I hosted a baby shower recently, for my son and his girlfriend and tater tot. I wanted to share pictures on the blog, but I was so busy doing last minute preparations that I forgot to grab the camera. I know, crazy! I did manage to take a few the next day, before we cleaned everything up.
I made the invitations using swag I received at Snap. I used mini file folders that were decorated on the outside, but white on the inside. For the front cover, I simply attached a photo.
I painted the inside of the file folder cards black, so they looked like a chalkboard. Then I hand wrote out the details of the shower with a gel pen, very, very slowly. This was the time consuming part, but I loved the way they looked. I added the banners last, which was more swag from Snap.
I wanted to include a craft rather than shower games, but I hoped to keep it pretty simple so the men would not be intimidated. I got the idea from Pinterest, but tweaked it a bit to decorate bibs rather than onsies. I set up a craft table with stamps, ink, sharpies, and wrote the directions on a chalkboard. This way people could wander over whenever they wanted to get their craft on. Turns out, everyone made a bib. I also decorated a few onsies before the party, just to add some decoration to the clothesline I set up to display the bibs. I bought the onsies at a local thrift store, so they only cost $1 each. I will be doing more of these! I loved adding designs/words to the onsie butts!
I also made a tissue paper flower garland. For more details, click here to read the blog post tutorial.
Rather than having everyone watch the presents being opened, I set out a table with labels and a sharpie and asked the guests to lay out their unwrapped gifts on a table, so everyone could wander by the gift table throughout the evening and check out all the cute presents. This was the one thing that my family had trouble with. Almost everyone brought their gifts in bags, then added the label to the outside of the bags. That's OK, sometimes change can be hard!
A last minute party addition was frozen mason jar margaritas and pina coladas. They were made about an hour before the party started, then stored in the freezer until later when we handed them out to guests. Super easy! I will be doing this more in the future!
We had a taco bar for dinner. I used the 3 warming trays that were included in my oven roaster, which was perfect for the taco meat, beans, and rice. Then everyone could make their own tacos, with lots of toppings to complete the meal. And I know that cupcakes are on their way out, but we went with mini-cupcakes for desert. I had debated on making them myself, but in the end, I just didn't have time. And check out that gold dot tablecloth on the food table. Pretty cute! Click here to see the details on how I decorated it myself.
My favorite thing about the shower, other than getting to hold tater tot and share her with the rest of the family, was that I had to get pretty creative to stay within budget. I purchased things at the local thrift store, or went with inexpensive hand made items, like the flower garland and the fabric banner on the craft table chalkboard. I even painted the back of a bulletin board that I have hanging up in my house with some leftover chalkboard paint. Now the board can be flipped around for multi-tasking.
Now it's your turn. Do you have any good party ideas to share with me? I'd love to hear from you!
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