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celebrate! with hostess with the mostess
 
 
Almost Famous Baby Shower
by Jennifer Sbranti
Founder, Hostess with the Mostess

a star is born baby shower

Baby-to-be is already a little star or starlet in Mom’s eyes, so get ready to roll out the red carpet for mom and celebrate Baby’s arrival Hollywood-style!


The Vibe:
Glitzy and glamourous with a little bit of adorable mixed in... think red, black, silver, gold, rhinestones, and glitter galore! 

If possible, think outside the box and host this shower in the evening so you can up the glitz and glamour factor with lots of white twinkle lights and candles.

Tabletop:
Start with black tablecloths, accented with metallic table toppers – either linen or paper versions created from metallic gift wrap.

For place settings, use metallic plates, and then top with a rolled black napkin embellished with a rhinestone-studded pacifier “napkin ring.” You can purchase rhinestone pacifiers online or create them yourself. The easiest DIY option is to purchase adhesive rhinestones (common at craft and scrapbooking stores) and decorate plain white pacifiers that have a loop handle, which will act as the “ring."

For the table centerpiece, use a porcelain retro popcorn box as your “vase." Purchase glittery silver and gold wands or cut several different sizes of stars from shimmery red, gold, and silver cardstock (Stardream Metallic paper is a great option). Embellish some of the larger stars with rhinestone letters that spell out baby-to-be’s name or initials. (If you don’t know the baby’s name yet, just spell out words like “baby," “mom," and “star.") Attach the different sizes of paper stars to wooden skewers or sturdy silver wire. Place a piece of Styrofoam or floral foam into the bottom of the popcorn box “vase," and insert the “star skewers” or wands into the foam. Fill the rest of the box with popcorn to cover up the foam. 

Decorate votive holders with rhinestone icon stickers in the shapes of stars, fill with tea lights, and use them to decorate the area around the centerpiece.

Party Décor:
Hang rhinestone-embellished baby onesies around the room. You can purchase these online or create them yourself. Design ideas include: Baby’s name or initial, rhinestone rattles, stars, or words that match the theme such as “Hollywood Baby," “Rising Star," “Almost Famous," “Starlet," or “A-Lister."

Set pairs of Star-Shaped Kiddie Sunglasses throughout the party.

Hang white Christmas mini lights from stair banisters, plants, the outdoor trellis, and anywhere else you can think of, and if possible, line the walkway or entrance to the party with lights on either side to create a “runway” feel. 

Hang shimmery stars from the ceiling and doorways.

Purchase big costume rings and novelty “Movie Star” Sunglasses or Glitter Retro Sunglasses for guests to wear at the party. This makes for great photo opps and gives the party a fun, light-hearted feel!

Put a couple disposable cameras on each of the tables and ask guests to act like paparazzi for the night! 

Set a pint-sized child’s director chair on the gift table and add the child’s name or the word “baby” in metallic chipboard, rhinestone, or fabric patch letters.

Signature Drink Idea:
Bubbly, of course! Offering champagne for party guests is fine – even at a baby shower – but make sure to chill a bottle of sparkling cider for mom-to-be!

Display the champagne bottles in pretty silver or clear ice buckets, and sprinkle some diamond-shaped ice cubes into the buckets along with the rest of the ice. Next to the buckets, set up rows of champagne flutes embellished with rhinestones or a black marabou feather boa around the base of the stems. 

Party Favors:
Fill small retro popcorn boxes with sweet and salty kettle corn or mini popcorn balls wrapped in cellophane for freshness. Tie silver and gold ribbons around the boxes and attach a star-shaped tag and a note that says “Thanks for celebrating the premier of [baby’s name] with us!"

 

About The Author

Jennifer Sbranti is an accomplished designer, entrepreneur, and entertaining guru from San Diego, California - where she resides with her husband of 7 years, Sonny Sbranti, and their 2 beloved yellow labs, Jazz and Max. In 2006, Jennifer founded Hostess with the Mostess, Inc. – an ambitious venture that brings modern and innovative entertaining ideas to light through an all-encompassing party planning website – www.hostesswiththemostess.com – and a daily blog – The Hostess with the Mostess Guide to Fabulous Finds for Contemporary Entertaining. Having hosted countless celebrations herself, ranging from special occasion showers and theme parties to casual, everyday get-togethers, she now shares her hip, unique style and no-fuss approach to entertaining with others.