If I could leave anything for a precious newborn through a meaningful baby shower, what would it be? What experiences or material possessions of real value do I have to offer the next generation?
As a third daughter (of four children) in a family of creatives, I watched my mother beautifully host gatherings, decorate rooms, and tie bows. (While I felt hesitant to hang pictures on my walls!) Teaching was my gifting and I embraced it. Relieved, I left those other things to her. Since Mom designed the prettiest wreaths and table settings, I knew I could always ask her to do them for me.
Until she couldn’t.
2021
One of the last gatherings for the women in my family was my niece’s baby shower. Although my mother was homebound, she couldn’t wait to bring her talents and vision to honor her granddaughter and coming great-granddaughter.
I considered Mom the hostess and simply carried out her wishes for a meaningful baby shower. From heirloom strawberry dishes to a porcelain doll pushing a baby pram, Mom’s vintage items set the stage for the sweetest sentimental shower. A gentle loving spirit hung over the whole event, creating the most precious afternoon. Her small tribe of granddaughters, daughters, and close family said so.
2026
With two new grandbabies on the way (yes, two!), I wondered how I could best honor my daughter and daughter-in-law. When I asked them about their wishes, they spoke fondly of this baby shower. Surprisingly, they requested the very same thing. A legacy baby shower, we called it.
Inviting the same-ish guests. Replicating the same-ish style. Celebrating the same legacy.
Since my mother had died in 2022, I first hesitated before embracing this role of recreating this legacy shower. And my desire was that our same precious guests would see glimpses everywhere of our dear mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
As I planned and prepared, my friends kept asking me what I was doing and how everything would work. (Maybe because they knew this type of occasion wasn’t something I usually did!) They wanted to know how I would:
- Explain the Bible verse experience,
- Cut the watermelon into a scalloped bassinet,
- Add special touches of Mother into everything and so much more!
But they were intrigued for themselves. Several asked me to just blog about it in a post so they could grab all the details in creating a legacy baby shower of their own one day. So, this post is for them—and any of you who might be looking for a different, precious way to celebrate newborns in your life! (Even if – like me – you’ve never hosted anything like this before!)
Meaningful Baby Shower Ideas
1. The Bible Verse Experience: Gathering Family Members’ Most Precious Bible Verses and Marking Them in a Very Special Baby’s Bible
Words I Typed on the Framed Instructions: “For Our Babies’ Bibles”
We would treasure a collection of our family’s favorite Bible verses.
Could you please highlight one of your favorite verses with a colored pencil in each Bible?
Then, sign your name with the coordinating pen at the bottom of the page.
They will always cherish this!
Thanks for making such an impact on their lives. We are so grateful for your prayers for our little ones & their families.
(Note: I had pre-written Great-Grandma’s chosen verses for the boy cousins so that guests could see several examples of this process.)
This is The Bible I Chose: Although I usually adore kid-friendly, shorter variations of Bible stories for little children, I now see so much more value in this keepsake format for newborns.
Some Plusses:
- To me, the New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible Translation is much easier to read than all the other baby Bibles written in the King James Version.
- There are pages and pages of extras for new parents to preserve special first-year memories. Just a few of the sample pages are: Name explanation, Birth announcement, family tree, “Sweet words said about me,” footprint, growth chart, first smile, first holidays, and more.
- The colors are gorgeous pink (with a little lamb on the soft cover) and blue (with Noah’s Ark). These are “Leathersoft” covers wild gilded page edges and keepsake boxes.
- But best of all, after our beloved guests had written in their verse choices, our new babies would have a hand-written record from dear family and friends about the things we value most in life!
Origin of the Idea: This idea was adapted from my mother, Dorothy Jean Brannon Mills, decades earlier! As a praying grandma to 12 busy grandchildren, Mom felt God calling her to declare specific Bible verses for each child. She prayed for months to discern each child’s unique verse.
As the children grew, she challenged them to memorize their verses and recite them by heart at our annual Christmas gathering. They naturally learned their cousins’ verses as well. And there just might have been a bit of money involved…
When five of the twelve grandchildren spoke at her funeral in 2022, they each shared something about their verses and her faithful legacy in their tributes. Obviously, this emphasis on Bible verses was a compelling highlight of our legacy baby shower.
I’ve chosen to continue this precious tradition with my own grands.
2. Priceless Memories
Words I Typed On the Framed Instructions: “Capturing Meaningful Memories & Starting New Traditions!”
Please jot one of your favorite lifetime memories so our new mommies might replicate the tradition with their little ones.
(Then let’s share them with each other!)
Examples might be: A Grandparent Trip or Family Vacation, A Holiday Memory, A first-day-of-school ritual.
Anything you’ve always cherished (as a child, parent, or grandparent!)
Just one handwritten card is perfect. I’ll make them into little keepsake books.
Regardless of the guests’ ages, anyone from 4 and up could share fond memories of times with their mothers, grandmothers, children, or grandchildren. I felt this activity would be a sweet time of reflection and a fun way to share blessings for the future.
Glimpses of my mother were everywhere!
- Mom’s Bible
- The quilt made by Mom’s Sunday School class with signed letters from her friends sewn into it.
- Vintage copy of The Velveteen Rabbit displayed alongside all the porcelain bunnies.
- Crosses and stones with meaningful Bible verses printed on them.
