A baby shower is something I never thought I’d want to have but seeing as this is our first baby I did want to do something special (apologies in advance to baby number 2, if and when the day comes), so I got all my closest girlfriends and family together for an afternoon of nibbles, drinks and a few games. When it came to choosing a venue I wanted somewhere laid back and cosy. Fold Coffee was the perfect choice! Chelsea and Jess helped me organise the day and were so accommodating with food and everything else. I wanted everyone to mingle as much as possible, so we decided to have a buffet style lunch with delicious finger sandwiches, coronation chicken, salmon and cream cheese and ham & cheese, cute little brownie cupcakes, scones and carrot cake, scotch eggs, sausage rolls and hummus etc. all made by Jess. Everything was so good, especially the coronation chicken and carrot cake… yum! There was even plenty for us all to take boxes home with us!
I didn’t want too many games that people would feel a little uncomfortable and I also wanted enough to do so that nobody would be bored. We played ‘guess the baby’, which I put together using baby pictures of each guest and everyone had to match the baby up with someone in the room. I guess this one was quite hard as not everyone knew one another but I hoped it would get people talking. If you try this game you could perhaps make name tags for each guest to help!
We also played ‘who knows the parents best’. This consisted of around 12 questions all about mum & dad AKA Josh and I. I gave out little prizes for the winners of each game too, a box of chocolates and a little bottle of Prosecco!
I made a ‘predict the date’ calendar for everyone who wanted to join in. Dated from 37 weeks until 42 weeks! To play, put a £1 in the pot and pick a date you think baby will make their appearance! Winner takes the pot.. not long to go!
After a couple hours, Josh, his brothers, my Dad and brother came to join the party. It was nice for them to come and spend time with us too, especially for Josh as it’s half his baby too! I would’ve actually loved to have got all our close family and friends, women and men, together. Perhaps we’ll organise something for when the baby actually arrives as we won’t be having a head wetting.. but I have heard of a ‘sip and see’ where you drink and meet the baby, so that’s an option!
Afterwards, a few of us went for a drink and some tea at a local pub. I was so tired, my feet and hands swollen.. I kind of wished we had just gone home as I was feeling so overwhelmed with the whole experience. It was the most perfect day though and it’s made me even more excited just knowing that we have the most amazing support network around us.
I only have 5 more working days left at work now! I’m so ready to start nesting and get all the little jobs done before he/she arrives. We still have quite a bit to do.. like build the utility, get some carpets down, get a new mattress, some curtains/blinds etc. but I’m sure we’ll get there…. I’m going to share what I’ve packed in my hospital bag and my birth plan next week. I’ve done a bit of research and have asked lots of mums what they needed, used/didn’t use so hopefully I’ve got it down to a t! Speak soon, L x