Creative Favors for Baby Showers
Nowadays it is unusual to attend a party of any sort at which there are no favors; the baby shower is certainly no exception to this rule. As a general rule, parties to which the guests are expected to bring a gift are the parties most likely to have favors to be given to a few of the guests or a very small favor to be given to each and every guest in attendance. One way of choosing which guests will receive favors is to design contests or games; the winners of these games or contests will be the lucky ones to receive the favors, especially for baby showers or for bridal showers. At a wedding, it is expected that all guests will receive the same small favor.
What to Choose?
As guests at baby showers are traditionally women, choosing a favor for a baby shower should, theoretically, be easier than if such events were for men. There just seem to be more things that are acceptable for women as gifts. In the specific context of a baby shower, favors can either be related to the fact that it's a baby shower, or they can ignore that fact and simply be something that the vast majority of women would be happy to take home as a favor.
If you find choosing a baby shower favor that's related to babies cumbersome, you can simply choose something like scarves, simple (inexpensive, but not cheap) jewelry, note cards, or the famous ingredients-in-a-bottle ready-made recipes for chocolate chip cookies, brownies, or some other delightful treat. All of these options are versatile, and appeal to the majority of women. Any woman who comes home from a baby shower with a favor such as one mentioned above will be pleased with the unexpected small gift.
If you'd like to stay on the theme of babies, be sure to consider giving a gift that is suitable for any receiver. A gift of a book on the subject of raising children is unsuitable because the guest may not have children, and may not intend to have children in the future. For this reason a gift that is 'perfect' for the mother-to-be because she is a mother-to-be, is not at all perfect as a baby shower favor for your guests.
Some suggestions for a perfect baby shower favor that link to the theme of baby showers are Anne Geddes notecards or postcards, calendars or such. The key is to choose something with a joyful or playful representation of babies or children in a way that does not imply that the user of the item necessarily has children or is waiting to have one. Use your imagination and each time you consider a favor, think of your oldest invite guest and your youngest invited guest--if both of them would be pleased to have it, you've found yourself a perfect baby shower favor.
