Jennifer Moss's Name Our Baby Shower Theme
Author, founder and CEO of BabyNames.com, Jennifer Moss is the source for baby naming and celebrity baby name information! This month, she shares her ideas for a Name Our Baby Shower Theme you can create for your favorite Mother-to-Be.
Moon Unit, Summer, Lyric, Sosie, Sailor Lee, Zowie? Short of naming a Mom-To-Be's little one after exclamations from Super-Heroes, picking the perfect name for a new arrival can leave new parents with lots of questions.
Let the Games Begin Before the Party with Invitation Raffle
Mom and Dad still deciding on Baby's name? Turn their search for the perfect name into a fun game. Arrange several names on the outside of the card then tuck 5 blank cards inside. Ask guests to write 5 of their favorite baby names on the cards and bring along to the shower. If they need some inspiration they can use the name Decorate a Bowler hat (for a boy) or a pretty vase (for a girl) for guests to drop their names in when they arrive. Plan time during the party to have the Mom-to-Be read off all the suggestions. Award a prize to the guest who submitted the Mother-to-Be's favorite suggested name.
Alternately, you could play Name Our Baby during the shower. Boy and girl versions are available at InstantShowerGames.com.
Decor
Decorate with baby blocks, arranging the letters to create baby names that match the happy couple's last name. Or, if they've already chosen a name, arrange the blocks with the baby's name as a welcome to the new arrival.
Or, decorate with street signs that have names on them, famous celebrity children's names, or question marks if Mother-to-Be doesn't know the name of the baby yet. If she knows the baby's name, decorate with it.
Setting the table or a buffet line? Use the parents' family tree to design place cards or placemats for guests: Was Horatio Hornblower a family member in the distant past? Create fun place cards decorated with interesting names culled from baby's family tree!
Create a family tree poster for the baby that includes pictures of the baby's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.
Refreshments
Incorporate your Name Our Baby shower theme into the menu by choosing foods with people names. There's a smorgasbord of possibilities. Waldorf Salad, Quiche Lorraine or Eggs Benedict alongside Apple Brown Betty are just a few of the choices for wonderful fare that stimulates appetites–and conversation! Check out Wikipedia's list of foods named after people for more inspiration.
Greet Your Guests with a Melody
"I'm Just Wild About Harry", "Well Alright!" "Peggy Sue", " Michelle".... Choose music that goes with this baby names Theme. Using your guest list or BabyNames.com for inspiration, brainstorm songs featuring names in the lyrics to create a theme based play-list for the shower. If you know baby's gender, do a mix of girl name songs or boy name songs, whichever is appropriate.
Break the Ice with Who Am I? When guests arrive pin an unusual name on each person's back. Have guests show their names to one another and guess the name on their own back by asking questions like: Is this person in Pop Culture? To really break the ice, encourage guests to ask one question per person. Give out prizes to guests who guess their names first, second and third!
Another great icebreaker: Earn your Celebrity Star. Decorate certificates with stars, handprints and Grauman's Chinese Theatre logo–make sure to leave enough room for a full name. Have guests create their "movie star name" using their middle name and the street name they grew up on and write it on their certificate without sharing their movie star name with anyone else. Gather all the certificates and read the movie star names aloud. Have guests guess who is the owner of the Celebrity Name as you read the names off. Send your guest home with their certificate as a fun favor.
More Games and Activities
Games and activities are a key element at any shower. If you want guests to get to know each other, laugh together, bond, and remember this special occasion, have them play games together. Pick two or three games and activities from this list and have a blast.
Diaper Duty Nametags. When guests arrive, have them choose a diaper name tag from a basket. Don't let them open it, just write their name on it and pin it on them. Later, have everyone open their diaper nametag. The winner is the guest who finds a cute little smudge inside her diaper.
Celebrity Parents. Give each guest a list of famous parents and their children. Give guests 5-10 minutes to match the parents to the children. The player with the most correct answers wins a prize. Famous Parents and Famous Sitcom Parents are available as easy downloads at InstantShowerGames.com, or you design your own using the Celebrity Baby Names list at BabyNames.com.
Name Anagrams Have guests rearrange the letters in Mother- and Father-to-Be's names to make as many new baby names as possible. This game can be played with individual guests writing down their answers and a prize awarded to the guest with the most names. Or, provide a felt board with letters as an interactive decoration for guests to enjoy. Another "We Haven't Decided YET" activity is using the Random Renamer at Babynames.com. Input a few names in the field of the Renamer, including the parent's last name to see what unique names the Renamer suggests!
Baby Name Race. 
Guests compete to see who can think of 26 names beginning with each letter of the alphabet. They only get three minutes to try and the winner is the one who earns the most points. Download Baby Name Race at InstantShowerGames.com.
Know Baby's Name? Celebrate It! If the parents are prepared with a name for the new baby pile snap-t's and supplies on tables and let crafty guests decorate with puffy paints, pinned on decorations, iron-on baby block motifs, or other embellishments related to the baby's name. Have the Guest of Honor choose her favorite and award the designer a prize.
Create a Guess Who? Scrapbook or Display. Have guests bring their baby pictures–or better yet–send them to you before the shower. Mount the baby pictures on scrapbook pages or a large piece of posterboard and have guests try to guess who's who.
About Jennifer Moss. Jennifer Moss founded BabyNames.com in 1996 as a community site to share her life-long passion for names and naming. With over 20 years in information technology, Jennifer's expertise in internet business strategy helped grow BabyNames.com to one of the most visited parenting sites online. Jennifer has served as Director of Technology for several Southern California companies including SDN Online, Korn/Ferry Futurestep and Withoutabox.com. Her new book, The One-In-A-Million Baby Names Book (Perigee Press, 2008), is available online and in major bookstores. She recently released the Baby Names iPhone application, which allows Parents-to-Be to search and save their favorite names on the go. In addition, Jennifer is President of the Northwestern University Alumni Club of Los Angeles and runs the L.A. Female Business Owners networking group. Jennifer has one daughter named Miranda Margaret.
