The Main Event
Having my first child at an “advanced maternal age” meant I had been to a lot of baby showers in my lifetime. That also meant, I had seen the “opening of gifts” the “oohs” and “aahs” many, many times. I had also had my share of tasting and identifying baby food. So, when it was time for my own shower to head around, I said NO to: the opening of gifts, instead they would be on display and save gifters money on fancy wrapping paper; to cards, instead I opted to build my child’s library full of books with notes inside; and to games, instead opting for a soloist I happened upon at a Potbelly restaurant on my lunch hour one day and guest name tags. I know this may not be for everyone, but as a result, I got to spend the whole time mingling with the guests (some of which had traveled long distances) and not worrying about playing silly games or oohing and aahing over the gifts. Since the gifts were on neat display by shower helpers, it allowed the guests that wanted to see them to do so. Another benefit I realized after: I didn’t end up with three dozen pink gift bags I would have to recycle.
The Invitations
Here’s what my hostess mom put on the invites:
If you’d like to reuse the invitation notes, here are copy-and-paste versions:
A simple request to all of our guests,
To make mommy’s day a joyous soirée.
The gifts that you bring will be on display,
There’s no need to wrap them in any way.
Ribbons and bows will be just fine,
Giving us time to visit and dine!
Instead of a card for the baby and mother,
Please bring a child’s book with your thoughts in the cover.
We used Missing Children USPS stamps to raise awareness.
Colors & Theme
We went with light yellow, aqua, and red as the primary shower colors, since those were the colors of the baby’s room. And, an owl theme.
There was naturally some pink scattered throughout too, but I preferred to keep things gender neutral.
Food & Favors
Guest favors were royal iced cookies from Touche Touchet Bakery in Columbia, Maryland. They started with an Easter egg-shaped cookie cutter and then notched out the top for ears.
The shower cake was also from the same bakery. Pro Tip: Touche Touchet cookies and cake freeze well, for those that want to enjoy their treat at a later time.
A light lunch was provided by Wegman’s Catering and included wraps, salad, fruit and vegetables.
Decorating Details
Centerpieces were mums in the color scheme from Home Depot, with owls on sticks from Michaels craft store. Pro Tip: go with whatever flowers are in season for your centerpieces at your local hardware or nursery store to save resources. And, send the centerpieces home with those who traveled long distances by car, so they can be enjoyed (or replanted) for days to come.
Balloons, helium, tablecloths, utensils, plates, napkins, sparse decorations, pink “It’s a Girl!” Hershey Kisses, etc. all from Party City. Pro Tip: tie your utensils together with a napkin in a pretty ribbon to make it easy for your guests to grab a set at the buffet.
The aqua ribbon in the door diaper wreath was reused to tie a bow underneath the owls in the mum centerpieces. Pro Tip: buy a thin wooden letter at Michaels craft store to represent baby’s last initial, and paint it in the shower theme colors. Here, we found a pre-painted owl in feminine colors to use.
Entertainment
Angela Charles keeps the event lively with music.
Gift Table
Ladies who volunteered to assist my hostess mom in pulling off the event took turns greeting guests, handing out nametags, and recording who brought what item(s) to the shower so that I could easily write thank you notes later. Many of these same ladies helped clean up and escort the gifts home. Pro Tip: Nab some Flings Bins at Party City, Amazon, or Target and it will make cleaning up so much easier on the volunteers.
Daddy BaByQ
The other maybe not-so-unique thing we did: we took care of the dad-to-be too. We hosted a BaByQ at our house while my event was at the community center. This allowed those who traveled with their women, or the dad’s friends, to hang out and enjoy BBQ food, beer, and conversation while the ladies and kids only event took place. To save, men were invited via the main invitation and also via a Facebook event.
Guest favors were mini BBQ sauce bottles from Etsy filled with Andy Nelson’s BBQ sauce of Cockeysville, Maryland. We made homemade cupcakes and supplied our own non-catered food to save money. Chaffing dishes kept food warm after it came off the grill.
We also had ice cream flavor Chupa Chups lollipops at both events for the kids, in a stand-up display.
Related:
- Journey Photography, Hanover, Maryland
- Angela Charles Music, Baltimore, Maryland
- Flings Bin (disposable trashcan) for the ladies event
- Flings Bin (disposable trashcan) for the guys event
Social Follow and Share
New post on my blog: Baby Shower Guide https://t.co/Bn0WoyMMjh
— Saving Amy (@savingamyblog) October 17, 2016
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