Halloween-Themed Baby Shower

"My costume roars, what does yours do?"

I can’t believe it’s been six months since my brother and his wife announced their pregnancy. Since they are expecting their little “treat” to arrive on Halloween, I couldn’t resist but do a Halloween-themed baby shower. Everything had pumpkins!

• invitations
• games (a monster match game, pumpkin trivia, pass the pumpkin)
• prizes (pumpkin-shaped chocolates, pumpkin-scented soaps)
• giveaways (pumpkin candles)
• The Diaper Cake
• dessert (a delicious homemade pumpkin cake)

And the best part of all… the kids dressed in costume to welcome the arrival of their new cousin! Of course, my son was wearing one of le•top’s 2009 Halloween costumes. He was dressed as “Troy” the Triceratops, which he loved to wear because it kept him warm all day (now that fall has arrived in California!) and had a hidden button that everyone pushed to make his costume “ROAR!” I thought it was going to scare him when he first heard the sound, but he didn’t seem to even notice. I guess Mommy always sounds like an angry dinosaur. 🙂

Check back daily to see more Halloween ideas from le•top’s 2009 collection.

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Creative Baby Shower Gifts: The Diaper Cake

My cousin, Joslyn, is getting ready to have Baby #2 (a girl, Haven Bella) soon and this weekend, we are holding her baby shower! Since I work at a baby and kids clothing company, it’s no secret that most of my baby shower gifts are going to be our gorgeous baby clothes from le•top and rabbitmoon, but sometimes I like to mix it up a little. “Surprise” is a big thing for me, and because my gifts are generally predictable, I like to throw a zinger in there.

• For Jess’ baby shower gift, I put together a HUGE basket of clothes, along with some great products I have come across since being in the industry (Nookie pacifiers, Baby Legs, Pedipeds, etc).
• For Erin T’s, I did the basket and a Starbucks Frappuccino 4-pack filled with clothes instead of drinks. (Erin T. LOVES Starbucks!)
• For Joslyn (since she already had a similar gift with the first baby), I decided my “surprise” would be a diaper cake.

I have come across a lot of these online, but was never sure exactly how they did it. So the other night, I YouTube’d it, and sure enough there was a cheesy – though resourceful – How-To video. I bought the diapers, the ribbon, the jewels, the rubber bands, and the pins (my variation from double-stick tape), and went to work. I had to roll the diapers slightly differently than the video explained because the cute “character scene” on the front was turning my white cake into a blue one. All in all it took about 45 minutes to roll 92 diapers (size 1 & 2) and assemble them in the cake layers; about 30 minutes to put the ribbons and the jewels on; and 5 seconds to lay the shoes on the top as the cake topper.

Remember, this was my first time doing this, and I have learned some lessons:

1. Use ALL white diapers, if possible.
2. There is an advantage to using the double-stick tape (my ribbons are falling down because I only tautly pinned them — and in one place for that matter)
3. I need to figure out a way to secure the shoes on top (double-stick tape?)
4. Use a circular cake stand to start out the bottom layer. My bottom layer is too big for the cake stand.

Have you done a DIY shower gift? Please share your ideas and/or pictures!

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