Host a garden party with ideas from my July 2010 column on The Family Groove.

http://www.thefamilygroove.com/jul10_EntertainingOnTheEasy.htm

Save yourself the trouble of having to cut and serve a cake at your next party by serving cupcakes.  Cupcakes are a huge hit for many reasons, but they really are a very practical dessert to serve.  It can take a while to cut and serve cake to a large group of people (trust me, I know!).  Consider serving cupcakes when hosting a large birthday party, shower or other event where cake is the norm.  Streamlining dessert means more time for you to enjoy the party.

One very lucky Hip Hostess Blog reader will win a fabulous custom baby gift from New Arrival Art ($75 value) to keep or to give.  New Arrival Art is a very thoughtful gift:  It’s a memorable keepsake and a unique way to decorate a nursery.

Enter this giveaway by clicking on the link below.  Winner will be randomly selected at 9pm EST on February 22, 2010 and notified via e-mail.  All information needed for customization will be collected after the end of the giveaway.  One entry per person.  Shipment to US address only.  Good luck!

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dERDMDl3OTIxYmhxYVZuMHM0ZFFwc3c6MA

Stop spending your precious time pondered the words for your party invitations.   Use the sample invitation wording from any of the great sites listed below.  They offer sample invitation wording for weddings, showers, engagement parties, rehearsal dinners, save the dates, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, corporate events, retirements, fundraisers, birth announcements and more.  Now you’ll have the perfect words for all your special occasions.

Sample Wording Sites:

www.tinyprints.com/sampleverses.htm

www.invitationconsultants.com/sw-main.aspx

www.lcipaper.com/invitation-wording.html

www.colorsbydesign.com/store/WORDING/wordlist.shtml

www.mygatsby.com/wording_for_invitations.jsp

Photo credit:  www.tinyprints.com

Give parents-to-be a memorable gift to take home from a baby shower by having each guest decorate a onesie.  Supplies for this project are inexpensive and easy to find:  White onesies in various sizes, a few pieces of cardboard (to put inside the onesie so the paint doesn’t bleed through), a package of stencils (animals, flowers, etc.), fabric paints in a few colors, a small plastic tray for the paint and a package of paint brushes.  Cover a table in newspaper and an inexpensive table cloth.  Buy a package of small clothespins and use a piece of ribbon, yarn or string to make a clothesline across the room (the paint will need time to dry).  If you have the space, have guests go into another room to do the decorating and bring the mom-to-be into the room after everyone has made one to present her with the gift.  Every new parent will appreciate having a plethora of cute onesies for their new bundle.

Baby shower games are often boring, annoying or downright gross (guessing what candy bar was mushed up in a diaper – no thanks!).  The celebrity baby name matching game is an exception and perfect for a pop-culture-loving crowd.  Picked the most up-to-date list of celebrity babies to make the game more challenging.  List celebrity parents in one column and the names of their babies in another column, scrambling the order of each so the names of the parents and babies are not on the same line.  Make a key for yourself to make ”grading” easier.  Be sure to provide pens or pencils for the players.  Give a fun shower prize for the winner, such a gift card to a movie theater or Fendengo, a DVD or CD featuring one of the celebrity parents or an itunes gift card.    

 Did you know there’s a blog dedicated exclusively to tracking celebrity baby naming news?  It’s a great resource for making this fun baby shower game.  Check it out:  www.celebritybabynamesblog.com.

Forget the “It’s a Boy/ Girl” banners and make your own modern personalized banner for your next baby shower.  It’s a fairly simple project that can be done in advance, and makes a nice keepsake for the parents-to-be.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Scrapbooking paper in various patterns
Precut card stock (available in the invitations section in a craft store)
Stencils (purchased or made from a site like http://www.alphabet-soup.net/ttools/stencil.html)
Scissors
Glue, double sided tape or scrapbooking dots
Hole punch
String, ribbon or rafia

Before you start cutting, plan which letters will be cut from which pieces of scrapbooking paper, alternating patterns so each letter has a different pattern next to it.  Trace stencil letters onto the back of scrapbooking paper and cut them out using sharp scissors.  If you are writing more than one word you may want to use the scraps of paper to make a circle or star to put between the two words (as shown above). 

Paste each letter onto a piece of precut card stock, leaving enough room at the top to punch a hole without punching through the letters.  Punch two holes at the top of each piece of card stock.  A trick for making evenly spaced holes: Measure the first one you do, then put the next piece of card stock under the first and mark the holes with a pencil so you know where to punch the holes, repeating with each pieces of card stock. 

Thread a ribbon through the back of the first hole and the front of the second hole.  Hang the banner using pushpins/ thin nails, or by tying each end to a sturdy object on a bookshelf.

Even if you aren’t a pastry chef, you can still serve up some beautiful cupcakes.  Either make cupcakes using your favorite cupcake recipe or a store-bought mix.  After they have cooled, use a pasty bag (trust me, it sounds harder than it is) with or without a tip on the end and pipe homemade or store-bought frosting around the top of the cupcake in a circular pattern from the outside to the inside, ending in the center.  Cut the tops of any edible flower from its stem and place the flower in the center of the cupcake.  Wallah, beautiful cupcakes. 

These would make a great dessert for Mother’s Day, a brunch or luncheon, a baby or bridal shower or afternoon tea.

• Just be sure to use organic flowers and rinse them well, since they will be touching the frosting that you will be eating. 
• Edible flowers include: miniature roses, pansies, marigolds, carnations, lilacs, lavender, violets, cornflowers, dandelions, impatients and mini calendulas.
• Click here for a list of non-edible/ poisonous flowers (including daffodils, calla lilies, etc.):  http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowersnot.htm

Shown above: green tea cupcakes with green tea cream-cheese frosting and mini pink calendulas

Throwing a baby shower for an eco-conscious mom?  Here are a few eco-friendly favors that are perfect for a baby shower.  Of course, you can always opt to make your own favors, such as fresh baked mini muffins wrapped in small kitchen towels instead of cello bags.

The Arbor Day Foundation offers these beautiful little trees that are perfect party favors.  Guests can plant the trees at home (indoors or out, weather permitting) and watch this beauty grow.
Available at http://www.arborday.org/Shopping/GiftTrees/GiftTrees.cfm
$3 each, labels can be personalized and there is room for a quote

The mom-to-be won’t be the only one with something growing.  Guests can plant these handmade cards embedded with wildflower seeds and watch their own “babies” grow.
Available at: http://www.giftsinbulk.com/Plantable_Wildflower_Baby_Favors_p/ka17018.htm
$21 for set of 12 cards (choose from blue, pink or yellow)

These personalized tins come filled with peppermints and can be reused by guests for bulk candies, hair elastics, bandaids or anything else they want to keep organized and travel-ready.  When placing your order, ask that they not be shrink wrapped to eliminate wasted plastic. 
Available at: http://www.beau-coup.com/baby-shower-umbrella-personalized-mint-tins.htm
$2.50 each, personalization included

The Invitations:

“Madison Avenue Mom” by Bonnie’s Style Press

$25 for 25 fill-in invitations

www.bonniestylepress.com

The Favors: 

Baby Bottle Favors by Little Tree Gifts

Glass baby bottles filled with hot cocoa mix and gift tags coordinating with the invitations (directions for making the cocoa on the back)

$8 each (including customized gift tags)

www.littletreegifts.com

The Flowers:

White Calla Lilies

The Cake (cupcakes):

Vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting (chocolate and vanilla) and teddy graham bears, served on stacked cake stands