When Foo Fighter front-man, Dave Grohl, accepted his Grammy two weeks ago for rock album of the year, he thanked his daughter, Violet, for providing him with the inspiration for writing the award winning songs.  It was an important reminder that some of the greatest songs have come from musicians who found inspiration from their children.  Each of our recommended tunes were written by musicians who were inspired by their pride and joy. 

Together, these songs could make great playlists for a baby shower, a delivery room, or even for a relaxing evening at home with your family.

“Lullaby,” Dixie Chicks

“Hold You In My Arms,” Ray LaMontagne

“Goodnight My Angel,” Billy Joel

“Call me Papa,” Donavon Frankenreiter

“Isn’t She Lovely,” Stevie Wonder

“Save Room,” John Legend

“Blackbird,” The Beatles

“Lullaby,” Jack Johnson & Matt Costa

“Your Smiling Face,” James Taylor

“I’ll Stand By You,” The Pretenders

“Little One,” Beck 

“Baby Mine,” Bette Midler

We’ve made this playlist available for you on iTunes.  Hope you enjoy!

Here are some groovy ideas so you can be the hostess-with-the-mostest the next time you throw a shower for that special mom-to-be:

1. Request that guests each bring their favorite childhood storybook to kick start baby’s library. It’s so neat to see the variety of books you’ll receive and friends love to get nostalgic about their own childhood.

2. Have guests send in their own baby pictures ahead of time. These images can be framed and used at the shower as place cards and party favors.

3.  Moms joke that after the shower they have an abundance of clothes for their baby, but only through the first 6 months. What happens when the baby grows out of those cloths?  Why not host a “baby stage” party where guests are given an age range (such as 0-3 months or 12-18 months) for which they should cater their gift to. 

4.  Interested in a fun activity?  Before the shower, ask the grandma-to-be some questions of her life with baby, (i.e. when did the mom-to-be first walk, what were her first words?).  then ask the mom-to-be the same questions at the shower…a la The Newlywed Game.  It’s fun to see how similar, or not, their answers are and it allows guests to enjoy fond family memories.

5.  How about a contest?  As guests arrive at the shower hand them a glass filled with ice.  The first person whose ice has completely melted must shout, “My water broke!”  It’s silly, but fun.

hosting a shower? we’ve got a great goodie for a centerpiece that doubles as a gift: a diaper cake. yes, that is a cake made entirely out of diapers, baby bath products, some ribbon, and a lot of love.

what you’ll need:

70-80 small or medium diapers (all white), large bottle of baby lotion or baby powder, small bottle, pacifiers, etc., double-stick tape, a 16 inch round cardboard cake base (available at Michael’s or other craft stores), rubber bands, ribbon, silk or real flowers.

step 1
roll diapers one by one into neat rolls and secure tightly with a rubber band.

step 2
place large bottle of baby lotion, powder, or baby oil in center of your cardboard base.

step 3
surround the bottle with diapers so that the diapers are standing vertically. make a circle around the bottle and secure all the diapers with a rubber band. continue this step, moving outward, until you have a wide foundation and first layer for your cake.

step 4
continue with a second layer, just like the bottom layer, by circling the diapers around the baby lotion, which still should be peeking out of the bottom layer. secure diapers to the cardboard round and to the other layers with double stick tape. don’t use too much tape - the goal is for the recipient to actually use the diapers.

step 5
once you have two layers, add another smaller bottle (either feeding bottle or small bottle of baby powder) to the center to create another anchor for the top layer. repeat steps 3 & 4 until you have three layers. finally, wrap the ribbon around each layer and secure the ends with double-stick tape. we tucked slik ronunculas in the top of the cake, but you could even use real flowers. also, have fun adding special surprises like dropping a few pacifiers or teething rings in the top layer underneath the flowers!

your result is a cute, personalized gift that will be quite useful once the baby arrives!

Want to offer something special to the mom-to-be at her upcoming baby shower?  Something more than just a gift off the registry?  Here’s something that allows each guest the chance to give the mom-to-be, and baby, something personal and special.  A book of life lessons. 

Here’s how you can put this together.

step 1
You’ll need a journal, postcards, a glue stick, a pen, and the infinite wisdom of your friends & family.

step 2
Ask your shower guests to write life’s most valuable lessons on postcards and have them autograph each one. Use a glue stick to attach the postcards onto pages in the journal.  Invite family and friends to add to the life lessons book over the years. Before you know it your baby will have it’s very own life manual written by the ones who love your baby most.