What is a Sprinkle Shower and How Do You Throw One?

What is a Sprinkle Shower and How Do You Throw One?

I’m not traditionally a baby shower kind of person. I’ve been to a few, begrudgingly, and only then if they served alcohol. By the time I was pregnant with my own babies I had three babies and not one baby shower. At the time I didn’t miss it.

But now that my life inevitably revolves around my three children and nothing EVER is about me, I like the idea of a party at which I would be the focus and centre of attention. I wonder if you can have a post-baby shower (nine years after he was born?)

What is a Sprinkle Shower?

Baby showers are part and parcel for expectant mothers, but you may not have heard of a sprinkle shower before.

One social media expert thought the new trend was about sprinkle themed baby showers, such as where decorations are covered in sprinkles and confetti, and the food is all sprinkle topped like cupcakes and doughnuts.

While I admit, a sprinkle-themed baby shower does sound pretty cool, technically this is not what a sprinkle shower is. A sprinkle shower (or a sprinkles baby shower, or a baby sprinkle) is a party for your second (or any subsequent) pregnancies.

(Which as you will see from the ideas below, ends up being sprinkle-themed anyway!)

What does the name Sprinkle Shower mean?

It gets its name from the comparison to the first baby shower, which is usually huge. The sprinkle shower is more of a sprinkle than a shower (although is by no means less important).

Apparently, there is a sprinkling of gifts that you need for the new baby rather than the all-out gift-giving fiesta that happens as the first shower.

Why you should have a sprinkle shower

Apart from my new theory of ‘any party where I am the focus is a good one’, every new baby is worthy of excitement, rejoicing and presents. While almost all first-time mothers will get a baby shower, very often any additional pregnancies don’t get the same ‘hurrah!’

Apparently according to etiquette experts, it is not appropriate for the parents themselves to instigate a sprinkle shower, rather someone else has to. I say poo-poo to etiquette experts however!

Babies are very expensive little creatures, and often by the second one, the mother has not returned to full-time work, so the family have less income the second time around. (This income to baby ratio will continue to be affected with every new baby in the family, just letting you know).

Particularly if you know that your second baby will be a different gender to your first, you will welcome new stuff.

Some of the biggest things you won’t need again (such as the cot, change table or high chair, but there are still a lot that you will.

Things you may need for your second baby

  • A bigger pram (because you are still carting around a toddler)
  • Another carseat (your toddler won’t give up theirs until they are four)
  • Hundreds of nappies
  • Some new clothes and bibs that don’t have spit-up stains all over them
  • Some new cuddly toys because your toddler sure isn’t going to give up theirs
  • Anything you really regret not having the first time around, such as baby monitor, electric breast pump, a dozen dummies, a more comfortable nursing chair, a baby bath that you can stand up at but don’t have to lift to get to that height, etc.
  • Anything you broke or gave away thinking you were only going to have one baby
  • Any new must haves that have been invited since your last baby was born (you are guaranteed that there will be a new baby bouncer/rocker; these things evolve faster than anything I’ve ever seen!)

I am noticing that basically all of my reasoning for having a sprinkle shower is ‘to get presents,’ but I’m sure there are more reasons than that.

Reasons for a Sprinkle Shower (that aren’t just to get presents)

  • Every pregnant woman deserves to be celebrated and given a party in her honour, she is maybe even more deserving of celebration by later pregnancies.
  • Every new baby is a miracle and deserves to be celebrated as well; why should only the first one get a party?
  • Very likely you will have new friends (hello, Mother’s Group) or spouses and children that didn’t get to make the first baby shower. A sprinkle can be a more casual, family, all-inclusive sort of affair.
  • And since when do we need an excuse to have a party anyway?

Sprinkles can be more about support, anecdotes and advice the second time around; the mother may be more laidback and better able to laugh at things this time.

Some awesome ideas for a sprinkle shower

#1 Invitations

State on the invitation that it is a sprinkle, not a full-on shower. If the mother-to-be-again has found out her baby will be the opposite gender, include this titbit of information in the invitation.

Another clever idea on the invitation could be to suggest guests bring a box of nappies and packet of baby wipes instead of other gifts; these will be greatly appreciated.

Or request baby clothes aged from size 1, which often the first baby doesn’t get given. The tiny clothes can be handed down from their older sibling because they get very little use, but things from size 1 and up need to be tougher, will stay on the child longer, and mothers usually get given less of them.

Or have a gift register that covers exactly the things needed, because it’s not really helpful to double up on everything.

#2 Decorations

Sprinkles are super-cute and can be used as the theme for all of the food and decorations. You could have sprinkles on the invitation, on the party favour bags, on the tablecloths, inside clear balloons, all over the tables and everywhere really. Then someone who is the not the heavily pregnant mother should offer to vacuum all of it up at the end.

Decorate your walls and front door by cutting out circles of coloured paper and prettily sticking them about.

Fill small candle holders with sprinkles and then add tealight candles, also fill clear vases with sprinkles and then add flowers.

#3 Food and Drink ideas

Sprinkle covered food including fairy bread sandwiches, cake covered in sprinkles, doughnuts covered in sprinkles, and pretzels, wafer biscuits and strawberries dipped in chocolate and then covered in sprinkles.

Have a doughnut buffet, because…doughnuts.

Or a decorate your own ice cream sundae buffet.

Because you may need some food not covered in sugar and sprinkles, make a fruit salad. But instead of a regular fruit salad, make a fruit salad baby bassinet from a watermelon, maybe?

Serve coloured bags of homemade popcorn with labels on them that says ‘Ready to Pop’.

Decorate your glasses by dipping the rim in white chocolate and then sprinkles. Use these for champagne or pink lemonade.

#4 Games and Crafts

Freeze tiny plastic babies in ice and then see who can win a game of ‘Whose water broke first?’

Play a baby-themed game of ‘Never Have I Ever,’ which everyone can participate in including the mum-to-be-again.

Suggestions could be ‘Never have I ever been thrown up on,’ or ‘Never have I ever witnessed a poonami,’ or ‘Never have I ever peed myself a little when I sneezed’.

Play a word game where guests have to make as many words as they can out of the heading, ‘Sprinkled With Love’.

Fill a large jar, fishbowl or vase with smarties or jellybeans, and then have guests guess how many are in there. The closest guess wins the jar.

Print out blank pictures of onesies for the guests (or the child guests anyway) to decorate with coloured textas, stamps, stickers, confetti etc. The new baby’s bedroom could be decorated with them as a lovely welcome. For extra talented guests, this could work with real onesies too for the new baby to wear.

If the first baby girl is on the way, set up a headband making station with elastic lace or ribbon, plus bows, flowers, sequins, feathers, buttons and more, with a few hot glue guns for gluing (don’t let any toddlers at the party use the glue-guns)

Give guests a small pretty jar filled with sprinkles each as a parting gift

#5 Gift ideas

A lovely gift idea from any creative guests could be to sew polka dot ribbon to the edging of several new white cloth nappies or baby face-washers or towels. Simple white items can be bought from discount department stores and trimmed to look quite expensive, and very unique.

As part of the celebration, give the toddler their own toddler bed, to move them out of the cot that your new baby will need.

If you want to, buy gorgeous sheets and cushions with sprinkles on them.

Give gifts to the mother instead of the baby; because she truly deserves it by now. Consider bath bombs, jewellery or scarves, a magazine subscription, vouchers for massage or pedicure, aromatherapy items, or a ‘coupon’ from you for babysitting, making dinner, or just letting the new mum have a nap.

Other great ideas include guests chipping in together to get a cleaner, meal service or a nappy washing/delivery service for the first six months after the baby comes.