The king, the queen, the baby, and the harp!
It's A Baby Shower Sort of Day
There are times when I just have to share. And I guess if you have been reading my blog then you know that I am the type of person that doesn't hold back when it comes to making a moment special. And what moment can be more special when, and this is in my opinion the biggest event that a person will ever experience, there is a birth in the family. In this case my immediate family.
Then it is time for a baby shower. Come hell or high water, there will be an amazing baby shower to celebrate. And I couldn't be personally more excited about the whole thing.
Jenny is and will always be my best friend. It just so happens that we are two days apart. I am older, but that doesn't much matter when the difference in age is so small. Anyway, she is and will always be my BFF. But I have already said that. It doesn't hurt to hammer it home though. Since this is the reason that I am so very excited about the up coming event. My daughter was born last June and now she will be getting company. Jenny and her husband Kyle are expecting a baby boy come July 1st. It will be by Cesarean which is why they have a date set already. Though if you have had children of your own you will know that they often set the dates as if our bodies are a factory with guaranteed output on a specific date. I gave birth via breach two weeks earlier than they had scheduled. I'm sorry, pregnancy, babies, and the like do not run on your schedule. She was a big baby 6lbs 4oz and healthy, what more could a couple want.
For Jenjen's baby shower I am going to take some pointers from mine. She wasn't able to attend my baby shower since, tears, she and Kyle were stranded in the Atlanta airport for 36 hours. It is a long story, and one that I am a little touchy about. Not because they could have avoided it, but because having her at the baby shower would have made the whole afternoon that much more perfect.
Not that my aunt's didn't do a great job. They did.
And in every way imaginable.
But because it was just missing that special something. That little bit of sisterhood that we have always given one another.
The and I celebrated a little private shower when she got back. It was also nice. So I really can't complain, too much.
Learning From My Baby Shower
I learned a lot about the shower, the way they are put together, and what I would have personally done differently had I planned it.
While it was great, I feel like some of the aspects were unbalanced.
My aunts got most of their supplies online. And I plan to do the same. They looked for vendors on The Bump and the other big baby sites and came up with a nice list. For example they got the cutest invitations on a site called Baby–Shower–Invites which I also plan to use.
And I am sure everyone that has ever had a baby shower can, and most likely will tell you, that they would change things. I feel like now is my chance to give Jenny the one that would make her the happiest.
If it had been done differently. Had she been the first from us to get pregnant and have a baby, I know in my hear that she would be making the same plans.
It is just how we are.
Jenny's Shower Party
One of the aspects that I would have loved to have by my baby shower is the gift opening. And while I understand that this is in fact one of the things that many women dread, it just would have given me a chance to say thank you in that much more personal and immediate way. It is sort of like being able to let them see how much you love what they gave you and the baby. And since your baby can't say thank you yet, it is a chance for you to do it for them.
I tend to get emotional, this is the main reason why my aunts left this out. They didn't want me blubbering around the room giving people hugs.
And I can agree on that level.
But it just feels like it was missing. And since Jenny isn't the type that will be doing said sentimental hugging the gift opening is on the program.
For any of you that will be hosting a baby shower yourselves, here is what I have come up with.
My Baby Shower Program:
- Welcome guests
- Help them prepare for the party (and sign up for the raffle)
- First refreshments (fruit cocktails and snacks)
- Shower games (first set: anything fun and silly to break the ice)
- Coffee and cake (this is a chance to visit and catch up)
- Gift opening (this is also a chance to digest the food)
- Shower games (second set: more fun and silly, but also bigger prizes)
- Draw winners for raffle
- The end
I am thinking this will take about four and a half to five hours. I don't want the shower to draw on too long, after all half of the women are pregnant themselves and nobody wants to sit around for hours.
Like this there won't be a lot of slow periods where things get dull.
Keeping It Interesting
As you can see from my program I want the baby shower to be fast paced. I have tried to pace the activities so that they are equally spread out for the more active activities and then the visiting/eating portions of the party. I can't take all of the credit for this. Much of the flow is from my aunt Teresa who works at the county surveyors office and she keeps everything running smooth with she skills with the spread sheet. Which she actually gave me after my shower. I was a lot more complicated, everything was in its own color coordinated
Section with details about the whole thing.
I simplified my plans. And added in the gift opening ceremony.
Keeping It Simple
Unlike my aunt, I am not that organized. I tend to make rough plans, I have a page of notes written out for Jen's baby shower and then I will just go from there. I feel like if you make it too complicated you will just end up forgetting things and like this the celebration has the chance to go at its own flow. Which will make the entire day more personable in my opinion.
Also simple has another benefit, when I keep things simple I have less chance to mess things up.
And while it might sound like the type of person to keep things sane, I am unfortunately not. If I am not careful I will let things get out of hand. And that isn't good. When that happens I will get hooked up on making it bigger instead of making it better.
This is something that I have had to face again and again until I learned that simple if most definitely my friend.