after saying yes to the idea of a few sprinkles being thrown in honor of us, I started to think of fun themes that would guide people in giving us what we really could use instead of not giving any direction. One of the first thoughts I had was that we have tons of books in our son’s room, but not really any “girl” books, not necessarily “girly” books, but books with the leading character being a girl. So I asked if the sprinkle my aunt hosted could be a Baby Book Brunch to build a sweet, more girl friendly library. We just recently celebrated this and it was sweet and quaint and so nice to get tons of new books that we will definitely put to good use, and more importantly, have a place to display.
Another fun shower/sprinkle idea I came up with was a get together that was geared toward pajamas and bedding. My girlfriends are throwing a PJs and Pancakes Sprinkle for me later this month and I couldn’t be more excited. I have tons of hand me down baby girl clothes thanks to some very generous friends, but I don’t have a ton of pajamas (which by far are my favorite baby item) and I still needed some crib bedding/blankets for the nursery, so I thought a PJ party would be a fun way to celebrate. I was so excited to see the adorable invitations that they came up with and love that you can actually wear your pajamas to the shower…what could be better; especially for a pregnant lady?!? I can’t wait!
Seriously! The ideas are endless! Here are a few other specialized themes for the second (or third) time around. We’d love to hear your ideas, too! Be sure to tell us in the comments below!
“Dipes and Wipes” – Fun for the dads or a co-ed shower. Everybody brings diapers and wipes to help stock the house full of necessities.
“The Giving Tree”– Using the name of one of my favorite childhood books, this shower is a great way for people to give money or gift cards to the stores that parents frequent with a newborn around. I had one of these for a wedding shower and the hostess put a cute tree made out of branches as the centerpiece of the table and the guests added their contributions to the tree when they arrived. By the end, there will be lots of gift cards (baby stores, restaurants, grocery store, massages) and not many gifts to open. Score!
“Burgers, Brats and Baby Talk” – My friend and I are actually hosting one of these super cute sprinkles for our other friends who are also expecting in September. We chose the opening weekend of college football season and are basically having a low-key “Baby-Q BBQ” for couples and kiddos.
Whether it’s highfalutin affair or low key get together, any themed sprinkle event will be a hit, just be sure to talk to the parents-to-be before planning any specialized gift giving to ensure the most productive and useful outcome.
