Have you ever heard of a dinosaur shower for a baby girl? They aren't very common, but I think they should be!
My sister-in-law was looking everywhere for pink dinosaur things for her newest addition, and mentioned that she was interested in that for a shower theme. I, of course, thought to myself, "Where on earth am I going to find pink dinosaur stuff on my budget?" The creative side of me, however, said, "We can totally rock a pink dinosaur shower! Heck yeah!" Did I tell her that I would do that theme? No way! The doubtful side of me said, "Keep it a surprise just in case it doesn't work out!" (LOL!)
I didn't want to overdo the dinosaur theme, because that would feel a little more like a kid's birthday party than a baby shower. Then again, this was a family-friendly baby shower and kids would be in attendance, so I wanted to give them some fun activities and prizes.
Like any good hostess in the Internet Age, I turned to Google and Pinterest! I came up with a Dinosaur Cake design/recipe from Betty Crocker, which looked a lot easier and more affordable than some of the other options (while still staying super cute). Then, I had to figure out how to get the perfect shade of pink for this dinosaur cake. I just happened to find (on Pinterest) a Food Network explanation of colors for icing based upon the quantity of food coloring drops.
With all of this information and a pretty decent knowledge of my local dollar store's inventory, I knew I could manage this dinosaur theme.
I had my go-to baby shower activity (which I ADORE): decorating onesies/bodysuits with (non-puffy) fabric paints and fabric markers. That activity is usually a pretty big hit with adults, and I knew my preschool kids enjoyed it too (I'll save that for another blog, I suppose), so I knew the kids at the shower would probably like it too.
I just wanted one more kid-friendly (or "especially for kids") activity, so I browsed the internet a bit in search of dinosaur parties for some ideas. What did I find? Dinosaur Eggs! What an awesome idea! I altered the recipes I found online slightly to match my supplies on hand.
Dinosaur Egg Recipe
1 c sand
2 c flour
1 c used coffee grounds
1 c salt
1 c water
Collection of plastic dinosaurs
Mix it all up (add more of the ingredients as needed for the right play-dough like consistency). Grab a palm-full and wrap it around a toy dinosaur. Place it on a lined cookie sheet. Repeat until all eggs are formed. Set out in the sun to dry for 1-2 days (depending on available sunlight). Allow kids to crack open by throwing, stomping, smashing on a sidewalk, etc. You can also supervise them with hammers. (It makes a great activity, and you can also use it for seashells, which works out kind of like a fossil activity!)
Now, I felt, I was ready for the shower!
I started just casually browsing the internet and Pinterest for more ideas, just in case I left anything out or in case there was anything extra I could add for fun. I found this great idea that would make for an awesome keepsake: a canvas guestbook! I found it on Pinterest and knew I had to do this! It would integrate so many colors for her nursery, allowing her to have whatever colors she wanted and still match the canvas. It would also be something easy to hold onto and keep over the years as a reminder of the people who love and adore her.
So, the big question now is... how did it turn out?
Well, I went to the local dollar store and found a ton of things for the shower, I happened upon a free laminated dinosaur poster from a local childcare resource library liquidation, and I used a coupon at a local craft store for craft supplies. All in all, I saved a lot of money while still having an awesome themed shower!
Even better news, I didn't print the template for the cake, so I got to freehand the design. I was scared that I might over-cut it and have to run to the store for a pre-made cake or cupcakes. I still kept that option in mind until the morning of the shower, when I finished the cake. (Note: I have never cut a cake for decorating at all ever! I LOVE baking and cooking, but I have never considered myself to be a cake decorator or cake designer. It just totally intimidated me, so please don't judge my VERY FIRST attempt at cake decorating! Hehe, thanks!)
With all that said, here is what I call the CAKE-OSAURUS!
(I bought a 5-pack of those cardboard cake-bases and the cake box for about $8 at my local Walmart.
I wanted to preserve the designs of the ladies at the shower on those onesies, so I won't share those pictures without their permission, but I can show you the before shots...
I have learned, over the course of the past couple baby showers I've thrown, to include some instructions and ideas for people who may be blindsided by the idea of decorating clothes for a baby. I included some pictures of different cute dinosaurs, some fun sayings, other cute animals, some stencils, and even some index cards to practice designs on. I used boxes leftover from our last move as liners for the onesies, so the paints and markers wouldn't bleed through and the shirts could dry easily.
As I said earlier, I used a lunch break to make the dinosaur eggs. What that means is, with 10-15 minutes of driving in each direction, I only had 30 minutes to prepare these things, and then I let them dry in the sun. It was AMAZINGLY EASY! I used plastic dinosaurs that I found at the Dollar Tree.
These eggs were terrific! They were a big hit with the kids, as they really stirred up some curiosity (with the adults too).
Here are the directions I provided with the activity:
"Derik and Deena Dinosaur are expecting! They would love to have a Ryley Bath of their own, but they don't know what they are having yet! Can you guess the color of the baby dinosaur inside?"
(I asked for dinosaur color because, obviously, we don't want to be looking for a gender for the dinosaur!)
The kids had to guess, before cracking the eggs on the sidewalk outside, what the color would be inside. As prizes, I had stuffed plush dinosaurs that my niece had admired from the very beginning (especially the orange one -- her newest favorite color).
The rest of the plastic dinosaurs, which weren't used in the eggs, went to party favors that also included "Baby Girl" butter mints, also from the Dollar Tree.
Finally, the guestbook... I probably should have explained it a little more to the guests, or maybe should have drawn some lines in advance, but I think it turned out really cute and was a unique masterpiece! (I should mention that we added some extra fingerprints at the end to really fill out the picture. We probably could have left it with the fingerprints that we had already, but we were hoping for a more robust balloon bouquet, so the picture evolved into a real work of art!)
Needless to say, the Pink Dino Baby Shower was a success, and everyone had a blast!
Congratulations on the newest addition! I love you guys!
For the Internet Peoples... HAPPY HOSTING!
<3 Love <3
Ashley
