Gift For New Moms: Magic Stroller Bag

I heart these diaper bags...

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It's different, stylish and functional. I also think it's the perfect gift for a baby shower or Christmas gift for a new mom.

These are made by The Magic Stroller Bag. Unfortunately, they are located in Paris and you can't order them on their site. But, there are other stores that sell them. The price ranges from $150 - $400, depending on the site that sells them. So shop around if you are interested!

The Diaper Cake

I have received so many great comments about the picture of the diaper cake that I posted in my Baby Pumpkins & Cupcakes post. I have to say that the making of the diaper cake was my favorite part of the whole baby shower planning process. I love creating things for other people and imagining what their reactions will be when they see them. I know that we are all busy these days, but there is nothing more personal than a homemade gift that you put your heart and your time into making.

I saw a diaper cake at a baby shower a few years ago. The host of the shower purchased the cake on the web. They looked so easy to make, so I immediately went home to do some You Tubing. I found that their are so many different ways to make them and decorate them. You can decorate them with baby items or you can make them look like a wedding cake- which is actually my preference. Here are a few cakes that are made by the Baby Gift Idea.

After watching several "how to" videos on You Tube, I came up with my own method of making them. My cakes are completely held together with rubber bands and decorated using silk flowers, ribbon, and whatever else I can find that represents the theme of the event. I like to use the cake as a centerpiece, so I make them substantial- at least 4 to 5 tiers. I can't divulge all of my secrets, but I can show you some pics! Here are some snapshots of the process of my most recent diaper cake:

So this was my first cake...





And this was my latest cake...



The cakes take about 3-5 hours to make, depending on the size. The reactions from my friends are worth every second! I would love to make them for you or anyone else you know! Just message me!

Orange Tango Punch

I served this punch at a recent baby shower and the feedback was phenomenal! I wanted a punch that was crisp, fresh, and beautiful. Most importantly, I did not want it to include sherbet. It seems like all baby shower punches include sherbet, so I wanted something that tasted just as good, but was different. So I did some research and came up with this recipe:

• 1 6 oz can of frozen concentrated orange juice, thawed
• 1 cup of frozen concentrated lemonade, thawed
• 2 cups of cranberry juice cocktail
• 3/4 cup of super fine sugar
• 3 cups of water
• 2 liters of lemon-lime soda, chilled
• 2 cups of ice or an ice ring
• 2-3 lemons, sliced
• 2-3 naval oranges, sliced

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a punch bowl or a pitcher until the sugar is dissolved. Chill the mixture for 1-2 hours. Right before serving, add the lemon-lime soda, ice, lemons, and oranges. Stir and enjoy!

Baby Pumpkins & Cupcakes

I've just made it home after a fabulous day with Ragi, a great friend that I have known since high school. Today I hosted a baby shower for her to celebrate the upcoming arrival of her baby boy, Niko. I LOVE his name...

How cute is she?? I can only pray that I look that fabulous when I am 8 1/2 pregnant!!

This is the second largest baby shower that I have hosted and I must say that me and event planning have a great relationship. I LOVE IT! The main idea of my baby showers is CLASS! And if I'm lucky, CLASS ON A BUDGET!! Here's how I did this one...

The planning of most baby showers starts with a theme. Halloween was this weekend, so pumpkins were the first thing that came to my mind. I thought it would be strange if people showed up at a shower the day before Halloween that was decorated in blue, white, and yellow. The next step involved determining the number of guests and sending out invitations. It may seem lazy, but to me the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to send out invitations is by e-mail. I found this great website, www.pingg.com, that has REALLY cute, creative, and classy e-cards. I like it tons better than E-vite.com. I was unable to find an e-card with a picture of a baby and a pumpkin together. So my brother, a very talented graphic designer, created this graphic and I created my own e-card.



After I sent out the invites, I started planning the decor. The easiest way for me to decorate an event is to plan around a centerpiece. The centerpiece for this shower was a diaper cake that I made out of about 200 Huggies diapers that I purchased in bulk from Costco.

I am going to do a future post on the making of the diaper cake, so stay tuned! The next thing I planned were the party favors. I don't think that offering favors is standard for baby showers. But I was able to find some cute baby pumpkins in the dollar section at Target. They were 6 for $1, so I bought all they had! I stuffed them with Hershey kisses and placed them in a basket by the door so that people could grab one on the way out. The kids that came loved them more than the adults did!

Next up- FOOD! Ragi is Indian, so I wanted to incorporate some Indian food as well as the standard baby shower food. I love fresh flowers, so I centered the food around an arrangement of sunflowers, which are in season and on sale. Ragi's mom made some samosas as well as some other Indian delicacies. I got some fried chicken fingers from Publix (which are in my opinion the BEST chicken fingers out there), spinach dip, Mexican pinwheels, crudites, and a huge fruit salad. You must balance the healthy with the non-healthy! I also made my YUMMY Orange Tango punch. Click here for my recipe. I wanted something that looked beautiful, tasted fresh, and something that did NOT call for sherbet. It was a hit!

For dessert, I wanted to incorporate lots of candy and sweets since the shower was the day before Halloween. The centerpiece of the dessert table was my Chocoholic Cupcakes. I made 48 cupcakes (minus the icing) in less than 10 minutes. If you don't believe me, see my recipe. I also filled candle votives that I got on sale at Michael's with candy corn and M&M's. I decorated the table with an arrangement of sunflowers, some baby pumpkins, and some table runners I purchased from TJMaxx.

Last but not least- the dreaded baby shower games. I am not a fan of lame baby shower games. The "dirty diaper" game has to be my least favorite. In my opinion, games should be fun, easy, and interactive. I think that games should start with an ice breaker. That way, people feel more comfortable interacting with each other during the games. So I asked each person to introduce themselves, say how they knew Ragi, and and offer some "words of wisdom." After the ice breaker, I held two drawings. I passed out the envelopes that Ragi will be using for her thank you cards. I asked each person to write their name and address on the envelope. I then drew two cards. The winners received a $5 Starbucks card. It was easy and it makes doing the thank you cards that much easier for Ragi. The second game was called "How Old Were Ragi and Loli ?"

I had 15 pictures of Ragi and her 2-yr old daughter Loli at various ages. Each person had to guess how old they were by looking at the pictures. The person with the most correct answers won a prize. It was easy and people interacted with each other as they were viewing the pictures.

All in all, I enjoyed every minute of the planning process. With the help of Ragi's mom, I was able to stay within my budget of $250 and I received some great feedback. Perhaps Ragi's daughter enjoyed the day the most...