Give me all the pink, all the ruffles, and all the bows. Planning for a little girl’s arrival is so fun, and I’m not even scared to admit how happy it makes me. When I learned that my niece was a she, I wasted zero time in planning for this princess’s baby shower. After having three of my own children, I could not WAIT for my baby sister to have her own babies. Naturally, the goal for this shower was perfection. Nothing less would do.
The INVITATIONS & FAVORS
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In an effort to save money on invitations years ago, I stumbled into the honey hole that is printable invitations. You pick your design, you customize it, you print it yourself. And it’s about a third of the cost of having invitations printed and mailed to you. Etsy has always been my go-to for invitation selection, and this shower was no exception.
I chose a not-too-cutesy invitation with a giant pink balloon (because what is a party without balloons?!). I also ordered my own envelopes from Amazon. I’ve found 5×7 envelopes at Hobby Lobby, but it’s hit or miss if they aren’t running a sale that week on their stationary products. Amazon is generally a safe bet.
Then, because I’m crazy, an overachiever, brave, I hand-lettered the envelopes using my Tombow marker pens. Seriously, this is not as scary as it looks. You can do something as simple as all capital or all lowercase printed letters, and it will still look good. I also love hand addressed invitations when throwing something as special as a baby shower or bridal shower. It’s a personal touch that I think is too-often lost in our tech-obsessed world.
The favors that I created for this shower were quite possibly (ok, most definitely) my favorite aspect of the whole shebang. I scoured the internet (for way longer than I care to admit) trying to find inspiration for the perfect party favor. My qualifications were simple, yet specific: 1. Must be DIY-able 2. Must be something people can actually use 3. Must fit the theme 4. Must be clever. No biggie, right?
After seeing images of bath bombs wrapped in tulle and nail polish tied with pink bows in my sleep, I finally had a revelation. I spotted some itty bitty honey pots on Amazon as a ‘suggested’ item during my search mission. “YES!,” I thought, “I shall serve delicious honey to the people!” Of course, we needed tiny honey stirrers to go with the tiny pots. I chose Mike’s Hot Honey as the product of choice because, you know, ‘sugar and spice and everything nice.’ A few print edits on some customizable gift tags, some ivory satin ribbon, and hand written labels later–the favors were born.
The DECORATIONS
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The overall theme of this shower was vintage floral–simple, classic, charming, and all things little girl. Actually, the DIY floral letter that I created for this princess’s nursery served as the inspiration for the shower.
The tablescape in the dining room included wine bottles that I spray painted gold and repurposed as vases. I’ve had these babies for quite a while and end up pulling them out at every shower and birthday party we host at our home. They’ve held up great and were very easy to make. Seriously, just drink a bottle of wine (like I have to beg you), soak the empty bottle in water to loosen the glue on the label, peel the label off, dry the bottle off, and hit it with some metallic gold spray paint. BOOM, you’re a DIY-er.
I picked up a few bouquets of fresh flowers from our local Publix, and filled the wine bottle vases as well as a larger glass vase for some necessary frou-frou.
The family room was center stage as this is where the gifts were placed and where the ceremonious opening of the gifts would take place.
Over the fireplace, I fashioned a tiny clothesline for tiny wardrobe items. This is a go-to decor hack that I always use for baby showers. The best part of a baby shower is ooh-ing and ahh-ing over all the itty bitty outfits, amiright? So, let’s put those beauties on display! For this shower, I picked up a couple of multi-pack white onesies from Carter’s (plus a onesie with the furbabies’ names because I couldn’t resist). Then, I had the fabulous EmeryBodie monogram them in different colors. Some tiny clothespins from Hobby Lobby attached to simple jute twine sealed the deal.
The gift opening area was framed by a balloon arch that I found on Amazon. It’s a full DIY kit, with all of the pieces that you need to create the entire arch — a DEAL at $20 if you ask me! I do, however, suggest purchasing a hand pump. There is absolutely zero chance I could have blown up all of these balloons with my own lungs.
One of my gifts for the tiny princess was a giant stuffed kangaroo, complete with a baby joey in the pouch. (You’ll be shocked to know that this wasn’t on the registry.) I have loved the giant stuffed animals by Melissa & Doug ever since one of my best girlfriends gave me a stuffed elephant at my first baby shower. I remember seeing that giant elephant right when I walked in the door, and it made me so happy (I’m simple at heart, what can I say?). So, now giant stuffed animals are a must-have gift and serve double duty as shower decor.
I also created a customized wooden book crate for the guest of honor. I picked up the unfinished crate from Michael’s, along with some wooden letters and a can of raspberry pink spray paint. I stained the crate with some Minwax Provincial stain that I had leftover from another project. I spray painted the letters and attached them to the crate with my hot glue gun. Then, I filled the crate with lots of baby lovelies.
The diaper cake was another one of my favorite items from this shower. Full disclosure, I did not DIY the actual diaper cake. I just decorated it. However, there are lots of diaper cake DIY tutorials that will walk you through the entire step-by-step process. Or, you can buy one pre-made from Amazon.
I attached ribbon around each tier of the cake and secured with straight pins. I layered the ribbon using a simple burlap ribbon as the base and a fancier lace ribbon on top. I made the cake topper with a thin wooden letter from Hobby Lobby. I spray painted it with gold paint and let it dry completely. Then, I sprayed it with adhesive craft spray. While the spray was still tacky, I covered it in gold glitter and tapped off the excess glitter. (Pro tip: use an empty Amazon box that I know y’all are getting on a weekly basis and do all of your spray painting and glittering with the letter down inside the box. You’ll thank me when it’s time to clean up after yourself.) Finally, I stuck a bouquet of faux flowers down into the top of the cake, and secured the glittered letter inside the flowers with my hot glue gun.
The MENU
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After years of trying to make most of the food myself for a party or shower, I have surrendered to the easy life of serving food that I don’t have to cook. This shower was no different, but everything was still delicious (maybe because I didn’t make it myself?!…hmmm).
On the menu:
Pimento Cheese Finger Sandwiches: These were from our local Duke Sandwich Co. I called them a few days in advance to place my pickup order and asked that they be cut into finger sandwiches. It does not get any easier than this.
Chicken and Waffles: I used Eggo Mini Waffles and Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets to craft these. I made them into sandwiches, secured with a bamboo skewer, and drizzled with some maple syrup. They were a hit!
Fruit and cheese tray: Table stakes for any party, in my opinion. To save time, buy the cheese pre-sliced. Costco always has great options for creating a cheese and crackers arrangement. One day, I’ll go for the gold and create a fancy charcuterie board. One day.
Donut Bites: I mixed and skewered glazed and blueberry donut holes from Dunkin’ Donuts. Simple, but super cute and delicious.
Turkey Sliders: This is another one of my go-to menu items for parties and showers. I picked up a roasted turkey breast from our local Honey Baked Ham and served it with King’s Hawaiian rolls. I also set out Ken’s Honey Mustard sauce, and guests made their own mini sliders.
Homemade Pound Cake: All the credit on this masterpiece goes to my talented mother. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how to make this, but I can tell you that it was delicious.
Cupcakes: While my mom was slaving over a homemade pound cake, I was picking up cupcakes from my local Publix. I can’t recommend Publix enough when it comes to cupcakes and cakes. They are always delicious and very reasonably priced.
