This weekend I was very pleased to co-host my first baby shower ever. The guest of honor: My oldest friend, due on Christmas Day with a baby boy. The nursery theme was to be blue and nautical, so I teamed up with my friend's mom (known for her elaborate themed parties), my mom, and another friend (they all were good friends in high school) to throw a blue, sailing-themed shower. (My friend's husband sails on San Francisco Bay, hence the theme.) We gained so much inspiration from the Internet and Pinterest that I felt I should contribute our own twist on the theme.
Let's start at the entrance - Game #1 on the left, Guess the number of M&Ms in the Cookie Jar Mix. It's a mason jar filled with a homemade cookie mix, with a bottle topper that makes it look like a bottle. Our winner guessed the exact number - 350- and won the cookie mix (of course)!
Opposite entrance: "Pearls of Wisdom" station - Guests write advice for the new mother-to-be on white paper circular "pearls".
This was an early afternoon affair, and lunch was to be served. Dining tables were set with navy tablecloths, with dishes of Goldfish crackers, netting, seashells...
And candles with white flowers and napkins. The napkin rings were tied with navy twine and each had a white Lifesaver candy tied to it.
Next up: The "Mess Hall".
Adorable "Baby in the Pram" fruit platter, by our artistic friend.
Sailboat deviled eggs on the left, veggie platter on the right with dip in bell pepper "boats".
Chicken salad croissant sandwiches ("chicken of the sea") with mini shrimp cocktails on the right:
Salmon-cream cheese "sand dollars":
Homemade clam dip... in a crab. Whatever!
One of my contributions: a variety of blue creme sodas with striped straws - on ice:
After our lunch, we retired to the living room to open gifts:
The invitations had announced, "Ahoy, it's a boy!"
How detailed oriented is my friend's mother? She looked up the actual nautical flags to spell out the baby's name: Liam. I never would have guessed that this decoration spelled anything, much less his name!
After a competitive but friendly game of "Baby Jeopardy" and "Baby Gift Bingo" during the opening of the gifts, it was time for dessert.
Butter cookies that look like life preservers:
My mom made these "beachy" lemon cupcakes:
And I made the "Sailboat Chocolate Cupcake Tower".
Last, but not least, hand-stamped napkins. Whew, I never would have thought of such a thing!
In the end, it was a perfect shower. Fun, great food, intimate, and entertaining, with many wonderful people to meet and enjoy. I felt very fortunate to be able to work with so many talented and creative women to celebrate this moment in my friend's life.
What an incredible shower- you're the best! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteMy family is throwing me a nautical shower as well. My baby's name is Liam! How crazy!
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