Welcome to Baby Shower Week! Hosting a baby shower is indeed a lot of fun but can be intimidating to pull off, successfully. The cookie-cutter imagery of baby bottles + newborn footprints in pastel hues is a bit dated. Not only do baby shower games make us all uncomfortably cringe (is that chocolate "poop" in the diaper? what?!) but the whole deal of it can be dreadfully boring.
Part 1: Inspiration, Invitations + Favors.
The best inspiration for a baby shower comes straight from the expecting mom + dad, of course (and the gender of the baby, if known). My friend Psalms + I are hosting a shower for our dear friend who is Swedish, married to an American. Sara likes bright colors + bold prints (think Ikea, now!) and would appreciate a non-minimalist, fun-kid style sort of celebration. And she's having a boy. Inspiration!
Invitation ideas are limitless. Basically boils down to how much time you have, want to spend or how crafty you are. Invitations are fun to make + fully customizable. There are however, hundreds of amazing options available for purchase. While I can't locate (online) the invitations we used, this blank card from SweetBeets would be a lovely option by handwriting or printing the information inside. Assemble the guest list!
Planning + putting together the favors is the funnest part. Not only does assembleing 25 party favors induce a surge of productivity + accomplishment, but also allows you to let out a bit of creative energy. Psalms thoughtfully created the favors, shown above. A quick trip to Ikea for the finger puppets + strange (but fitting) Swedish candy, along with hand stamped gift tags, coordinating ribbon + cello bags is all it took. Simple, colorful + continues the theme of colorful fun-kid Swedish style. Because Sara speaks Swedish, Psalms made and attached stickers (using her printer + sticker paper) that say welcome baby spencer in English + Swedish. Perfect. Inexpensive, simple to create + a wonderful thank you to the guest for celebrating a new life. (images by Psalms.)