It’s the season for Showers! I was over joyed to offer to host my best friends Baby Shower this June. I know my friend inside and out.. so right away I knew that it was going to be Garden Themed. I have the perfect porch and garden as a backdrop, so why not! I wanted this shower to be special though, not so tradition with a few twists in there. So if you are set to host a baby shower this season, you are in for a real treat. Some easy DIYs, decor ideas and menu options ive gathered here for you today to take the stress out of hosting, and replace it with excitement!

So sit back, grab a notepad and pen.. and get ready to be inspired! I’m going to walk you through some of my favourite elements from the shower, and give you some tips along the way…

THE INVITE

The invite says it all! Make sure your invite is on theme and clear and simple. Now I designed and printed my own invite pictured below. There is SO many talented people out there that can create a custom unique invite for you. Some of my favourite invites are here on Etsy – the turnaround is so fast, and usually so inexpensive! Ill be adding this to my services.. one day when I have time haha!
Try to send out your invite 6-8 weeks in advance. Always proofread the guest list with the momma to be!

THE DECOR

Okay probably my favourite part.. could you guess? I did keep things pretty simple though. The gender is unknown so I knew things had to be kept white/greens/neutrals for the day. There were a few DIY projects I wanted to do to serve as a photo backdrop, and as a front entrance piece.

  • First, the photo backdrop. This one was a lot easier then it looks. First things first, that fabric is actually a curtain where I simply screwed in tiny hooks to my porch’s ceiling to hang from. Next I used this past holidays grape vine wreaths, wired them together and then hung from the curtain rod. I styled the wreaths by simply inserting some faux and live greenery into place! Ta da! Easy peasy backdrop for picture taking before, during and after the gift opening!
  • Second, the front entrance! Okay so I used my business wedding rentals for this, but you too could get creative! You could use a chalkboard, old window, washboard – whatever you can get your hands on to greet your guests! I simply went around my garden and cut some fresh ferns and greenery to wire to the stand to serve as a fresh floral point on top of the Welcome sign! It was a huge hit and let me guests know they were in the right place!
  • Throughout the house I styled my tables etc with fresh flowers from my garden. Anything that was white, natural or green I used! Too bad she wasn’t having a girl.. all my pink peonies popped the day before! Ugh! Oh well they were still admired 🙂

 

THE GAMES

I went simple and easy with two games that required hardly any effort. Fist one was ‘Guess the Bump’ size that required some yarn, clothespins and scissors! See the picture below! It was lots of fun and the winner won that small little potted flower next to the stand! I used an old window to write on and display the guesses!
Second, I did the generic ‘Guess the # of Candy in the Jar’ where the winner won the jar of candy! Perfect for munchies for the drive home from the shower!

THE FOOD

Okay, have I said simple too much? But that just may be the second theme of this shower. Sure it looks like a lot of work, but these simple dishes were either prepped the day before or I simply plated the morning of. I like to try and think of what I would want to eat at 1pm on a Sunday afternoon when I’m sipping on sangria celebrating my best friends pregnancy. Obviously cheese, meats, breads, veggies & yummy sandwiches come to mind. So along with the garden theme, I adopted a slight glimpse of an afternoon tea theme with gourmet cut sandwiches that included egg salad & microgeens, turkey & cranberry, Cucumber & herbs cream cheese. It was really fun to think up of some yummy varieties for the day!
With beverages, I know usually you dont have alcohol at a Baby Shower, however I went against the grain on this one and did a Peach Sangria, non alcoholic Lemonade and fresh lemon water. I also served coffee with cake. Oh the cake! Can’t wait to show you this one…

 

THE CAKE

Would you believe me if this cake cost me $15.00 from my local grocery store and those flowers are from my garden? Well – it really was that simple! I had this light bulb moment that those pinning worthy cakes have to be easy to replicate myself. So, I experimented.. well again it was saying a small prayer to the DIY gods that it would turn out! I ordered a vanilla cake with no decorations, I grabbed a wide knife and simply started lightly scrapping the icing off the side of the cake giving it that ‘naked’ look. And boy did it work well! You could reapply that icing to the top of the cake, but I thought it had enough as it was. As for the flowers, I cut some snips from my garden, wrapped them in a moist paper towel and cling wrap and stuck in the cake! The cake topper I ordered online from a lovely Canadian Etsy Shop, Spruce Meadow Co. Everyone loved the cake and asked where I got it made professionally!

THE DAY

I didnt change much on the flow of the day. The only thing I tweaked was during gift opening, I had a mini break where the momma to be could have a rest (when all eyes are on you it can get overwhelming right!) and I could serve cake and coffee! It was a great little break for everyone to stretch their legs, and it let the afternoon grow a little longer to enjoy! (Also don’t forget to set out a notepad and pen for the Momma to be’s sister or mom or aunt to write down what each gift is, and who it came from! Perfect for thank you notes for later!

THE FAVOURS

This was probably my favourite part. To keep in line with the garden theme – I decided to do a Favour called ‘Baby in Bloom’ where I hand wrapped white summertime bulbs to hand out as a Thank You for attending the shower. That way friends and family could plant the bulb in their garden when they got home, and by the time Baby H was due – their bulb should be showing some life! It was a fun project that included minimal materials. Small brown bags from the grocery store, some tissue stuffed in the bottom, the bulb placed in the tissue, and a cute sticker to seal the top of the bag! I also wrote on the bag the kind of bulb (I had 4 different varieties) and the date of the shower. I was going back in forth between white bulbs, or I was going to by pink and blue bulbs and incorporate it into a ‘guessing gender game’ too. Either way its a great and inexpensive favour idea!

Well my friend, that pretty much wraps it up! Not so bad right? All I suggest is make those lists! Lists of to dos and grocery lists. It really helped me stay on track! Happy hosting! Thanks for coming on the blog today, means so much to me that youre here visiting!

Talk soon, Sam xx