Baby Shower: Strawberries & Sunflowers

This weekend, I had the opportunity to help set-up for a strawberry-themed baby shower.  One of my good friends asked if she could borrow some of my party gear - of course, I obliged.  But I asked if I could take some pictures and feature the shower.  Win-win!

Although this was baby #3, there were lots of bumps along the road for Mommy and she deserved to be sprinkled!  The hostesses provided such a beautiful set-up.  Notice the dangle-bop ribbon they used - it's a small thing that's classy and eye catching.

 

The food was simple - drinks (delicious strawberry basil lemonade) and cracker-topped snacks.  For a fun touch, a chocolate fondue fountain was available to dip strawberries.  Yum!

The cupcakes themselves were a piece of art!  They were so adorable and I'm sure delicious!  The provided the extra pops of color on the shower activity/game table.

I loved the shower games - not over the top (as so many are) but also fun and creative.  They asked the guests to guess Baby Helena's birthday and weight.  An idea like this can extend the party beyond the party itself!  As a host, it's fun to follow-up on a game like this.

The second activity was so cute!  I asked the hostess where she found the idea and she said it's originally a bridal shower idea.  It's perfect for a girl baby shower, too!

The favors were not only perfectly themed, but perfectly packaged and yummy!  This homemade strawberry freezer jelly was the perfect gift to send guests home with.

I loved so many small things about this shower.   The ribbon on the table and the striped red straws added pops of color.  Using mason jars for cups and catching them with the favors.  The pops of green on the cupcakes and jelly jars.  This was such a sweet shower!

Shower Sunday: Blackberry Pie & Cocoa

I love baby showers!  They are so fun and the themes are endless.  My sister-in-law is expecting a baby girl and we were so excited to plan her shower.  The inspiration for this shower came in the strangest form - dessert!  Kaysee loves blackberry pie and the colors were perfect for a baby girl shower.

All of the decorations came together perfectly!  We kept the decor simple with lots of small things making a beautiful tablescape.  The home decor of the hostess just so happened to fit perfectly.  Purple napkins, raspberry pink and purple M&Ms, red and purple mugs, fun pink & purple tissue paper puffs and a soft, purple blanket draped over a white tablecloth for a pop of color and texture to the table.

For drinks, we again kept it simple.  For an evening shower (7:00-9:00pm) in November, hot cocoa was the perfect warm beverage.  We had four flavors of cocoa (regular, dark, mint and salted caramel), three flavors of marshmallows, whip cream, sprinkles and crushed candy canes for toppings. Delicious!

Our inspiration was blackberry pie - so obviously, that's what we served for dessert.  Delicious at any temperature, we made the pies earlier in the day to avoid a time crunch.  They were delicious!  Serving only one dessert choice made the menu simple and delicious.

We kept our activities simple, too.  I don't know many moms-to-be who really enjoy the typical shower games.  They can often be awkward for guests, too.  We had three activities - the first two were as close to "shower games" as we got.

This final activity was harder than I anticipated!  We each wrote down wishes for Addison and Kaysee collected them for her memory box.  This activity would only work for moms that want to remember by keeping mementos.  I printed out extras for people who were not at the shower to fill out.

 Finally, we included a "station" for addressing your thank you card.  Even if you say you don't, most guests do like to receive thank you cards from the mom-to-be.  This makes it a little easier for mom.

Overall, it was a great shower!  It was small, but beautiful - fun, but simple.  

We're so excited for Baby Addison to arrive!

It's in the small things!

Shower Sunday: Owl Shower

This gender neutral baby shower came together with oranges and reds to balance out the blues and greens.  The inspiration for the shower theme came from the baby's nursery and bedding. Simple, classy and colorful!  And you can't go wrong with owls!  

The shower was held on a Friday evening and dessert and drinks were the big draw.  You can't go wrong with the classic combination of chocolate and fruit.  Mommy is vegan so all the food was, too!  Look at this gorgeous spread!  The reds and browns really popped!

The centerpiece cupcake tower helped tie the party together.  Guests were asked to paint ceramic owls to be used in decorating the baby's nursery.  The owls came from Oriental Trading Company and were the perfect touch.  It's all about the small things!  I spray painted the owls brown before the shower and outlined the eyes in white and painted the beak orange.  My pre-painting sample was placed atop the centerpiece for a nice, small touch of theme.

I'm not a huge fan of shower games that involve Momma and her belly.  However, I love it when guests have an opportunity to share some parenting wisdom or tips.  With a little twist to that, since Mommy and Daddy are "wise owls" already for baby #2, we asked guests to give advice to baby.  They wrote on small leaves and stuck them to a canvas with a tree painted on it.  After the shower, I modge-podged over the leaves and hung it in the nursery!  So fun, with lots of advice ranging from "Dream Big" to "Brush your teeth" - definitely a repeat for future Baby 2 showers!

The guest book was really a book!  I bought a fun book about owls (It's all about the small things!) and asked the guests to sign the book as a start to Baby's library.  Love this idea!

At the end of the night, we sent guests home with a "It's Been a Hoot!" owl treat box.  The boxes were also purchased from Oriental Trading Company and were decorated using circles, ovals and hearts!  This idea came from Pinterest and was so fun and easy, my three-year-old helped assemble.  They turned out cuter than imagined and we filled them with trail mix.

It's all about the small things!

Shower Sunday: Duck Baby Shower

When Neyssa was pregnant with her first, we decided to have a duck-themed shower.  This gender neutral theme was perfect for a Mommy who was waiting to find out if Baby was a boy or girl.

 

The food was simple, but gorgeous.  The centerpiece was designed by Brianna and added such a fun touch to the party.

It's all about the small things.  Check out the duck-shaped pineapple!  Simply use a cookie cutter to cut a shape with your own theme!  We also placed rubber duckies throughout the house.

For games and activities, we didn't want to do anything that involved Mommy and her belly.  When guests arrived, we gave everyone a pacifier necklace and each time the words "baby" or "due date" were said, the necklace was stolen by the person who heard it!  It ended up being super fun and it's amazing how you can space out, forget and get caught! The guest with the most necklaces at the end of the party, got a $5 gift card.  Simple and easy for any party.

We also gave words of wisdom to first-time Mommy - with each piece of wisdom, the person added a design to the canvas.  This canvas now hangs above baby's bed!  A fun activity for everyone.

It's all about the small things!

Shower Sunday: ABC Baby Shower

]My baby shower was ABC themed!  They got the idea from the nursery bedding.  Neyssa, Amy and Brianna were the hostesses.  It's always the small things that make the shower theme shine.

The banners added a personal touch and added height to the decorations.

The favors were cookies packaged in small block abc boxes painted yellow.  Even the plates and cups had small alphabet stickers on them!  It's all about the small things!

All of the food was labeled with letters - so fun!

 

The food was delicious and perfect for a lunchtime shower.  

Games: Baby Themed Scattergories

Menu: Soup, honey ham, veggies, fruit, salad, mac 'n'cheese, cupcakes

Favors: Letter cookies presented in ABC Block boxes