All American Baby Shower

Today is baby’s estimated date or arrival, so I thought it would be a good day to show the best baby shower EVER …

My mother in law and sister in law are rock star party planners – they came up with all of the ideas and everything went just perfectly.

The Décor …

Super cute sign welcoming the guests.

The patriotic gift area. 

That wagon with the flag bunting was the perfect place to put the gifts.

Another chalkboard sign before the food inviting guests to enjoy their picnic out on the blankets or sit at a table if they could not. 

They used moving blankets as picnic blankets which went perfectly with the color scheme.  A square piece of fabric on most of the blankets brought the colors (red, white, and blue) out to the eating area without distracting from the beautiful backdrop. 

Like I said – a beautiful backdrop!

The floral centerpieces were borrowed from another event.

Adding a flag to the floral piece was the perfect patriotic touch.

The guests enjoying their picnic lunch. 

The Food …

The food table was decorated with red, white, and blue fabric.  The napkins are from Pottery Barn and I fell in love with them!  They belong to a family friend, but you can get your own set here.  

This shower was during lunch, so the menu consisted of a sandwich, carrots and celery, chips, and a cutie all packaged into an adorable brown box tied with a bow. 

Each box was labeled with the sandwich meat so guest could grab and go. 

Kids lunches were also labeled and consisted of a PB&J sandwich, a cutie, fruit snacks, carrots and celery, and a cheese stick.

Guests could also grab a fruit skewer – they were adorable and tasty!

The dessert table was also decorated and even more delicious!

Pie in mason jars – apple and cherry.

Red, white, and blue sixlets. Also, not pictures rice krispy treats dipped in red, white, and blue candy coating, dipped oreos, and red & white mints.

Photo Booth …

Stacey (my Sister in Law) set up her camera on timer in front of this patriot backdrop.

She also made cute props to go with the photo booth. 

Here she is!

My Sister in law, mother in law, me, my momma, and my sister. 

Michael and me. 

I am not a center of attention kind of person but this shower was perfect!  I wasn’t the center of attention this little baby growing in my uterus was.  The baby was showered with so much love and support.  I truly believe it takes a community to raise a child and Michael and I are so lucky to have such an amazing community of supportive family and friends. 

Baby Shower - Jungle Theme

 As I was going through pictures on my computer, I came across a shower that my friend and I hosted for a friend about a year and a half ago. 

It was such a cute theme, so I thought I would share:

It was a jungle / safari theme that we picked based on the baby's bedding. 

 The shower was at my house.  We put all the food on the bar and decorated behind it (and the couch in the living room which I did not take a picture of) with rolled up brown butcher paper to look like vines.  I stapled right to the wall with a regular stapler.  I wanted to add leaves but ran out of time - I think the vines looked great even without the leaves!

 We added the same brown paper under the food as a table cloth / runner. We used paper napkins and buffet plates I bought from Cost Plus and have used so many times since!  LOVE them!

I see they have gone up in price since I bought them, but I still want another set for larger parties!

 We served fruit kabobs,

 trail mix,

 a veggie tray,

 PB&J sandwiches,

 and ham and cheese sandwiches.  

Safari food - yum!

We had a drink station with fruit punch and lemonade.  

 We also had a dessert table with animal crackers,

 cupcakes,

 and fruit shaped candy (what are these called?)

 For decoration, we had the vines, this amazing diaper cake made by my friend. 

 Since we were going for a jungle theme, I borrowed lots of plants from my mom and Paula (Michael's mom) and stuck them on tables

 and in the entry way. 

 We also used one of our gifts, a changing table, as a place to put gifts when guests arrived.  

 We asked guests to bring diapers or wipes to be entered into a drawing.  The prize was a mug filled with candy and a gift card to Starbucks. 

 We played name the baby animal, and BINGO for the games.  The mama is not into playing games, so we stuck to just two a focused more on mingling and eating.  The prizes for the games were photo albums. 

 

To thank our guests for coming, we make cookies (both chocolate chip and oatmeal) and put them in a paper bag with a little thank you note.

It was a fun shower, and I love the jungle / safari theme!

Zebra and Pink Baby Shower

Michael's cousin is having a baby very soon and this is the baby shower we (Paula, Stacey, Luz, and I) threw for her.  It was zebra and pink theme and is was a blast!

A sign at the door welcomed people and set the mood for the party.

 The front room.

Guests were invited to write wishes for the new baby.  

 On the dining room table we set up a make your own headband station.  I saw this idea on pinterest and fell in love with it.  

Directions - I spray painted a frame that a duck print came in black and used pink wrapping paper behind the glass then Stacey wrote the directions on the glass with a dry erase marker. 

 

 A few of the guests making their headbands.  They turned out really good!

 The gift table - Paula borrowed this zebra from her hairdresser's salon.  We put it on a crate with a petticoat on top. 

 

The prizes for the games decorated the coffee table. 

 Cowgirl cookies in a jar made with pink m&ms and milk and white chocolate chips. 

 The food.  

 We hung tissue balls over the food area - they were from another party but are pretty easy to make. 

The food area was also decorated with a few black table cloths gathered and sprinkles with pink ribbon and pink confetti.

Paula has a great collection of serving dishes - she used glass to let the food and the decorations take center stage. 

 Drinks - bottled water and punch.  

 Sour cream fruit salad - canned mixed fruit (drained), copped apples, and sliced banana mixed with sour cream.  This sounds odd with sour cream but it was good!

 Broccoli salad - broccoli, bacon, nuts, and onions. 

 Dutch crunch rolls

 Macaroni salad.

 Chicken Caesar salad

 plates, napkins, forks, and flowers

 Pasta salad

 Ranch  salad - made with ranch style beans (I am guessing that is where the name comes from).

  

Croissants 

Chinese chicken salad

 

The dessert table.  Black tables cloths, and a sparkly garland for a Christmas tree really made the table elegant.  

 

We tied tutus (from the Race for the Cure) around the light fixture to make a fun and festive chandelier type fixture. 

 

The dessert spread.

 Cake balls

 Rice Krispy Treats cut in half then dipped in colored candy coating. 

 Caramel corn with pink and zebra holders.

 Various pink candy in glasses. 

 Cookie pizza - a huge sugar cookie topped with cool whip chocolate and candy. 

 Cake balls and more pink candy

 Marshmallow pops - marshmallows dipped in candy coating and then in sprinkles

 Zebra cakes and pink airheads

 Oreos dipped in pink candy coating.

 

The glowing woman of the hour - isn't she a cute little pregger?

 

 

 And the most adorable little girl was bored so she got my shoes and walked around the shower.

I LOVE party planning, especially when I get to do it with some very talented ladies!  It was fun to help to welcome their baby!