The Shower Diva: Where Fun Reigns!

Susan Newton: "The Shower Diva"

Dear Readers,

As 2008 winds down and we begin to celebrate the holidays, I'd like to thank you for being a part of The Shower Diva's growing website. And if you're new to our site, I would like to personally welcome you. We work hard to keep our pulse on today's hottest shower trends - and setting some ourselves - to help you create fabulous showers easily and stylishly. Thanks for all you do to contribute to our success. I appreciate all of you who share your suggestions and feedback, along with your generosity in recommending TheShowerDiva.com to your friends, and your eloquent testimonials.

I receive many requests asking how to throw an extra special holiday-themed shower on a budget, so this month, I'm sharing some of my own favorite ideas with you. Any party, whether it is a shower, a holiday bash, or just a fun get-together for friends can be a creative expression of the affection you feel for your friends even if you don't spend a lot of cash. The secret is to use your imagination and always keep in mind the true meaning of the holiday season: to give your love generously to your friends and family.

Thrifty is the trend this holiday season.

During these extraordinary economic times, it is wise to get back to basics. No one wants to see their loved ones going broke in the name of the holiday season. No way! Throw commercialism to the side, Darlings - we are talking about the real meaning of Christmas! (And Chanukah, and Kwanzaa!) Of course, we can't go through December without spending at all, but we don't have to try and match the same level of holiday spending we've been used to for the last few decades and we don't have to pretend that things are the same financially this year. If your family and friends have talked about the economy lately, consider being the one to raise the subject. Try suggesting that everyone create homemade gifts this year, or set a spending limit. You might be surprised at how relieved everyone is to acknowledge that things are tight in some quarters right now - and you might be giving someone in your circle the greatest gift they can receive this year: permission to scale back on their holiday spending.

That said, I know my readers love to party with flair, so let's get started making plans!

First, choose a theme.

We have dedicated a page specifically to Christmas-Themed Showers that include fun and inexpensive ideas for hosting your holiday-themed baby shower or bridal shower this year! Any of our shower themes can be adapted to the holiday season, though. For instance:

• Holiday Tea Parties
  Tea Parties can be elegant with very little cash outlay. If you own, or know someone who owns a matching set of cups or a collection of eclectic teacups, pull them out of the china cabinet along with some nice linens to set the stage for your party. If you don't have access to a set of china, visit your local thrift store. You'll find a nice selection of china cups and saucers at inexpensive prices. You don't need a matching set, in fact, it's a lot of fun to build a collection of different patterns. Place a special note and a tea bag inside each cup or tuck the note inside napkin rings for an easy, inexpensive favor. Alternately, you can have lovely personalized holiday tea favors created just for you from ePartyHere.com. They make an outstanding impression on a very small budget.
• Holiday Angel Parties
  Inspired by The Shower Diva's "Adopt an Angel" theme, this party is very easy to adapt for the holidays, especially if you collect holiday angels. Tuck a bit of holly or evergreen around your angel decorations or in their hands to dress them up for winter. Or combine angels and candles throughout your décor for a sparkling celebration. If you don't have your own collection of holiday angels, ask friends if they have any to loan for the day. Angels are a very popular holiday décor option so you shouldn't have much trouble assembling a borrowed collection.
• We Do Holiday Shower
  "We Do" showers are experiential showers where the group attends a theater, comedy or activity out and about. Keep in mind that the activity you choose doesn't have to be expensive. During the holiday season, consider caroling, sledding, or ice skating. It's possibly years since your guests have enjoyed these fun winter activities. Caroling came up in a meeting the other day and many of the adults became starry-eyed remembering how much fun it is to tromp around in their boots and mittens singing to the neighbors. After your outing, come back to the house for warm treats, lots of hot cocoa, and gifting the guest of honor.
• Holiday Cookie Exchange Parties
  As long as I could remember, my favorite thing about the holidays was giving to others. I love my childhood memories of baking chocolate chip cookies with my Mom. We would package them up and gift them to others. Food is the way to a man's heart, or so the saying goes, but I take that quote further and spread it to family and friends as well. Cookie exchanges are a beloved classic holiday theme party. This year, consider hosting a cookie party! Have everyone bring a quantity of their favorite holiday cookies. Provide plates and plastic wrap so each guest can select a variety of cookies to take home and enjoy. It's so much fun to spend the holiday season nibbling special goodies that were made for you by your friends - and I always like to think of my friends at home nibbling some of the cookies I made for the exchange. Although a cookie exchange is a very simple addition to your holiday parties, it has a way of warming the season for weeks to come.

