On Saturday I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for our friends, Jessica & Daniel. She's the lovely wife of the boy who I once babysat, he's now our church organist and a Lutheran teacher. His father is our new vicar, and was also my principal and teacher growing up!
His family, they are also dear, long-time friends to my family.
So I jumped at the chance to throw her {them} a baby shower when they announced they were expecting! Since she moved here from Phoenix when they married last summer, it worked out well for both of us--she needed a shower host and I needed a reason for a good party.
{I might have begged her to let me, too.}
Don't these two make a darling couple?
They're going to have a gorgeous little girl come November!
{And yes, the dad-to-be came along as well! We had toyed with the idea of doing a co-ed baby shower anyway, so when he asked to tag along at the last minute I was more than happy! This isn't the 1950s, people, dads can enjoy these things, too!}
We kept it simple, the theme was simply "baby shower" plus the nursery colors of pink, yellow, and gray. That's a palette I'm pleased to work with any day.
In the yard, of course! We couldn't fit many people into our house, now could we?
To my delight, the weather was absolutely divine that day. Her relatives from Phoenix couldn't stop raving about the blissful 75 degree day.
I'll move on to the food...
I served chicken salad sandwiches {using this incredible recipe from Jan's blog} on Costco croissants {look, I'd fly them in from France if I had the budget}, stuffed into gray and white Chevron paper bags.
Also cucumber toasties--this is one of my favorite, easy recipes when I need tasty snacks.
And deviled eggs. Meh.
Jan was an absolute angel to me for this party. She made these delicious Nutella & strawberry cupcakes for me to serve, and delivered them a few hours before the party. {Oh, and then she stayed until party time to help me get ready, because I am a nut case during party setups. Her calm, laid back presence was exactly what I needed.}
Store bought meringues in a vintage Fenton milk glass compote makes for a lovely filler for a party spread.
Then there's Kellee's cookies. Now hear this, I've always been impressed with Kellee's cookies--she never disappoints--but these ones really were something special.
Each one is a little masterpiece. Unbelievable.
She even designed them to match the invitations.
Keeping it simple, we served pink lemonade and iced tea with vintage tumblers and pink striped paper straws.
I made the cake, a two-tiered chocolate cake covered in buttercream rosettes.
People said the sweetest things about how lovely the cake was, I was flattered. I suppose we're always most critical of our own work, however. It was a really sloppy, last-minute icing job. Look, I know when I cut corners.
The mother-to-be and I both agreed on no stupid baby shower games.
I mean, come on, really? Melted candy bars in diapers? Tasting baby foods? Gross!
Plus, there were so many guests that I decided to keep the games to a simple minimum.
The favors were unique--not every guest wanted one, but I have to admit the "emergency clutch" made out of a potholder was a strange thing to me, too, when Jan first made me one. But upon use, it's become an absolute necessity, you see. I LOVE mine.
IKEA potholders with plastic baggies sewn inside, then folded in half and secured with a button and loop. So easy to make these! They hold so many wonderful little things in your purse, nicely organized!
There was also a little baby name game and a bottle filled with taffys to win...
This was as corny as I was willing to get as far as baby shower games go...
Guests put together a little album for the mother-to-be, using a Fujifilm Instax camera {like a Polaroid, but the film is smaller and cute!}
Guests were able to snap their own photo, paste it in the album, and write a note.
It makes for a nice keepsake that everyone has a party in.
There is some room left in the back, so I'll add some photos of my own from the party.
A few onesies, customized with iron-ons of Bible verses and monograms, makes for a great decoration and bunting. Plus, the mother-to-be can take them home and use them once baby comes!
It always takes some encouraging to get guests to start eating, I've found. Once they did, however, plates were filled up quickly.
There were a lot of people there!
Some of our church ladies...
and some guests came in from Arizona and Iowa!
I sent out 45 invitations! This was probably the largest party I've hosted to date.
I enjoy the challenge of it.
That's one of the aunts-to-be, notice her rosette boutonniere?
One little detail I had fun adding were these crepe paper & glitter rosettes for each one of the family members.
Okay, I'll admit it, this taffy game is a bit of a cop-out.
Look, I made hand-crafted BOUTONNIERES, okay?
Wowzers, did they get a lot of gifts! Big party, like I said.
So I made sure to start them on gift-opening sooner than later...
One clever guest wrote the most hilarious messages on the diapers she bought them. Things like, "Hey mom, someday when you're old I'll return the favor" and "Isn't it dad's turn?"
And they got a couple "big ticket" items, might I add.
That always adds to some baby shower excitement.
Here is Jessica with her mom, who lives in Arizona.
Two of Daniel's three sisters, Jessica, and myself!
It was a great time and an absolutely perfect day.
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I can't thank my friends, Jan & Kellee, enough for the help with the amazing sweets. They were so eager and happy to lend me a hand, it's humbling. Wonderful friends I have.
Also Justin, who is an absolute hero when it comes to helping me through party planning. He never complains, even when I'm yelling at him to "hurry up and go get those rental chairs, and don't forget to get me coffee!" two hours before the party is to start...
And most important--I love baby showers so much because what better a reason to celebrate than a little blessing from God? Babies are such precious, priceless gifts. Always worth throwing a good party for.
We can't wait for Jessica & Daniel's little girl to arrive!
