Baby Shower Planning, Part 1

We have come to the end of February and soon it’ll be Spring and Spring often times (in Nature mostly) means babies. In some upcoming posts, we will be planning a baby shower! We are actually throwing a baby shower at the end of March so we thought that we would do a couple of posts along the way of how to plan it, decorations and any crafting needed, and food.

This week we’ll look at the early stages of planning a baby shower. Take it as a guide for throwing one if you have never done so before. If you are planning one with others, kind of divide the duties as best you can. We have three people planning this shower; one is doing food, one is doing games and décor, and the other is hosting it at their house so they’re doing a lot of the decorating and also working on the decorations.

First of all, timing is everything. You have to decide if you want to do shower before the baby arrives or one after (Sip and Sees are becoming ever so popular). Take the mom-to-be into consideration. Is she having a rough pregnancy? Does she know the gender? Do her and her family have any hesitations or superstitions about having a shower before the baby arrives? When the mom isn’t feeling so great it might be better to have the shower after. It may not matter to some, but if you are waiting on finding out the gender it may be nice to wait for a shower so that you can buy gifts and decorate accordingly (that may not matter to the mom at all). Also, some moms-to-be might just want to wait until the baby arrives so that she can introduce him or her to all of her friends and family. On the other hand, having a baby shower before the baby arrives is very common. It’s a nice way to wish the mom well before the baby arrives and to also play some fun baby prediction/belly games!

We decided on a shower after the baby arrived so that everyone can meet the baby and mom can get some gifts that are more suited to her brand-new little one. We chose a date almost a couple months after baby was due. That gives mom time to adjust to things and to recover. That’s always something very important to remember as well if you’re picking a date afterwards. If you’re planning to do a shower before, check in with the mom to see how she is feeling and if she’s up for having a baby shower in general.

Once we picked the date, then we started planning the food, decorations, and the games. We’ll focus on all of these things in more depth in later posts because we are still in the process of creating and preparing for this shower, but here’s an overview…

Decorations/Crafting – We opted for a digital invitation. Handmade things are our specialty, but we thought that it would be more efficient and save money on all that postage if we just sent out an email. Ask the mom for a list of important people that she would like to have at the shower and ask her about people if you think she may have forgotten about some. You can find many online templates to create a fun and original digital invitation. We sent out these invites before mom gave birth so a fun thing that we did was get everyone to send back their RSVP with a prediction of gender, weight, and date. The person closest will get a prize on the day of the shower. Make sure you give people enough time to send in their predictions but also a fair deadline because they will lose out if mom delivers before they send in their prediction!

Other crafty and decorative items that we have on our list to make are garlands, favour bags, table décor, flower arrangements, and a name banner.

Games – Games are always a fun part of any type of shower! We went through a long list of ideas and narrowed it down to three. Baby food guessing, match the mom with the baby, and baby Bingo. We’re doing an afternoon shower from 2-5pm so you want time to mingle, hold baby, and have food so as much as we wanted to have lots of games, we just had to pick three.

Food – This is my specialty and responsibility! On our invitation we mentioned that if people want to bring food, then they can but they not obligated to do so. We are going to provide the basics like drinks (punch, tea, coffee, juice), a fruit platter with dip, a veggie platter with dip, and a meat and cheese platter. We are also going to do some deep-fried won tons and some special baked treats. Make sure you check if anyone coming to the shower has any food sensitivities or intolerances. Since I have bad food allergies, I always want to make sure and try and not exclude anyone from enjoying in on the food. You can also do some alcoholic beverages and more finger type foods like, sandwiches, chips and dips, skewers, and chicken wings. Or you can do a sweets only afternoon too. It’s up to you and what you think is most practical.

So now you have a plan in place to throw a fun baby shower. Stay tuned for more posts and to see how it all turned out!

Poolside - Pool Party

I can’t believe that we are half way through August already and Summer is slowly coming to an end. This week’s shade is very Summery, it’s called Poolside and it’s a metallic violet colour.

We’re going all out and “planning” a pool party. We’ve got some snacks, decorations, and games that you can use as inspiration for your party.

Decorations:

We found a couple decorations worth trying. So check them out...

Pool Noodle Beverage Boat – To start, find a sturdy plastic storage container. Make sure it’s not too heavy and make sure it’s clean. You can try and put some containers (cans, bottles, etc.) into see how it’ll hold as a test. Factor in the weight of ice as well. Cut a pool noodle into four parts and string it around the top sides as sort of a bumper floatation device. Test it out one more time and then fill with ice and drinks and put in your pool during your party.

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Noodle-Beverage-Boat

Garlands – Garlands are easy decorations that you can string up or hang anywhere by the pool for your party. For a pool noodle garland, you will need some string and three different noodles in three different colours. Cut the noodles with and exacto knife into ½ inch slices and layer them on the string. Make the garlands as long as you like and at each end you can tape the string securely so that they don’t fall off.

For a popsicle garland, you can use different noodle colours but this time cut them into five inch lengths. Apply hot glue to a popsicle stick and attach to the inside of the noodle. You can make a double popsicle by applying hot glue to the sides of the single popsicles and then glue them together. For this one, you can’t really string it together so attach the string to the popsicles with clear sturdy tape. Try and get them equal distances apart but feel free to make them whatever length you choose.