It's fun to recreate shower themes for the holidays. Check out our list of baby shower themes and bridal shower themes and let your imagination be your guide. If you come up with new ideas, please e-mail them to me! Upon approval we'll post them on the website and give credit where credit is due!

Decorations

Use a bit of holiday garnish for centerpieces. Grandma used to send Grandpa out to trim a bit of greenery off her evergreen trees. She would place the branches around her living room (Place them on top of a plastic tablecloth, available inexpensively at your local party store, to keep the sap off your furniture and linens) and tuck in a bit of holly, poinsettia blossoms, or glass balls amongst the greenery. For almost no money, she created a fragrant, delightful holiday setting! Pinecones in a clear glass jar is another beautiful centerpiece.

Candles are another beautiful, yet inexpensive way to decorate for holiday parties - although don't place them close to your evergreen decorations, it would be a fire hazard! Many small candles are more dramatic than one or two large ones. Create a starry wonderland by scattering tea lights around the room, at the base of your larger candles, across the mantle - you get the idea.

Holiday wrapping paper can be used to create festive "tablecloths," placemats, napkin rings, and many other decorative details. Head to your local dollar store for inexpensive gift paper and invite a friend or two over to help create decorations. Try some holiday-style origami to brighten up the room! Have your kids get involved and make snowflakes from paper. How about Sugar Cube Igloos? Or, if you've been saving your holiday greeting cards over the years thinking that you'd one day use them in a craft project, pull them out! The front panel (with the beautiful holiday pictures) rarely has writing on the back. Separate it from the back panel of the card and use it to create festive napkin rings, place cards, or "notes of advice" for the Mother- or Bride-to-Be.

If you get a moment, please revisit our Guest Contributor, Cathy Riva where she shares her insider secrets on hosting a party on a budget.

Food

Shop the deals! Did you know that butter on sale can be purchased and frozen? You bet! Stock up on items you use regularly when they go on sale. Create your own mini-store in your pantry. Visit your local 99 Cent Only Store, or go to the web! Teri Gault, owner of TheGroceryGame.com created this site to help you save on your grocery items. Her website will search your local stores for discounts and extra value coupons to help you save on food, drink and staple items you'll need for your party. You can also shop the bakeries and get deals on day-old breads, cakes, muffins, pies etc. They are just as good, and at half-price even better for your pocket book. They can be frozen until your shower date (within reason - ask your baker) and then defrost them, gently reheat in a microwave bringing back the flakiness of danishes. These goodies can be given at your party with no love lost. It's been done before!

Gift Ideas

...FOR ADULTS

A time-tested favorite is baking a platter of your own home favorites and gifting in an inexpensive, but cute, tin or gift basket covered with a patterned dish towel. Throw in your favorite recipes on designed index cards and add some wooden spoons on top and you have a BEAUTIFUL gift! Better than any store-bought expensive gift that money could buy. Trust me!

If you grow your own vegetables or fruits, you can create gift baskets from your own backyard! Cook up and can salsas, sauces, pickles, peaches, juices or whatever you grow. Place them in a gift basket along with suggested uses. Your friends and family will think of you each time they sit down to eat your delectables.

