Little Birdie Baby Shower

Invitations

Send out invitations that feature a modern bird motif. We love this one for either a boy or a girl. To up the wow factor, slip a few decorative feathers inside the envelope before sealing.

• Blue Birds on a Wire cards, $43.20 for 30 cards, available at www.polkadotdesign.com
• White Feather Fluff, $1.99, available at www.craftsetc.com

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Decor

Colorful Birdhouses
Colorful wire birdhouses from craft supply stores make a stunning table centerpiece. Stagger the heights by propping some of them up on wooden blocks or books placed underneath your tablecloth. Add chunky candles or other decorative elements to the inside and dress up the area all around the base of the cage with feathers or bunches of curly willow.

• Drip-Drop Lantern, $98 each, available at www.anthropologie.com
• Ostrich Feather Drabs, $3.60 each, available at www.plumesnfeathers.com

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Place Settings

Lead each guest to her seat with these sweet little nests, which you can fill with egg-shape candies like Jordan almonds or jelly beans. Make it even more personal by adding guests' names to the band of paper and wrapping it around the nest. At the mom-to-be's spot, slip a copy of the baby bird-themed children's classic Are You My Mother? under her plate.

• Miniature Bird Nest, $9.95 for 12, available at http://weddingshop.theknot.com

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Twigs & Feathers

Create light-as-air floral arrangements by weaving colorful ostrich plumes into a bouquet of flowers or by just displaying a few on their own in sleek white vases. Use smaller feathers to embellish napkins too; fold linens into rectangles then embellish with a band of ribbon and a single feather.

• Toothbrush/Razor Cup, $7.95, available at www.cb2.com
• Ostrich Feather Drabs, $3.60, available at www.plumesnfeathers.com

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Food and Dessert

Serve an elegant but simple brunch of bagels, pastries, and quiches, all of which you can purchase beforehand. Pick a few items you want to serve hot (bacon, sausage, hash browns, etc.) and heat just before guests sit down. Make sure there's plenty of coffee!

For dessert, turn ordinary cupcakes into something special by frosting with white frosting, sprinkling on toasted shredded coconut, and topping with three malted milk "eggs."

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Keepsake Birdhouse Gift

We love this gift idea: Give the mama-to-be a modern birdhouse at the shower as a thoughtful token for her to remember the celebration by -- and also something to gaze at with her child in the years to come. Hang it over the dessert table and it can double as party decor.

• Orange Peel Egg Birdhouse, $135, available at www.jschatz.com

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Favors

Send your guests home with a wearable little birdie of their own. String these mod charms on a length of thin ribbon -- then create an arrangement of branches in a vase, and hang the necklaces in the branches for guests to take on their way out. We love it -- favors and decor in one.

• Little Bird Necklace Pendant, $12, available at www.etsy.com
• Sandblasted Manzanita Branches, $24.50, available at www.nettletonhollow.com

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Playlist

Jennifer Sbranti is the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of HostessWithTheMostess.com, and author of the HWTM Daily Blog.

Copyright © 2008 Meredith Corporation.

Add these tunes to your iPod for the party:

• "Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd
• "Fly Like an Eagle" - Steve Miller Band
• "Bye Bye Birdie" - Ann Margret
• "Fly" - Sugar Ray
• "Three Little Birds" - Bob Marley
• "Come Fly with Me" - Frank Sinatra

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