Ideas for Baby Table Decorations

If you're planning a baby shower for an expectant mother, you want everything to be perfect. The invitations, the gifts, the games and the food are all crucial, but the first thing that will be noticed by your guests is how you've decorated the party space. The table decorations probably make a bigger impact than any other single decorating item, so get that part just right and the rest will follow. Does this Spark an idea?

Napkin Rings

Due to their shape, traditional pacifiers make cute napkin rings. Just be sure to use the pacifiers with vaguely ring-shaped handles, not the ones with flat outer surfaces. Roll up a paper or cloth napkin and pull it through the pacifier handle. Collect the pacifiers after the shower and give them to the mother-to-be. Plastic car-key toys or teething rings work well for this, too.

Umbrella

Since it is a shower, place a new, pastel-colored umbrella upside-down in the center of the table and fill it with wrapped shower gifts. Sprinkle the gifts, the umbrella and the tabletop with blue or silver metallic confetti to serve as raindrops; use teardrop-shaped confetti if you can find it, but plain round or square confetti works too.

Useful Decorations

Use unfolded white cloth diapers as placemats; buy tiny glass jars of baby food and use glue dots to affix small glass votive candle cups (complete with candles) to the tops. Take the tops off of new baby bottles; add straws and serve drinks in them. Center a baby quilt or receiving blanket on the table and hang a crib mobile from the ceiling as a centerpiece. After the party, clean everything and present it to the new mom.

Elegant China

Since this might be the last child-free party the mother-to-be may attend for a while, glam it up. Use fresh-cut flowers in bright spring hues and serve sparkling punch in crystal glasses. Lots of unscented candles in colors to match the flowers will give an air of refinement to the room, as will your finest lacy tablecloth and a china tea set. Use real crystal and silver if you have it; if you don't, get a brightly patterned, paper tablecloth and clear plastic plates, cups and servingware.

Diaper Cake

For a magnificent baby shower centerpiece, nothing beats the diaper cake. It looks like a frothy, towering wedding cake, but it's really made of rolled-up diapers, blankets, clothes, toys and any other baby-care item your imagination can squeeze into the layers. This is another practical decoration, since the diaper cake doubles as your gift to the guest of honor, but it is the ultimate baby shower table decoration.