Gift of the senses - Always in Season: It doesn't have to be a big expense

• Sound: A CD of their favorite Music
• Sight: A Paperback Book
• Touch: Foot Massage or a Pedicure
• Taste: A Bottle of Wine
• Smell: Scented Candles

Coupon Books

This idea is especially wonderful this holiday season. These don't have to be ones you buy at the bookstore. You can easily make them up from construction paper, markers and glitter and glue. Go back to your school days and craft out a book of 8 to 12 certificates. Think about the person you are giving to. Ask yourself: What would they need most? And what would you reasonably be able to do for them? Put an expiration date so that they are more apt to cash in their certificate. Here are just a few ideas (you can give the amount of time you deem appropriate):

Gift Certificates of Time (Service + Love)

For the new mom:

• Babysit for 3 hours (good for 6 times)
• Wash dishes for 4 Fridays
• Do her laundry on Thursdays for 5 weeks in a row

For the husband:

• One date night each month (no kids!!)
• His movie choice once a week for 26 weeks
• Three foot rubs for 20 minutes
• Two back massages for 30 minutes
• One bubble bath together
• Breakfast in bed together (have grandma take the kids)

...FOR KIDS

Smart Readers! Locate in your attic or garage a favorite childhood book that brings back memories and give it to your niece or nephew with a personal note about why this book means so much to you.

Yummy Treats! A basket filled with little snack-sized treats. I heard of a fantastic idea where you can create a gift that looks like an ice cream cone which is filled with ingredients for hot chocolate. Take a cone-shaped cellophane and pour cocoa first, then add marshmallows, top with chocolate chips. Tie the "cone" with colorful ribbon and add a colorful tag.

...FOR ALL AGES

Gift a wish box* for any use. Encourage your friend to place special wishes inside. Provide a pen and a stack of precut 4.25 x 5.5 paper to go along with the box. For your convenience, you can download your template free at: http://babybingo.com/wishcards/free_wishcards.pdf:

Simply cut 4 to a page. Your choice of wishcards below: (4-up to a page)

Page 1 My special wish is	Page 2 What I need in my life is	Page 3 If I could, I would love to

There is a place for a date so when she occasionally checks inside her Wish Box, she can see where her wish stands — answered or still left as a "not yet" answer. Note: This box may also be used to place fears and grievances. This way, she may free her mind of all the negativity and release her to enjoy the holiday season (or any season for that matter!).

*How to Make Wish Boxes

You can locate inexpensive boxes at local Goodwill Stores, thrift stores such as Big Lots, Ross or Dollar Tree, Vintage Shops or Antique Stores. Or you can head out to a local craft supply store such as Michael's or Joann's. Or even better, you can locate a box in your home or neighborhood! Get a shoe box (from a shoe store), cigar box (from a cigar store), a hat box or lunch box for example. Decorate your box with paper, ribbon, pinecones, cranberries, silver flakes, silk flowers, silk animals, buttons, rhinestones, numbers, letters, anything!! Think of each person and tailor each wish box to that person's personality. You'll be surprised how the creativity just flows!

Homemade Items

If you sew and are crafty with your hands, handmade dresses, sweaters, scarves, blankets, booties, bibs, hats, mittens, etc. are always in style. The love and thought put into each item is cherished forever. I still have the sweaters my Nana made for me decades ago. The same with her pillows she needlepointed. There is something about the love that is in the threads that money just can't buy. The receiver can feel it. The blankets quilted for my daughters will be kept forever. So, you say you don't sew? So what! Why not purchase a generic ornament (we found some for you that are generic and not so generic at Crate and Barrel, Dollar Tree, and Target to name a few) and decorate it? Personalize it to the recipient with the date "2008" -- make it a tradition year after year?

Please stay safe this holiday season!
Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Chanukah! Merry Christmas!
And to All a Very Happy New Year.

Susan Newton is The Shower Diva. She created this website to help women throw the best parties for their friends. You can read more about Susan "The Shower Diva" here.

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