Baby B's Baby Shower

For once I was ready ahead of the party start time!​ We had a wonderful time, the different groups of friends and colleagues mixed perfectly - it's amazing how a baby really does bring everyone together.

I am so close to my sister yet the funny thing was, this was the first time I had met any of her work colleagues and a few of her friends, who I must have only said hello to at her wedding. ​

Everyone was there to spoil her and I was so happy that everyone loved the decorations and joined in all the games!​

My Party Buffet Table Tips

• Symmetry is key. Start in the middle and work outwards. You don't have to have exact matching vases or plates but try and work to similar heights. 
• Pick a central feature. I used our bathroom cabinet that sits on a console in our bathroom as the main feature of the table. I lay some flowers on the top and a few buckets of sweets on the little shelves. 
• Be imaginative. I used vases as sweet jars and hurricane glass lamps, that usually have candles in, for the crisps!​ I borrowed the buckets from my Halloween supplies and a couple of upturned crates, which normally hold my photo albums, to give the table height. I also used chalkboard plant labels to point out the nuts in case anyone was allergic.
• Use a fabric table cloth. A remnant of material in an off cuts bin is the same price as a plastic table cloth but looks so much more elegant. I used a piece of hessian fabric that I reused from the Safari Party we had at Christmas!​
• Display small portions. It is so much more prettier to look at when things are displayed in little groups than great mounds. I set out 6-8 of everything and doubled it up across the table rather than putting all 16 or so portions out on one plate, piled high.
• Display drinks away from the table. I used my printer trolley for the drinks to keep them separate and save any spillages from ruining the food and table cloth. On the table itself I just had the individual shots of 'B wine' a low alcoholic wine as the majority of guests were either driving or pregnant!​
• ​Create a backdrop. Use an old sheet, paint a piece of mdf or use strips of fabric like I did for a cheaper but more interesting way to display a variety of fabrics. (I will post a tutorial of the backdrop and beautiful paper flowers soon).
• Be realistic and enjoy it. I love all the buffet tables on Pinterest and they are great for inspiration but if you look closely the majority are styled shoots rather than actual parties. I couldn't quite get the whole table in the camera frame and my sister's kitchen is huge! Take lots of detailed shots so you get to remember all your hard work! And don't forget to eat yourself!

My Favourite Baby Shower Games

• ​Toilet Roll Nappies! Spilt your guests into teams and give each team a toilet roll. Within a time limit they have to create a nappy on one of the team members. Great ice breaker even though it can seem very intimate! Natalie's mother in law actually laid down on the floor like you would change a real baby, which made the whole room burst out laughing and got everyone into the swing of it!
• Baby Bingo. Good for everyone to be involved. I downloaded a printable file from etsy and just changed the words (as the example was American spellings). There are masses to choose from and for only a couple of pounds worth it to take away the hassle of making it yourself.​
• Taste Test. Back in teams give each team 4 different baby foods to try. I stuck to nice friendly fruits and veg as opposed to dinners like cottage pie which freezing cold might have made them gag!​
• ​When will it be? Print a calendar onto an image or download mine. Use a feet date stamp (or any stamp under 1 inch square) to predict the birth date. Everyone wrote their names underneath their chosen date and it's a lovely piece of sentimental art for the nursery.
• Wishes cards. Again I printed a downloadable file from an etsy seller ​but you could make these yourself easily. think of the starts of phrases that mean something to you or your pregnant friend. I emailed one to my brother in America and he and my sister in law sent their wishes, which was lovely for my sister to read out to everyone. 
• Super easy is guess the bump. I used a roll of crepe paper streamer and everyone had to cut the length of the streamer the length they imagined the width of the bump to be. Everyone put their streamers into a circle and the closest to the real bump was the winner.
• Guess the Baby. This involved some preparation and everyone either posted or emailed me a baby picture. I used the towel ladder from our bathroom (I carted all of this up in the car the night before- our house was bare!) and tied string to each pole and pegged the photographs onto the string washing line. That way when it was home time everyone could take their originals and they weren't ruined by sticky tape or glue.​
• The last game we played involved guessing the baby's gender. Everyone made a wish and I will post the finished article later this week as it's worth it's own post. We all then stood either side of a chalk board either on team pink or team blue! ​

The next day was Mother's Day and I got to take some beautiful pregnancy photos of Natalie and some of Natalie and her husband. I can't wait to share them with you. 

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