A baby shower provides the perfect opportunity to use creativity and imagination centering on the selection, wrapping, and displaying of gifts. Such an important celebration brings out the designer in everyone, as thoughtfully wrapped gifts are artfully displayed on a gift table. Once, gift givers were limited to standard wrapping choices like shower wrapping paper, but today there are many other decorative options like baby gift baskets and sets and diaper cake sets.
The gift table is the centerpiece of every shower because there are two main purposes for holding the event. First, the party gives celebrants a chance to share in the fun with the expecting mother. Second, the baby shower gives people an opportunity to give moms-to-be a number of the many items she needs to care for an infant, thus helping to defray some of the expenses. Since the purpose of the baby shower is to share camaraderie and gifts, it is natural that the gift table and gift presentations take center stage.
A Cake That is Not a Cake
It is easy to spot a shower gift table because it has a centerpiece surrounded by a pile of colorful gifts. Today, there are two noticeable differences between shower gift tables of old and modern tables. One of the first differences is that the centerpiece is likely to be a gift itself because tiered diaper cakes are very popular. Instead of a traditional cake with icing, the diaper cake with baby toy decorations often takes the spotlight. It is not unusual to walk into the shower and immediately notice the adorable diaper cake decorated with a plush Winnie the Pooh or plush animals. Some diaper cakes have “decorations” on each tier, like baby lotions and shampoos or a baby fork and spoon set.
Of course, you may have to look twice to even recognize that the cake is a diaper cake. There are stylish diaper cakes that are decorated with satin ribbons and adorned with bunches of fabric ribbons. There is a host of color themes used also, including hot pink, baby blue, and pastoral green.
Also noticeable today is the fact the gifts are likely to be wrapped in a variety of ways. Using traditional shower wrapping paper remains one choice, but the colors are different. For example, the neutral color from years ago was primarily yellow or an ordinary green. Today’s neutral colors are chocolate brown, lime or mint green, and green. However, yellow is still used but usually in a print like polka dots or in decorative silk flowers accented with another color.
A Green Option for Gift Giving
One of the most popular gift “wrapping” choices today is the basket. A basket can be filled with toys and essential baby items. Once the items are removed, the basket itself can be used for storage of small items like baby socks or booties. In this age of environmental awareness, the basket is a “green” option because nothing is wasted. Baby items in baskets include clothes, bibs, towels, blankets, layettes, toys, and hygiene products. The basket can be wrapped as a whole with clear plastic and decorated with a beautiful ribbon. In fact, large baskets can even be used as the centerpiece on the gift table.
The shower gift table today looks very different from tables set up decades ago. The gift baskets and sets, diaper cakes, and interesting colors have turned the shower gift table into a trendy, decorative display. Click here to know more. You can also visit them on Facebook.