| I work with predominantly males, and one of my male | | | | 12. Small picture frame with Pink Flower: $1 |
| coworkers was going to have his second child soon. | | | | 13. Greeting Card: $0.50 (cards are 2/$1 at Dollar Tree) |
| My boss realizes that I love throwing fun creative | | | | 14. 2 Mylar Helium Balloons; 1 Pink Heart, 1 Welcome |
| parties for a frugal price (I had a baby shower for him | | | | Baby: $2 ($1 each) |
| too), so he asked me to throw my coworker and his | | | | 15. Clear Cellophane gift bag - 2 Pack: $1 |
| wife a baby shower party. The couple knew they | | | | 16. Pampers Newborn Diapers: $9.72/pack from |
| were having a girl, and with a household of all boys, I | | | | WalMart |
| jumped at the chance! What fun buying little pink girlie | | | | 17. Store Brand Desitin: $1.76 from WalMart |
| things! | | | | 18. Grandma's Photo Album (Wrapped & New): |
| We all pitched in with what we could afford but we're | | | | $0.75 from garage sale |
| a small group. With about $50 that I collected, I had to | | | | 19. Rubber Duckies; Mommy and Baby - New: |
| buy plates, napkins, a card, ribbon, gift bag, food, and a | | | | Donated by Geri |
| respectable gift. I want to share how you can throw a | | | | 20. Rattle with Pink and Lime Green Rings: $2 from |
| frugal, thrifty, and fun baby shower. | | | | WalMart |
| The couple already has a 2-year-old son, so luckily | | | | 21. Artificial pink rose: FREE from around my house |
| they had a lot of the big items. I began with a pretty | | | | Dollar Tree Total: $15.50 WalMart Total: $14.62 Misc. |
| basket that was donated to me by a Longaberger | | | | Total: $0.75 Gift TOTAL: $30.87 (excludes tax) |
| basket consultant who worked in my group; that was | | | | With the money left over, I bought the following food. |
| a great addition to the overall gift since the couple can | | | | Look for specials on in-season fruit and use your |
| use the basket long after the child grows up. You can | | | | coupons if possible! I've always wanted to make one |
| also use any large pretty basket. | | | | of those cute baby carriages carved out of a |
| We have a new large dollar store, the Dollar Tree, | | | | watermelon. It was relatively easy, and this was a big |
| near our house. I knew I could find some great items to | | | | hit with both the women and men attending the |
| add to the basket. After lining the basket with pale | | | | shower. |
| green tissue paper, I arranged all the items in the | | | | |
| basket, placed it down into the cellophane bag, made | | | | 1. Whole watermelon |
| the bow, and tied it all up. I tied the rattle to the bow, | | | | 2. Pineapple |
| and tucked the rose into the middle of the bow. I | | | | 3. Strawberries |
| actually forgot to include the mesh bags, but it turned | | | | 4. Blueberries |
| out for the better. I placed the extra diapers that I | | | | 5. one Orange |
| couldn't fit into the basket into one of the mesh bags, | | | | 6. 4 grapes |
| and tying the balloons to it, used it as my balloon | | | | 7. Individual sponge cakes: 2 packs of 6 each |
| anchor. The mesh bags are wonderful to hang wet | | | | 8. Cheese tray with 4 different varieties |
| tub toys, or to use for a number of handy uses. | | | | 9. Whipped cream: FREE from my house |
| It turned out so cute! The plates, ribbon, picture frame, | | | | TOTAL: almost $20 |
| and rattle all had the same pink and lime green color. | | | | Watermelon Baby Carriage |
| Even the mesh bags were lime green! I was really | | | | If your melon is wobbly, cut a small piece off the |
| proud how everything color coordinated. The | | | | bottom to flatten the underside. Carve out the |
| Longaberger consultant loved the way I had | | | | watermelon, and chop the reserved melon into chunks |
| decorated her donated basket and took lots of | | | | for the fruit salad. (You'll have more than you need!) |
| pictures of it to show at her parties. | | | | You can add a decorative edge to the top if you like. |
| Here's what I found at the Dollar Tree to put in the | | | | Save the extra rind for the carriage handle. Cut the |
| basket, plus some other frugal finds from other | | | | rest of the fruit into bite-sized pieces. Mix with the |
| sources: | | | | watermelon chunks. Fashion a stroller handle out of the |
| | | | leftover rind using my picture as a guide. Attach the |
| 1. Square Paper Plates with Pink and Lime Green | | | | handle to the body with toothpicks. Slice the orange |
| Flowers: $1 | | | | into 4 pieces, and using the grapes too, attach with |
| 2. Large Square White Napkins: $1 | | | | large toothpicks to the melon for the carriage wheels. |
| 3. Wired Ribbon with Pink and Lime Green Butterflies: | | | | I brought the carved melon unassembled to work in a |
| $1 | | | | large white plastic trash bag, and the fruit salad |
| 4. Breck Lavender Baby Wash: $1 | | | | separately in a large covered bowl that I kept |
| 5. Breck Lavender Baby Lotion: $1 | | | | refrigerated. Right before serving, place the carriage |
| 6. Breck Flushable Baby Wipes; $1 | | | | on a platter, assemble the handle and wheels, and |
| 7. Fisher-Price Newborn Socks with yellow trim - 3 | | | | spoon the salad into the melon. Serve the fruit salad |
| Pack: $1 | | | | with the sponge cakes, whipped cream and cheese |
| 8. Baby Spoons with Soft Pink Handles - 2 Pack: $1 | | | | tray. |
| 9. Bottle Brush with Pink Handle: $1 | | | | This simple yet elegant party served about 18 guests, |
| 10. Pink Snack Holders - 3 Pack: $1 | | | | and everyone had a wonderful time. The gift basket |
| 11. Lime Green Mesh Bags with Drawstring - 4 Pack: | | | | and food were a big hit, and the 2-year-old loved |
| $1 | | | | playing with the balloons. |