Finally a beach ball garland would be a really cool and colourful sight at a pool party. You’ll need some smooth foam balls and primary yellow, blue, and red paint. Paint the balls to look like a beach ball. You can use painters tape to mark off the different colour sections or you can freehand it depending on how steady your hand is. String them up by hot gluing some string to the tops of the balls and space them how you see fit. Make as many garlands or as long garlands as you like just make sure you have enough of the foam balls and enough time to paint them all.  

https://sugarandcloth.com/diy-pool-noodle-garland/

http://ohhappyday.com/2014/06/jumbo-popsicle-garland/

https://studiodiy.com/2012/07/31/diy-beach-ball-garland/

Food

We didn’t get a chance to try these food ideas out so take a look at the links and see what you think because you can’t have a pool party without some yummy food.

Watermelon Lemonade – This one looks cool and refreshing, just right for a pool party.

https://www.cookingclassy.com/watermelon-lemonade/

Strawberry Frose - For a more adult drink for the party by the pool, take a look at this divine drink.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a52864/strawberry-frose/

Orange Spritzer – If you like a citrusy drink, give this one a try that’s packed with orange flavour.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/orange-juice-spritzer/

Watermelon Popsicles – These look super cute and refreshing for any pool party.

https://www.cookingclassy.com/watermelon-popsicles/

Pool Party Cupcakes - If you’re looking for a pool dessert look no further than these super cute teddy graham cupcakes!

http://www.meandmypinkmixer.com/2009/07/pool-party-cupcakes.html

Sand Dollar Cookies   - For another quick dessert at the party, you can try these creative cookies.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/sand-dollar-cookies/

Barbequed Chicken Pizzas – If you’re having a pool party, you’ll most likely have your BBQ nearby so give these delicious looking pizzas a try.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/barbecued-chicken-pizzas/

Jersey Style Hot Dogs – A pool party staple is hot dogs! Try this one that is a little bit different (it has potatoes on it!)

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/jersey-style-hot-dogs/

Tropical Island Chicken – Again grilling is so simple for a pool party. You can make a lot and still be part of the party instead of being cooped up in the kitchen while everyone else has fun. Plus, it’s a finger food so really to serve and eat at a pool party.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/tropical-island-chicken/

Games

Lastly we have games and activities. No pool party would be complete without some fun things to do.

Inflatable Jousting – This one is sure to be a hit!

https://shoptourismkit.com/products/4-pieces-set-joust-pool-float-game-inflatable-water-sports-bumper-toys-for-adult-children-party-gladiator-raft-kickboard-piscina?utm_source=Click&utm_medium=Channel&utm_campaign=Google_US&ref=SFDR_70623762&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqr-Yr47q1QIV3IuzCh12xwxMEAkYAyABEgLPXPD_BwE

Inflatable Bull Riding – Oh, this one looks like lots of fun for the adults. It’s sure to entertain and delight everyone watching and participating.

https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/store/details/3345117646285/_/A-5831862?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIo5jp0f_k1QIVhmV-Ch1aKgByEAkYCCABEgLry_D_BwE

Some other fun things to do at your party might include...

Movie -  Ending the night with a poolside movie would be fun. You can borrow or rent a projector and pop some corn and wind down after a day of fun in the pool and sun.

Greased Watermelon – This could be fun and messy. Break into two teams and grease up a watermelon. Toss it into the middle of the pool and you want to try and pass it to your teammates until it reaches the opposite end of the pool; then you score a point.

Beach Volleyball – Set up a net over the middle of your pool and then break into two teams and go for it.

Tug of War – Grab a large long rope and break into teams. Draw a line about five feet away from the edge of the pool (you don’t want to go over this line) and start tugging. The losers are obviously the ones that end up in the pool.

Wet Shirt Relay – You can do this to break the ice at your party. Again break into two teams. Each team gets an oversized t-shirt. The first person of each team, puts on the t-shirt and swims the length of the pool and back and then hands off the t-shirt to the next person. The first team to have all of their participants complete the laps, wins.

Heart Baskets and Hanging Heart Garland

One of my favourite holidays is coming up, yes, it’s almost Valentine’s Day and we have a few heart/love themed blog posts in store for you for the next couple of weeks. Like I said before I like Valentine’s Day because I love all things hearts and pink and I love cinnamon hearts and you can find all of those things in abundance when it’s Valentines’ Day!

For the next couple of weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day we are focusing on creating things inspired by Valentine’s Day. This week we are making a heart weave basket that you can put treats in and a hanging heart garland that you can hang for decoration. 

Heart Weave Basket

This is something that I remember making in elementary school. You’ll need two colours of cardstock. We went with red and bright pink. Then you’ll want to print this template off on the sheets of cardstock...

Cut out the templates. You’ll have two of each colour so you can make two baskets. After cutting out the large shapes fold them in half so that the lined sides are up. Cut along the lines.

Now it’s time for some weaving. Put one template under the other. We wove the red through the pink. Take the red strip and weave it through the pink strip. Then weave the red strip around the pink strip and repeat weaving through and then around. Do the opposite for the next strip and then do the same as the first for the next strip, and finally repeat the second weaving sequence for the last strip.

This is what the finished basket will look like. If you have a scrap of ribbon or cardstock, glue it to the top and it can be used as a handle. 

Hanging Heart Garland

We have a bunch of 7 inch strips leftover from making cards so we took those and made a hanging heart garland out of them. If you want to make bigger or smaller hearts, you can cut different lengths of strips.

First you need some strips and a pencil to make the hearts. If you use a skinnier tool you'll get a smaller tighter heart. Make as many hearts as you want; the more hearts, the larger the garland. To make a heart you fold a strip in half. Then roll each end into the V most of the way down. Once both side are rolled, you’ll have a curly heart.

Once the hearts are made you string them together with a needle and thread and glue them together so that they look like this...

Here is the finished garland.