We hold brunches twice a year.  In a congregation of about 500, we have averaged 8 moms and babies per brunch.

Who to invite?  We invite all mothers that have babies born in the past six months.  In addition, we have invited the birth mom and the adoptive mom of an open adoption.  Also, don’t forget to invite all the ladies in the congregation. 

What to give?  We place an insert in the bulletin for several weeks prior.  We tell about the brunch, which babies will be honored, and then ask the women to bring two or more genderless gifts unwrapped.  Some gift ideas are: baby CD’s and videos, baby books, keepsakes, hats, feeding spoons, bibs, sippy cups, gift certificates, wet wipes, diapers (size 2 and up), toys, safety items, photo frames, disposable cameras, Pull Ups, clothes (include larger sizes).  We recommend each giver buy 2-3 items, so as not to overburden the giver financially. 

How are the gifts divided?  Buy large gift bags.  Number the bags 1-?? for however many babies you have (for twins, we give that family 2 bags).  Find 2-3 ladies that can decisively, yet courteously, divide the gifts among the bags in an organized fashion.  They need to do this in about 20-25 minutes near the end of the brunch (that way gifts brought in late are included in the distribution).  One of the very last things to do at the brunch is gather all the moms at the gift table.  Have a cup ready which has coordinating #’s that coincide with the big gift bag numbers.  From the cup, have the moms draw a number which matches to their bag.  Give each mom/baby their big bag of blessings!

Gender specific gifts – To divide these gifts, use the numbers from the gift bags.  The mom who drew #1 gets to be the first to choose one item from the gender specific pile.  After all moms have had a chance to choose and there are still items left, start with #8 and work back to #1.  Make sure all the gifts have been taken. 

Time/Money/Theme/Atmosphere – Make it ELEGANT!  Literally, our brunches look like a wedding reception is going to take place. 

Time –If we have 8 babies per blessing brunch which is held bi-annually, it is only 2 times a year for the volunteers.  But if you hold one shower per baby, that is 16 showers per year. 

Money – If the church spends $75-100 per 16 showers, the cost is $1200-1600 per year.  Our baby blessing brunches have averaged from $350-450 at two times a year.  That is $700-900 per year. 

Themes – 

• Antique toys.  Find someone who has a collection of antique toys.  Bring in fake trees to add warmth to the room.  Use the toys to play games (i.e. guess who in the congregation had this toy as a child).
• Bears & Trees.  We rounded up over 250 bears from people in the congregation.  We used many artificial Christmas trees to place the bears in.  We brought in a rocker and place a big bear in it reading the Bible to the surrounding baby bears. 
• Elegant Hawaiian Luau.  We did this theme at night during the summer months inside the church.  We had to work a little harder to keep this at an elegant level.  We did not use any blow-up luau party stuff.  Instead, we used a lot of greenery, natural/khaki colored things (i.e. seashells, stars, sand dollars, raffia skirts for honorees’ tables) and we found aqua accents for tableware for the moms.  We even brought in real patio furniture with padded chairs and umbrellas for the moms to sit at.  Also, we had a lot of fun with the food.  We served chocolate fondue on all the tables.
• Puppy Love – you guessed it, an incredible amount of stuffed dogs.
• Snowmen – for a January theme.  Try to find someone who collects snowmen.

Atmosphere – Here are some random ideas/thoughts we have kept in mind in doing our themes and setting the atmosphere:

• Set your room up in a wedding reception fashion.  Make your moms the center of attention.
• Our mommy head table is the only table set with china ware. 
• Personal servants!  Find young ladies, ages 17-22, to dress in similar service type clothing (i.e. white shirt and black pants).  For every 3-4 honored mothers, assign one servant.  Set a bell on each table for the moms to ring if they need anything.
• Do not do this alone.  Have a minimum of 3-4 people to help plan, organize food, and decorate this entire brunch.
• Lots of greenery in a room makes it feel cozier.
• We invested in chiffon (soft) type fabric as overlay to decorate the gift table, food table, and head tables.
• String lights on tables have added neat effects to our tables.
• Candles are a great way to create the elegant appeal.
• Make sure your theme is appropriate for celebrating both boys and girls. 
• When borrowing items from people in the church, take an inventory as the items come in.  Tag them some way (i.e. different color stickers) so that they can be correctly returned to the right person.
• Food: For our morning brunches, we serve egg dishes, fruit, rolls, a baby cake, coffee, and juice.  The egg dishes, fruit, and rolls were brought by ladies who were asked to help bring something.  ***Make sure reminder phone calls go out the day before to the people bringing the food.  This encourages ladies of all ages to come, and it helps with the cost of the brunch.
• Assign someone to take pictures.
• For all the ladies coming to the brunch, our budget included hiring babysitters for all the older children not being recognized.  Encourage moms to use the sitting service if they cannot find any other source.  We only provide snacks and drinks for the children.  Also, you may want to look into hiring sitters outside your church so that all the women in the congregation are free to come.

Agenda – We start off our brunch with Introduction and Prayer.  We then give a little talk about the brunch and how it works.  The ladies will eat while the agenda proceeds.

“PASS THE BABY”  For the moms who are comfortable with this, there is a room full of arms that would love to hold their baby.  The only time the moms have to get up out of their seats is to fill their plate the first time at the food table.  From there, let the personal servants take care of them.  If the moms need a drink, more food, anything, just ring the bell or flag down a servant.  After the explanation, the moms pass their babies and proceed to the food line without having to hold on to a child.

"GETTING TO KNOW THE MOMS AND BABIES"  First, we have every mom tell us their name, about their family, something unique about their baby, and anything else they want to share.  Next, ask the moms more specific questions that they can elaborate on.  CAUTION: Make sure your questions fit each mom!  For example, do not ask a single mom, “While you were pregnant, did your spouse go to the store and get you the food you were craving?”

Games – When you go to play a game, make it fun for everyone.  For example, we played “The Price is Right” using three baby bundles.  We had three “Barker Beauties” work the products in the audience.

Gift from Church (Optional) – Included in the cost of the brunch is a gift from the church.  Each outfit is of nice quality and the cost ranges from $12-$15 (we watch for sales on the “Sunday Best” type clothing).  These gifts are elegantly wrapped and presented to the moms at each brunch. 

Denise Huneke

Women’s Ministry Leadership Team

First Assembly of God – Rapid City, SD

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