Continuing my year of firsts, 2017 is also the first time I've hosted a baby shower! One of my closest friends from undergrad is due in June and since I missed her wedding activities last year I could not also miss her baby shower. Veronica and I met on the campus of Miami University in Oxford, OH (Love and Honor!) and became friends after living in the same building on campus. Our college shenanigans behind us we are now fully into adulthood and with that comes the shift to marriage, babies, jobs, and other things that require serious adulting. I tried my best to stick to a budget for this shower so I will share a few tips on making decorations and other things I did to make this what I hope was the best shower ever! The Details: Working with the mom-to-be we decided that a Sunday afternoon would be best for both of our schedules and we quickly picked a date in April, about a month prior to her due date. Interestingly enough, the date we landed on was also her birthday so I tucked that away in the back of my mind for use later in the planning process. Once a date had been set I began working on the details. I strongly suggest you create and write out a timeline when planning a baby shower or any other event to help keep yourself accountable and make sure you are able to get everything done in a timely manner. I ordered the invitations two months out, and mailed six weeks prior to the event date. My tips for selecting a RSVP by date are 1) if you are not using catering four days prior to the event or 2) if you are using catering 10 days prior to event. These timelines both allow for additional outreach to non-confirms to gather a final number before anything regarding food absolutely must be done. I decided to make all of the food for the brunch buffet because of the size of the group and location. If money is a big piece of the puzzle for your shower I definitely suggest finding a free venue (we used the mom-to-be's apartment complex clubhouse) and making the food or utilizing bulk ordering to go from a restaurant versus a full catering service. Game and activity selection for a shower are important options as you want guests to be entertained but not grossed out. I consulted with the mom-to-be on what games she wanted and any she was completely opposed to, nothing worse than an upset mama. My last tip before I get to the details is when picking a theme do not feel pressured to pick an actual, tangible theme (i.e., baby animals, princess party, mustaches & bowties, etc.), we went more with an idea of how we wanted the shower to feel. The flexibility in this allows you to create as you feel appropriate without having to be stuck to something, you can always add in an animal or other items as you please. We described this theme as watercolors and succulents. The primary palette was cream, pink, coral, gold, and green. Details for all aspects of the shower (along with links to the sites where available) are below! Paper products:
Happy entertaining!
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