Friday Favorites: Party Crafts

I always love to have something for guests to do at a party, and I tend to steer clear of games because I’m not a huge fan myself. So, today, I’m showing you my favorite party crafts. I usually select crafts that result in something for the honoree, but sometimes it’s fun for the craft to be something for every guest to take home. I’m showing you a variety today!

For the Pink and Gold Baby Shower I recently hosted, I put together a baby block craft.

I bought all my supplies from my local craft store (blocks, paper, stickers, glue, paint). I selected scrapbook paper and stickers that complimented the theme and the nursery colors. To make the craft quick and easy for everyone (we had kids and adults at the shower and I wanted everyone to feel like they could participate), I pre-painted all the blocks with chalk paint and pre-cut all the paper. Then, the guests could simply focus on the design of their block and visiting with each other! The guests left behind the blocks, and now the next step is for me to seal the blocks with a non-toxic sealant, and then they’ll be ready for the baby.

A couple years ago, I co-hosted a baby shower for my brother and sister-in-law, and the theme was books, so the craft was an alphabet book.

The pages for each letter of the alphabet were pre-printed from a teacher website (thanks to my sis-in-law’s mom!) and we set out crayons and clipboards so every guest could pick up a page and either sit at the table or take their clipboard to another room and color there. This was another great activity for a variety of ages and crafting abilities, and also allowed guests to focus on enjoying the shower instead of being hyper-focused on the craft. We had each guest sign their page, and bound them together to become an alphabet book for baby.

Another favorite painting craft is painting onesies! When I highlighted a Hockey Baby Shower I threw, I talked about this idea.

I provided stencils and puff paint for this activity, so guests could either freehand or use the stencils. Instead of buying all white onesies, I picked up a variety of colors to add more color to the baby’s wardrobe.

Now switching gears a bit to a bridal shower craft – for a bridal shower I threw a few years ago, we painted tea towels. I don’t have any pictures from that shower, but I did find many great ideas on Pinterest, including this one below – my favorite!

I really like the idea of providing stamps or stencils for this type of craft, and I LOVE the fruit stamp. And, you could do orange slices, lemons, limes, and watermelons with the same stamp shape. For some guests, having no direction and just a blank canvas (or tea towel) can be intimidating, so if you provide an idea, it’s easier to tackle. This craft would also be fun at a housewarming party! This craft could result in a set of new tea towels for the honoree, or each guest could take home their own tea towel as a favor.

My final favorite shower craft is soap making. The initial investment in this craft is a little pricey, but I’ve been able to do this craft at a variety of events and it’s a hit every time.

You can find the soap, scents, and other soap making supplies at most craft stores. I purchased the exfoliates here. I created a menu of exfoliate and scent options, but guests could also be adventurous and make their own. One thing to note – if you want to keep the soap molds, you’ll want the soap to harden before the guests leave, so make sure to do this at the start of an event. Instead of soap molds, you could provide cupcake liners and have an empty cupcake tin in your fridge, so people could just pop their soap in there to harden, then take it when they leave. I also provide cellophane bags and tags for the guests to package their bar of soap.

There are so many great craft ideas for a variety of parties/showers, so if you’re looking for more, check out my Pinterest board.

Party on!
Julie

On Fridays, I link up to Friday Favorites and 5 on a Friday.