Your friend is having another baby.  You want to show her you care, so what’s next?  The tradition is to have a baby shower for the first baby. For baby number 2, 3,4…. you want to throw a “Baby Sprinkle”.  Sprinkles are usually less formal than an actual baby shower.   Additionally, the mom-to-be already has most of the things she needs, so a Sprinkle is just an intimate gathering of close friends and family to celebrate the pending new arrival.

Here are some tips for throwing an amazing Sprinkle:

(1)  Find a location with a private room or a large secluded area to accommodate your group at a restaurant or bar.  Although some people choose to have a Sprinkle at their home, most people prefer the event to be at a restaurant or bar.  This also serves as a Mom’s Night/Day Out.  Having the shower on a weekday is a good idea because most restaurants are empty and will go out of their way to accommodate a large group of ladies.

(2)  Inform the restaurant that you are having a “baby sprinkle”.  Many restaurants will throw in some extra flowers or a gift for the mom-to-be, just to make the event a little extra special.

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(3)  A buffet or a set menu is a good idea.  Although, one or two close friends will host the sprinkle, it is common practice that everyone will split the bill.

(4)  Inform your guests about the approximate cost per person. Have guests order drinks on a separate bill so that the food charge will be on a set budget.  Plan on splitting the bill at the end and paying for the mom-to-be.

Flowers & Cupcakes at my Baby Sprinkle

(5)  Pick out two main colors for your Sprinkle.  If you know the sex of the baby this will be easy, if not pick some generic colors. This will enable you to coordinate favors, ribbons, cake, decorations, ect.

Flowers and giveaways

(6)  Now that you have chosen the time, place and colors for the Sprinkle, it’s time to send out the invitations.  For a Sprinkle, people send out an email invitation rather than the traditional card in the mail.  There are many websites for sending out invitations.  My favorite is www.evite.com .  If you want to be more creative, you can design an invitation using baby clipart and then sending out an email with the custom invitation as an attachment.

Lara's Baby Sprinkle Invite

(7)  Have the mom-to-be make a list of items she needs for the new baby.  Guests usually contact the party hostess regarding gift ideas.  This way you will be prepared.

(8)  Make party favors with a customized tag to hand out to guests as a thank you.  These can be small bags of candy, a candle, bath salts – just about anything as long as is wrapped in a cute fashion.  Make sure to ask the restaurant for an extra table for gifts and party favors.

              

(9)  Have a baby Sprinkle cake or cupcakes with a baby related theme (baby bottle, pacifier, stroller, etc.).  This makes the event extra special for the mom-to-be.

  Cupcakes

(10)  Have a few decorations like a banner and a table centerpiece.  Baby shower confetti really brightens up a table.  My friends and I recycle our banners and decorations.  We have a collection of “baby shower” items that we re-use for every event.

  

(11)  If you want to be really creative, try to make/buy a diaper cake or another decorative baby item (like a huge teddy bear), to give the Sprinkle that extra festive atmosphere.

Baby Shower Cake

(12)  Organize some simple games that are easy to do while sitting down at a table. There are a bunch of free baby shower games online that you can print out. Make sure you buy some prizes to hand out to the winners.

(13)  Open presents at the shower.  This allows the mom-to-be to take pictures with each of her guests and to be in the spot-light.

Now you are ready to have a Super-Baby Sprinkle.  Happy Planning!

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