I honestly was never planning on writing this post. At best, I was going to simply share scenes from the baby shower I threw for my good friend, Aubrey and leave it at that. The pretty flowers, the prints I set out as labels and the cute party favors I wrapped and had waiting for guests in the entryway – I was just going to show you the “after” of everything. But I realized there was a void in posts out there about exactly how to throw a successful baby shower. It was one that would have helped me in preparing for this past Saturday and so I shifted my editorial calendar this week to include it.
As a point of reference, Aubrey’s shower ended up having about 12 people total attend. And I’ll link all the shoppable items I used for the party at the end of the post!
Planning a Baby Shower Step by Step
I offered to throw Aubrey this shower about a month prior, so that’s how long I had to prepare. Baby Juliette is her second baby, so I endeavored to call it a “Baby Sprinkle” – although the only thing I found to be the difference between a baby ‘shower’ and ‘sprinkle’ is the caliber of gifts to be honest with you 😉
As I mentioned, I had about a month to plan the party and these are the steps I took during the planning process.
Step 1: Send Invitations
The first thing I did after the party was a go and we’d decided on a date was to send out invitations. I normally use printed, but this time I went the e-invite route and it was so much easier/cheaper! I used a website called Smilebox to create, send and track RSVP’s and was able to send them within a day or two of setting a date for the party. They have such beautiful animated templates that are easy to customize too!
Step 2: Decide on a Theme
Even if it’s not a hard and fast “theme” with certain sayings and decorations, having a general and cohesive decorative idea makes planning and setting up so much easier. The direction I went in for this party was simply sweet florals. I took inspiration from Baby Juliette’s middle name which is Rose and purchased some pink roses along with bunches of eucalyptus and white hydrangeas (all from Trader Joe’s). I wanted to keep the party décor true to my friend’s tastes and personality so I made sure to consider what she liked (not just what I like) when planning how to decorate. I’d say I hit it spot on because Aubrey reminded me that the shower decorations pretty much duplicated baby Juliette’s nursery and the flowers were the same ones she had at her wedding lol! But that would be my advice for deciding on a theme – take into account the person you’re throwing it for. A party suited to their taste rather than just yours makes it that much more special in my opinion! If you need help with some ideas, here are a few themes or general ideas that I really liked and considered:
– “Guess How Much I Love You”
– “Love you to the Moon”
– A French Market style shower
– “Sweet as Can Bee”
– Succulents
If you search any of those themes on Pinterest for baby showers, you’ll find some really cute photos for inspiration!
Step 3: Plan Activities and Special Touches
This was honestly the hardest part for me. I wanted to keep things classy while still providing guests with things to do that were both fun and useful/meaningful to the mama-to-be. In the end, this is what I came up with:
A guestbook made of the children’s book: Guess How Much I Love You
It sat on the entryway next to the party favors and had a sign next to it that read “Please sign the “Guess” Book so that Juliette always knows how much we love her!”
Activity 1: Prayers for Juliette
This was one of the digital files I purchased on Etsy. It came as “Wishes for Baby”, but its an editable file so I changed all the ‘wishes’ to ‘prayers’. This is something I had at my baby shower for Fischer and I’ve always thought it to be such a special thing for guests to do at a baby shower.
Activity 2: Makes Yourself the Addressee
Aubrey actually did this for another friend’s baby shower recently and I thought it was SO smart. I printed this sign and set it next to a bunch of thank you card envelopes so that guests could fill out their name and address to save Aubrey any extra work as she’s sending out thank you’s. I purchased a new set of thank you cards for her and gave them to Aubrey after the party.
Activity 3: Late Night Diapers
Another printable For this, I simply bought a small pack of newborn diapers and set them out with a few sharpees. I loved this because, not only does it provide the parents a useful gift (a pack of diapers), but I love how it offers a sometimes much needed chuckle or smile during those late night changings/feedings!
Party Favors
I went back and forth on what to provide for favors and, in the end, the answer sort of hit me in the face lol! While I was at Trader Joe’s one day, I noticed they had tiny little potted baby’s breath flowers which were so perfect for my party theme.
Step 4: Plan Food
Something that helped me when it came to food was to remember that you don’t have to feed everyone until they’re full. Most people just graze and nibble at a party anyways! I stressed about whether I was going to provide enough food for everyone until I remembered this.
Our party was at 11, which means brunch time foods in my book. I planned a couple of sandwiches (croissant breakfast sandwich and chicken salad on a croissant), fruit cups, a cheeseboard, dessert cakes and a hummingbird cake. For drinks, I did infused water (cucumber + lime) and then a mimosa bar. It was a pretty simple food spread but I knew there would be something for everyone and it was easy to prepare (which is huge – especially when you’re putting on a gathering by yourself)!
Step 5: Purchase What You Need
At least two weeks before the party, you’ll want to order or purchase anything you plan to use in case shipping takes a while. Some great party supply resources are Etsy, Party City, Michaels and Amazon! Before you can do any purchasing, though, you’ll want to consider everything you’ll want/need. Here’s a list of things you may need to purchase (or rent!):
Serving items (plates, napkins, silverware, cups, drink dispensers)
If you’re planning on using your own dishes, just make sure you’ll have enough real dishes for the number of guests.
Labels / Signs
Many times you’ll want to label different activity stations, food items or have a welcome sign printed or made to put near the entrance of the party. For these, I purchased digital files off of Etsy and printed them myself (except the welcome sign which was poster size – I had that printed at Walgreens!)
Décor Items
Things like picture frames, banners, balloons, cake toppers flower vases, etc. – anything you’d like to use that you don’t already have! To keep costs down, I tried to plan décor around what I could just pull from around the house first, supplementing only what I really needed with new purchases.
Step 6: Do What You Can Ahead of Time
This is big and will make your life so much easier. There is a lot about a party that you can do way before the day of the event. The week of the party, I pulled out and organized all of the supplies and items I would be using the day of. I washed serving dishes, put prints in frames and even set out boards and platters as place markers so I wouldn’t have to think about it while setting up.
For food, I took The Barefoot Contessa’s advice and planned a mix of premade food items with just a few things I made on my own (the cake and sandwiches). Everything else was either package-to-platter (flavored cakes and fruit) or easy to assemble with no cooking required (cheese board). I made the cake layers the night before so that all I had to do the morning of was assemble things, set out mimosas, throw together sandwiches and frost the cake! In order to ensure fresh florals, I purchased flowers the Thursday and Friday before and assembled the arrangements Friday night after dinner – I think that was my favorite part of prep J Here’s an easier to read list of what you can do ahead of time.
The Week of:
– Pull out serving dishes (wash if needed)
– Place platters and dishes in the places they’ll be so all you have to do is fill them
– Frame prints / write labels
– Prepare welcome sign
– Prepare any other non-perishable décor items (balloon garland, etc.)
A Few Days Before:
– Purchase Flowers
– Prepare Party Favors (depending on what they are)
The Day/Night Before:
– Assemble fresh flower arrangements (vases and garlands)
– Make Cake (and frost it cools and if time permits)
– Set out activities and framed prints
Day Of Party:
– Assemble and set out food
– Tidy up house
– Get ready
And there you have it, friends. I hope this is useful! Let me know if you have questions about anything I said or about anything you see in the photos from the floral baby shower I threw! Below, you’ll find all the items that I used for the party I threw (the ones that I could link).
Additionally, if you have any of your own advice for throwing a shower (baby or bridal… or any other party!), PLEASE leave it in the comments below so that everyone can benefit! 🙂
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