When my cousin’s wife was pregnant, he really played a huge role in getting ready for baby, including preparing the nursery and helping tremendously with the registry. When it came time to plan the baby shower we really wanted the Daddy-to-be included in the festivities. We decided to host a “Jack and Jill” baby shower with a sports theme to appeal to both women and men.
Right off the bat (no pun intended) we knew the best way to invite the guests to a sports themed shower was with sporting event tickets. To save money we opted to create our own invitations. Every great sports team has a recognizable logo. Since the baby’s nursery was decorated with monkeys, I created a logo for the invitations with a monkey and the baby’s name, “Baby Ryan.” I also created a baseball card for the registry information, complete with stats!
Budget & Time Friendly Tip: One of the best ways to save money on invitations is to DIY. However, sometimes DIY and NAT (No Available Time) add up to not-so-great invitations. If pre-made custom invitations are out of your financial budget and DIY invites are out of your time budget, you could opt for semi-DIY invites by buying a digital custom invitation. Once you receive the finished custom invitation file by email, you simply print it out on your own paper. These are two great options from eBay sellers stephruiz915 and jacknjilldesigns.
What is a sports themed baby shower without a little competition? We kept guests entertained with several fun
games. First, we tested the guests’ team mascot knowledge with “Mascot Match-Up.” Next, we found out who could chug the fastest…out of baby bottles! Guests also participated in a free throw contest. And remember the “Section, Row, Seat” numbers on the invitation tickets? Each guest had different numbers on their tickets, so we drew numbers out of a baseball hat for a winner. The game of the hour, though, was our version of NASCAR and March Madness all rolled into one in what we called, “Nascycle.”
The prizes for the game winners were presented in a similar fashion to the way we did the prizes at the Nursery Rhyme Shower. We bagged each prize and attached a card with a word clue to the bag. One tag read “Seattle” along with the logos for the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners. The prize was a bag of Seattle’s Best Coffee, coffee press, and mugs. A dozen steamed crabs and a cooler had a tag with “Baltimore” and the logos for the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens. Other prizes included: Chicago Cutlery (Chicago), Emeril cookbook, grill pan, and seasonings (New Orleans), Griddle pan and maple syrup (New England), Wine and Cheese Tote (Wisconsin), Netflix Gift Certificate, popcorn, and candy (Los Angeles) and Lowe's Gift Card (NASCAR).
After the food was eaten, the games were played, and all the prizes had been won, we sent the guests home with their sporty favors. Each guest received a lunch bag with an NFL team logo filled with a koozie, a cookie lollipop in the shape of a football or baseball, a box of Cracker Jacks, and peanuts. “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” was tied onto each bag.
Let's begin with the dessert table. I found brightly colored check fabric at WalMart for $1.50 a yard!! I bought orange, pink, purple and green. These made excellent table cloths. I also used some to cover the back of Catie's high chair and draped the extras across the buffet(kitchen island). I made the cupcakes myself. They were super easy. Just a regular box cupcake mix and store bought icing tinted green.. I piped the icing in a swirl using a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. Then, just sprinkled little jimmies on top. To add an extra little something special I bought already tinted fondant at the craft store, rolled it out with a rolling pin, and using flower cookie cutters, cut out the shapes for the tops of the cupcakes. SOOO easy! I did the same thing for Catie's personal sized cake. I found small flower vases and brightly colored fake daisy flowers to put on the tables. 
Behind the dessert table I had Catie's high chair set up with balloons tied to it. I hung the birthday banner behind her chair. This was an easy banner to make. I just printed out the letters and then pasted them to some purple felt. I took pieces of hot pink tulle and tied them all together. 
Above the dessert table and buffet I hung several different sized paper lanterns along with glittery butterflies and dragonflies. All found at the craft store for a few dollars each.
On the other end of the table I set up a little candy bar for guests to snack on, or take along for the ride home. The sign was printed off the computer and put in an extra frame I had around. I filled inexpensive vases from WalMart with different candies bought on sale after valentines Day.(how lucky for me her party was right after the holiday) I stuck cute pinwheels in the candy and used these adorable little lady bugs all over the party. They popped up in all sorts of places. :-) I took white paper bags, and using a regular address label and Microsoft Word again, printed out a little thank you message for the guests. 
On the dinner buffet I had a menu printed out and framed also. I wrapped the silverware up in pretty pink napkins and tied them off with colored ribbon. Using those same checked fabrics, I covered the buffet and set out the food. BBQ for the adults and fun flower shaped PBJ's and chicken nuggets for the few kids that were there. I had two beverage dispensers I borrowed from a friend. One had pink lemonade in it, and the other had an adult cocktail. I made labels for these also and tied them around the tops of the dispensers with more ribbon..
I took about 60 balloons and filled them with helium and just let them float around the ceiling of the dining room. I tied long strings on them and let the kids play with them. 
I found a cheap inflatable kiddie pool on Amazon.com along with jumping balls. I filled the pool with the balls and voila, an easy tot play area. The kids went crazy for it! They played in there for hours!
I gave each child a gift of their own to open while Catie was opening her presents. I made something special for each of them according to their ages. Some got blankets, super hero capes, tutus..Along with little toys and stickers, everyone was happy. This was easy to pull off because we only had about 6 or 7 kids at the party. 
Show the world your art!> 
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