Here is me enjoying the day in the sun with my 36 week bump! We were very lucky that the weather was on our side most of the day and we managed to sit in my mum's garden and soak up a few rays!
I was 36 + 1 weeks on the day of the baby shower. Usually, it is advised to plan them for between 30-38 weeks and we did previously intend for it to take place a few weeks before however, life as it does, got in the way and it ended up falling last weekend. I didn't do anything too strenuous and, as it was at my mum's house, I didn't have to play host so it was a lovely chance to relax and enjoy some lovely company. I certainly wouldn't recommend having a baby shower any later than 36 weeks however it's obviously a personal preference and depends solely on how mummy-to-be feels!
As I said, it was held at my mum's house. This was simply for the sole reason that I live an hour away from all of my friends and family so it made more sense for me to travel there rather than 15/20 people travel down the M62. Space was also an issue in my little apartment so the logistics all pointed towards holding it in the family home. We sat in the garden for most of the day and then moved into the living room where mum had made sure she had lots of chairs, sofas and beanbags.
We didn't really have a theme of the day however, as we knew that I am expecting a baby boy, we bought lots of blue decorations so I suppose you could say that was the theme. I recommend Ebay for sourcing baby shower decorations as both myself and my mum found it a great struggle to get hold of anything baby shower related in any of the high street shops. You would think that with baby showers becomming ever so popular, these companies would cotton onto the idea however it seems that they still aren't mainstream enough. If you don't know what you are expecting or want to keep it a suprise then there are plenty of gender neutral decorations available online.
Other themes that you could do are; teddy bears picnic, english tea party, cupcake theme or flowers. I certainly don't think it's necessary to use a theme and I don't really think that your guests will care either way!
As it wasn't taking place at my house, I left the food preperation to my mum. As a professional chef, she was in her element and whipped up lasagna, stuffed potatoes and a range of salads/pastas. As the baby shower took place from 2pm - 6pm, we served the food at 5pm so wanted to ensure that it was more 'meal' like rather than a buffet. Other options could be finger foods which may have been easier however it is optional to provide food and you could simply opt for desserts or nibbles such as crisps. I know that none of my guests certainly expected such a lovely meal so if you are looking at keeping costs down, then do not fear if you can't provide a vast array of food. Alternatively, you could ask each guest to bring a platter of something which would enable you to provide food but cut the expense.
For desserts, we had my lovely Auntie who made Mars Bar cheesecake which was a firm favourite and a kind friend of mine who lovingly made a cake.
As well as lots of chat & catching up, we played a few games to break the afternoon up. If you look online, you will see lots of games available to purchase for around £3 to £4 per game however, it you have access to a printer, you can print off the same games for free! We played:
- Baby Bingo
- Baby Charades
- Old wives tales - Girl or Boy Quiz
- What do you call a baby...? (Animal quiz)
These can all be found by simply searcing on Google and printing off. Cheap and easy! Just a tip: Make sure you've got enough pens for all your guests as this was something we'd forgot and we had a mad scramble to find them! We bought little gifts for the winners such as smelly sets and chocolates (and maybe a few bottles of wine thrown in there for the non pregnant ladies!).
Another idea which went down a treat was that of baby shower favours. Of course, favours are optional and initially, I thought that it was a bit 'weddingy', however I felt that I wanted a way to thank my guests and commemorate the day. Looking online, there are lots of options that you can buy however this could prove expensive and impersonal. Instead, I made biscuits (well I lie, my friend made the biscuits!) and I wrapped them and wrote thank you tags.
I simply wrapped love heart shaped biscuits in clear cellophane (that i'd recycled from my maternity leave flowers!), tied with blue curling ribbon and added a tag that i'd cut out of a baby gift bag. Cheap and simple and a lovely touch to finish of the day and thank my guests.
I would most definitely recommend a baby shower to any expectant mummy-to-be, especially if you can get someone else to host if for you! I received some gorgeous gifts which I will show you in a future post.
Did you have a baby shower? How did you find it?
