baby shower part 1: making plans

Everyone loves themselves some babies, but not everyone loves themselves some baby showers. The diaper games with disgusting food in them, the advice, sitting for hours with strangers – it can feel a little dreadful for all involved. While all of that angst is just worth it for the love of the momma-to-be, the girls and I set out to make it a little different in hopes of accomplishing a few things: that our friend Lynds would feel celebrated, loved, and a bit more ready for her little guy to come.

Along with that, we tossed in our hopes to keep most awkward moments at the door so that Lynds would be comfortable and everyone would have a great time.

We hoped.

Throwing a baby shower with good friends, for a friend, is by far the best way to go. Add to that, two of the most gifted creatures on planet earth, and it’s just going to be a gift to yourself. Let me introduce my girlfriends Jen and Kristin. 

What can you say about friends you’ve cried, laughed, and created with over the years? A lot. So let’s take that history and throw our shared friend Lynds a party, we thought. Here’s a little how-to from the way the three of us pulled it off, beginning to end. Feel free to borrow and share.

#1 Picking a date and time:
Since it was February, we intentionally chose the coziness and candlelit dream of a winter nighttime gathering. If you live in Minnesota, you can pull this off eight months out of the year. Bliss. Really, a nighttime get-together anytime of the year just happens to be my favorite.

#2 Brainstorming alone and together:
Jen suggested a private Pinterest board and the 3 of us starting pinning. Brilliant plan, do this.

#3 Meeting face-to-face:
On a hectic work/life day in January, we met in the skyways of a Minneapolis coffee shop to spell out our ideas and hopes. Because the Pinterest board had us sharing and commenting on plans previous to this meeting, we were already rolling with creative thoughts by the time we got this far. In about an hour we walked away with a strong plan to work from going forward. Plus we snuck in a speed-style share of how we were doing personally, a bonus.

#4 Landing on a theme and gift plan:
Because our Lynds had mentioned a lack of children’s books in their collection, we decided upon a book shower to build their first children’s library. Not a new idea by any means but always a good one if it fits the need. In addition to each person bringing a favorite book to share, we also planned one group gift and a sharing time to celebrate Lynds.

#5 Visualizing our hopes for the night:
We thought through what we wanted the night to look/feel like and came up with this outline.
Toasting: gathering the group and starting the night by turning towards our friend with a toast.
Eating: partaking in delicious food that always has the potential to help mark the event and bring people together.
Sharing words: looking our friend in the eyes and telling her the mother gifts we see she already has.
Giving: bringing out our books and gifts to bless our friend.
Creating: putting our hands to a little project for the little guy.

#6 Dividing up the tasks:
Kristin took the lead on decorations and sharing time, Jen took the lead on the creative time, and initial e-vite, and I took the lead on the food and a pre-shower mailing.

Jen, Kristin and I are writing a mini-series of posts. Stay tuned for baby shower part 2: making invitations. 

~H

Last Updated on June 16, 2022 by Heather Bursch