Baby showers are an occasion for fun and frolic. Yummy treats, beautiful decorations, and plenty of presents embody the experience. One way to make the celebration meaningful is by asking the guests to share their experiences as well as the lessons they've learned with the expectant mother. They can also pray for her, so she may be blessed with serenity and strength in the days to come. The mother-to-be will be showered with gifts that will (hopefully) be useful after the birth of her baby. A nice way for the hosts to show their gratitude, is to have keepsakes for the guests to take home. Called 'favors', they may be store-bought or homemade. If you are a creative person, making your favors at home will be a process that you will enjoy. Homemade favors are cost-effective and can also be personalized. If you decide to take up the challenge, these ideas should help. Homemade Cookies Who doesn't love 'melt in your mouth' chocolate chip cookies? You can choose to make your favorite cookie or an assortment of cookies. Honey oatmeal or peanut butter cookies are good options too. A practical idea is to make bite-sized cookies. When packed into little decorated bags, they look even better than they taste. If you want to follow the baby shower theme though, you can bake the cookies in shapes such as bonnets, bottles, and bassinets. Cookie cutters in these shapes are available at craft and cooking stores. You can further decorate the cookies according to the color theme you are following. Use your imagination and turn the cookies into little works of art. It is most likely, that your baby shower cookies will be too cute to eat! Scented Soaps Traditionally, guests at a baby shower are only of the female persuasion, which is what makes this favor so appropriate. Most women love scented soaps, though even men are warming up to them! Scented soaps are fairly easy to make at home. If you are a novice in the art of making soaps, you can go out and buy a kit that guides you through the process. While making soaps at home, you need to start by buying the ingredients. These include a few bars of fragrance and color-free soap, essential oils, and color. The process involves melting the soap, adding oils and color, and pouring it into your mold. Here too, you can make your soaps in your theme color, whether pink or blue. For finishing touches, wrap your soap in a tulle and tie it with a ribbon. Baby Food Jar Candles Candles are a favorite contemporary gift. They are especially popular as wedding and baby shower favors. Candles are also easy to make, but care needs to be taken while handling hot wax. Perfect for the occasion are candles made in baby food jars. Pink or blue candles in decorated jars, look very pretty and have great ornamental value. The materials that are needed when making candles are wax, colors, and wicks. The process followed is to heat the wax, add the color you have chosen, and pour it into the baby food jar, while keeping the wick centered in the jar. It is advisable to start the process with the help of a kit, so as not to get discouraged. For finishing touches, you can decorate the jar with ribbons, lace, glitter, or baby theme embellishments. Baby Shower Bookmarks To make these bookmarks, you will need a computer, a printer, a scanner, a stock of white cards, and iron-on mat finish vinyl. The first step is to scan pictures of baby items from the books you have. Alternatively, you can find and use free images from the internet. Print the picture onto the middle of a white card stock in a 2 ½" x 5 ½" rectangle. Print 2" x 2 ½" blue or pink rectangles, one above the picture and another below it. The rectangles should be touching the top and bottom edges of the bookmark. Type your guest's name along with a cute baby verse in the box on the top. Your name and a 'thank you' will go into the box at the bottom. Next, cut a strip of iron-only vinyl that is slightly larger than the bookmark. Place the vinyl on the bookmark after removing the protection backing. Do it carefully without trapping any air bubbles. Repeat the process for the other side and iron it according to directions. Cut the vinyl to fit the edges of the bookmark. I love making and receiving handmade gifts. They usually take a lot of time and effort to make, which is why, only those people I am most fond of, ever receive them! The tradition of handmade gifts is slowly being forsaken, so I feel fortunate when I receive one. Even though they may not be as fancy as store-bought gifts, I know that a lot of love has gone into making them.