In the Goody Bags:
- Mom’s recipe cards for Evergreen Punch in her handwriting (with some memories so that even the youngest would learn a bit more about her)
- Mom’s graduation calling cards
- Several Hershey’s Kisses
New Traditions for A Meaningful Baby Shower
Sashes for Expectant Mommies
Mom had adored flowers, even owning a florist for years. When I discovered this new tradition of maternity sashes, I knew Mother would have squealed! Some Pinterest sites declared maternity sashes as “all the rage!” My mother would have lovingly designed these floral pieces from scratch! I love that our mommies-to-be acted thrilled to wear them tied around their waists. How fun that they could use them eventually for photos with their newborns.
Monogrammed Bows for Newborns
How excited I was to find these adorable baby bows monogrammed by my friend, Leah. Once the baby’s initials were decided, Leah expertly created the perfect baby sash.
When my daughter opened her baby’s monogrammed bow wrapped around a soft bunny, the room filled with delighted gasps. How fun the bow will be once the baby arrives! It should make some of the cutest baby pictures!
And once our August baby surprises us, we’ll reach right out to Leah with our quick order! (If you’re interested in knowing more about Leah and having her make something similar for you, just shoot me a message and I’ll connect the two of you!)
Favorite food traditions
- Our favorite petit four cupcakes from a local bakery.
- A watermelon fruit bowl with wooden flower toothpicks. See that cutie pacifier tucked into that sweet cantaloupe head? Thanks for professional assistance from my friend, Christy!
- My mother’s Evergreen Punch recipe (of course!)
- And the exquisite buffet—courtesy of my dear sister-in-law.
“The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
The Spirit
Yes, the details worked better than I dreamed. But honestly, what gave the shower our legacy feel was the sweet spirit of gathering with loved ones. We had prayed for this day and these babies forever. We were so grateful to finally be together to celebrate them!
The words to Kari Jobe’s The Blessing rang through my mind as I welcomed everyone and reminisced on the last time we had gathered for a meaningful baby shower. How delightful to tell my precious grand-niece, “The last time we got together to bless a baby was for… you! These same ladies, those same foods, this same love—for you!”
“You did? For me?” Her sweet voice piped up.
As I asked the blessing, I asked for enduring favor over our family, our children, and our children’s children. And do you know what? I felt like Mother was there. I saw her through the quilt, those old calling cards, her punch, the abundance of flowers, the smiles and hugs of these precious women in my life, and her love for the Bible.
Of all the gifts I wish for my grandchildren, I wish for them to have this same strong faith in God and deep love for their family. A love that lives through my mother and all these women of God I’m so blessed to share life with… and all the generations to come!
Introducing Katy Joy Wells—She Might Just Change Your Life!
As we work to create beautiful meaning in our celebrations, maybe like me—you might be searching for ways to make your home more lovely, too. I invite you to check out Katy Joy Wells. As the host of the top-rated The Maximized Minimalist podcast, Katy has helped over 250,000 families get control of what’s in their homes. Her latest book will help you, too! I totally can get behind the concept of Making Home Your Happy Place: A Real-Life Guide to Decluttering Without the Overwhelm.
I know. Those of you who really know me, you already know it seems laughable that I’m recommending a decluttering book. I’ve truly read many of them! Let’s just say maintaining a peaceful home seems just about as difficult for me as hosting a shower, arranging flowers, and hanging pictures.
So, could Katy really change my world? When I started skimming pages, I truly couldn’t put it down. Her before and after realities compelled me to keep reading… I slowed down, started over, and started to see things differently. How could Katy help me turn my home into a happy place?
- Not through purchasing bins and creating new systems.
- Or through massive clean-outs where I can’t get to a drop-off site quickly enough.
- Nor feeling guilty and embarrassed and stuck.
Katy pulled me into her story, connected her overwhelm with my own, and showed me HOW I could move forward, too. Her explanation about different kinds of clutter really hit me – especially the last one! (Welp – I’ve never really considered how my retirement from teaching impacted my identity – and the crazy things I keep!) I sincerely can’t wait to see where this all goes. I invite you to jump into this adventure with me!
And as an exciting new bonus this month, I have been given a free copy of Katy’s book to pass along to one of you! If you’re interested in being included in this free giveaway, simply leave a comment about this post either on my Facebook page announcing this blogpost or on the blog itself. On April 24th right after school, I’ll ask Tucker to randomly select one name from those of you entered in the drawing and I will send it to you—for free!
If you plan a meaningful baby shower of your own, I’d love to hear all about it. After all, we’ll have more to celebrate in our family in the days ahead! And… if you jump into some of Katy’s resources, podcasts, or books, let me know! It will be fun to compare notes.
Thanks to God and to you for your friendship to me, but especially to my daughter!!!! Won’t ever have a baby shower, I don’t think, at age 85; but then, who knows? But wonderful ideas have been presented!! Thanks.
What a blessing it is to be friends with your daughter – and with YOU! And I’m betting any shower you toss would bring amazing experiences! ✨️ We sure had fun coming up with these! 🩷 Thanks so much for commenting!
Love all the sweet traditions you shared in this blog post.
Aw. 🥰 Thank you so much for reading – and then commenting. It means so much to me. 🩷
Thanks for sharing your sweet baby shower ideas! Praying for blessings to continue to overflow! 🙂
Thank YOU for taking time to read and leave a comment – and for those prayers of blessing. God has been abundantly good to us. We are truly thankful. 🩷 I’m praying you and yours are all doing beautifully these days.