It's Party Time!
Sending out invitations is exciting because it means you have a reason to celebrate and it also means your friends and family will soon learn about the fun occasion they have to look forward to. What better reason is there to make sure that your invitation reflects your tastes and sentiments, as well as convey to it's recipients that it's a party they will surely not want to miss.

Choosing a Theme and Invitations
The best way to give yourself a good blueprint for your event is to choose a theme that can be carried out throughout the entire occasion. A good place to start would be if you know what your mommy to be likes or is planning to use for her nursery theme. If she is a giraffe fanatic, your job is pretty easy! If all you know is that it's a girl or boy, choose a design collection that best reflects your mommy's tastes. Remember, this shower is all about her. Try not to choose an elephant for someone who loves monkeys.

Using your theme as a blueprint makes narrowing down the wide selection of baby shower invitations you will need to choose from. When purchasing your invitations, be sure to have all of the following information ready:

* Date * Time * Location * Hostess Names and RSVP Info * Baby Registry Info (if applicable)

Plan on sending out your invitations as much as 4 weeks before your date. This will give your guests plenty of time to make the date available for you, especially if your event date falls at a popular time of year for parties (summer, etc).

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
The decision to have your shower in a home or restaurant needs to take a few things into consideration. I have thrown both kinds and have found them to have their own advantages and disadvantages. Here is a quick comparison:

Home Showers
A home shower is warm and comfortable and can make a shower a lot less formal and subject to time constraints. Home showers are only as good as the space that it offers, so when deciding to host a shower in your home, make sure that you can adequately accomodate the guest list and the mountain of gifts that typically pile up. Consider the costs of holding it in your home versus a restaurant. If it is a budget issue, you would be surprised to find that while it may seem like the inexpensive alternative, buying all of the food, whether prepared or ingredients to make it yourself, adds up very quickly. Add to that the amount of clean-up and preparation, and you will find that it is more work than if you held it outside. I have thrown a few showers at home thinking that I was going to save money, and I didn't learn my lesson until the third one, that it is never cheaper, only more work. It's just something to consider when making your decision.

Restaurant Showers
Restaurant showers are great because it's always nice to have someone else doing the work for you! Restaurants are usually very adept at helping pace a shower along and can make things run smooth and organized. The key is to find a restaurant that fits your budget. Most restaurants charge a per person fee, so have a solid number of attendees in mind when making your decision. Although you can almost guarantee you will not have 100% attendance, you always need to prepare for last minute invitees and forecasting more than less will help you arrive at a cost that will not be unreasonable for you. If you are throwing the shower with a group of people, the costs will certainly be better. But make sure you have an established budget for each party giver. Nothing starts arguments quicker than

TO SURPRISE OR NOT TO SURPRISE...THAT IS THE QUESTION
It used to be that showers were automatically thought to be surprise, even if the invtitation did not include the wording. These days, it is only a surprise if it is stated so on the invite. Mommy to be's are more involved in the shower planning and preparation. If you want the shower to be a surprise, and you really think you can pull it off, then make sure your invitation says SURPRISE on it. The mommy to be will be expecting a shower at some point between the her 7th and 8th month so you will not ruin anything by asking her for an invitee list or her registry information at press time.

TO COUPLE OR NOT TO COUPLE...THAT IS THE NEXT QUESTION
A common theme these days is a couples baby shower for both the mommy and daddy to be. It is all a personal choice and you may want to ask the mommy to be which she would prefer. Some men don't want to be involved and that is just fine too. Check with your parents to be and see which they would prefer. Most of the time, couples showers include all of their friends, male and female, which can add to your bottom line as well. Your budget may only allow for a shower just for mommy. The advantage of a couples shower is you can make it a little more festive. A BBQ or roast can make for a fun afternoon with the whole family and can really help kick the celebration up a notch.

SO WE GOT THE WHO/WHAT and WHERE? WHAT ABOUT THE WHEN?
Generally showers are thrown anywhere in between the 7th to the beginning of the 9th month of pregnancy. So you have a six week window to choose from. If possible, early in the eighth month is great because the mommy is still feeling okay and she is not yet in the "get this baby out of here" phase, which can make having to be the object of all the attention hard to bear. As for the times, early showers are good because mommy is probably feeling at her best around lunch time. A shower from anywhere from 11:00 to 5:00 is a good time frame. Most shower brunches are from 11:00 to 3:00. Luncheon showers are 1:00 to 5:00. You want to allow at least 3-4 hours for your shower. You need time to eat and be merry, and then you need to allow at least 1-2 hours for gift opening. Gift opening is the marathon event of the shower and you need to plan for it.

THE BIG DAY
Decorations
The easiest way to decorate any event is to use your invitation themes and colors and carry
them through your table settings, your balloons and your centerpieces.

Tablesettings
Whether you're hosting your shower at a restaurant or at a private home, dress up your
tables with our matching paper placemats at each table setting. A contrasting tablecloth
will make a striking tabletop. Use coordinating colored plates, cups and napkins to complete your look.

Centerpieces
Going too overboard with centerpieces can push your budget further over the edge you are looking to
stay on. Beautiful bunches of price friendly flowers in mix and match colors (carnations, daisies or tulips are
always great bargains) in small colored cups of water are an easy way to add the right touch to your
overall decor. Fun themed stuffed animals make great centerpieces. After the shower is over, the mom
to be has some extra gifts to bring home for the baby.

Cakes and Treats
Photo Cakes are a great way to carry out your theme of your shower, right down to the last
sweet bite! We offer our exclusive design image downloads to our customers who have
purchased their invitations and accessories from PeekabooPumpkin.com. Our images are hi-res
print quality images that are required for most cake decoraters. Photo cakes can be found at
the bakery of most big name super market chains (Ralphs, Stop & Shop, Stew Leonards, Publix;
your local Ice Cream stores (Carvel, Baskin Robbins, Longfords, just to name a few);
and even your locally owned small bakeries.

Cupcakes are always a fun and great treat and our personalized favor tags are a fun way to make your dessert table really come to life and give it the personal touch.
HOW TO: Using our 2 x 2 inch tags, affix a toothpick with a small piece of tape to
the back and place into the top of a cupcake or muffin. For a beautiful presentation, stack your cupcakes on layered cake stands to give them an even more dramatic effect.

Games and Activities
I love the idea of the guests helping create something for the mommy to be either before or during the
shower. Have everyone bring a special swatch of fabric to the shower with them so that they can be used
to make a special blanket for the baby. Another fun activity to do during a shower is tour designer bib
decorating kit. Each guest can use the enclosed fabric paints and brushes to create their own masterpiece
for the baby to be.

Our company offers insert cards that customers can include with their invitations with lines that allow them to write in baby advice for the mommy to be. Some of the more fun ones are read aloud at the shower. They are then saved as a keepsake for the mom.

Lastly, a nice touch is to have the guests write a special note to the baby for their first birthday. It’s a great way to bring the shower full circle to celebrate the baby’s first year.

Favors
Favors are always a great way to say thank you to your guests. I always like something that
the guests can either enjoy at the shower (like hershey miniatures wrapped in our personalized
llabels.) or a take away treat like cookies, brownies or something else that will hit the sweet
spot after the shower is over. Use our elegant organza bags and personalized tags to hold
your choice of treat.

Gifts
A baby shower is such a memorable event for any mommy to be, and including a gift that reflects the day is a great momento for her to cherish. We offer a great collection of coordinating photo frames, nursery decor, paper accessories, as well as gift certificates for your mommy to be. Our exclusive designs are now available on bibs, blankets and t-shirts.