A 'Guess HOO' Shower

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Now, if you're a regular, you've heard me mention my sister-in-law, Ryan, AND you can probably tell my brother married the daughter of a family friend.  Our parents are friends and, actually, my sister-in-law was a childhood friend of mine.  Allow me to explain how this whole in-law situation went down... When family friends marry into your family, it's an excuse to multiply the family horizon.  My brother's in-laws quickly became ALL of our in-laws.  Then Ryan's brother, John, married Amalia and they come to our church and then she brought her mom and her brother and they became in-laws because she married my brother's in-law and somehow, wayyyy down the line, we're *like* related even though we're *like* not... That is, unless my brother has a baby then we'll all call that baby our niece or nephew so we'll all be family at birthday parties, right?! So, for the sake of the unborn baby's birthday party, we should get together weekly for family dinner and celebrate milestones together because we're going to have to be a happy family for the unborn baby that might come into the family one day. Eventually. Right?

Raise your hand if you're confused!  Me too.

To further complicate matters, Ryan's sister, Jasmine, married Hubbs' friend, Tony.  She's a cutie-patootie:

Amalia (left) and Jasmine (right), my sisters-in-law somewhere down the line, lol.

OK, now that we got all that stuff out of the way... Jasmine was expecting her and Tony's first child.  Ryan was actively planning her shower from early on and I offered to help out wherever necessary.

Ryan asked if I could handle the games AND if she could borrow some of my supplies.  Of course, I said yes!

Planning events can be stressful.

I asked Ryan if she needed anything and I didn't think agreeing to pick-up sodas was a big deal.  I promise, Ryan was on the brink of tears and thanked me non-stop for just OFFERING to help.

Have I mentioned EVENT PLANNING isn't easy?!

Well, it isn't.  You might not know how difficult it is until you're responsible for someone's big day.

ANYHOO...

Jasmine is an artist who has a love for owls.  Ryan chose to appropriately theme the shower 'Guess Hoo's Having a Girl' but she couldn't decide on colors.  Then, we got a text message that helped with the decision:

The nursery was coming together fabulously and Ryan decided to have a cheerful color combination of pinks, purples and yellow.

Task 1: Vases

Ryan asked if I could come up with an affordable vase for the small arrangements on the tables.  I immediately thought of these cute boxes I saw in the Target Valentine's display of the dollar bins:

Because they're made of cardboard, I decided to use cups on the inside to hold the arrangements like so:

I purchased the owl containers after Valentine's Day for $.25/each (on sale)!  Always check after holidays for great deals and think of what you need in advance (Easter decor is GREAT for baby showers).

Speaking of post-holiday sales, I was so excited to pick up a few packs of cute owl ornaments after Christmas.  They were the small details that pulled the decor together...

Task 2:  Onesie Buffet

Ryan wanted a buffet for guests to decorate onesies upon arrival.  I made a quick sign (using scrapbook paper, stickers and our cute little owl ornaments) and brought our animal stencils, paints and sponge brushes.  We turned it into a game because guests had to runway walk their baby fashions for mommy-to-be to select a winner.  It was a lot of fun!

Can you see the Owl onesie Ryan made? Craft stores sell printable iron-on sheets for projects like this!

Task 3: Centerpieces

I arrived early and, just to be helpful, I set-up tables.  Ryan's mom arranged the flowers while I placed linen and a crochet owl on each table.  During the shower, we played a dancing game and Jasmine danced for a prize.  What was her prize?  Ryan announced that each of the crochet owls would be made into a custom mobile for baby's crib - how CUTE!

Task 4: Set-up

I've been told that my support for set-up is like having 5 people's help, lol.  I think it's the Starbucks, honestly.  Whatever the case, I moved the tables around, had linen on the table and kept it moving to other areas of the room to include the gift area:

The greeting table with advice cards, custom wooden pencils and HerSHEy bars:

Ryan tied ribbon onto paper clips and they made a great alternative to the clothespins and were equally affordable and cute!

How cute are those little owl ornaments?! Another cute element was the book basket.  In lieu of cards, Ryan requested that guests bring a book to build baby's library. Here's my book:

I brought a few bird cages to hold items, including my Pier1 bird cage (a votive candle holder).  Ryan's mom filled the votive holders with flowers and a little feather-y poof I bought while traveling in GA;it was too cute:

It made for a cute conversation piece!

In about 20 minutes, I set-up all of the decor elements and moved on to the drink display; we were opperating on a time crunch!

How cute are the water bottles? Ryan used DUCT TAPT as labels!!  While I set-up the space, Ryan's mom handled floral arrangements and balloons, Ryan's sisters-in-law prepped the food and Ryan finalized set-up for her sweets table:

My favorite dessert was Ryan's strawberry cake kabobs:

Plain donut holes from Dunkin Donuts, strawberry cake balls, and fresh strawberries sprinkled with powdered sugar.

OMG! I also loved the cake:

Ryan found the toppers on Etsy and they made the perfect topper!

We've talked decor so, let's get started!

Can you see baby Lea's initials on the door?

The siblings (my in-laws...somewhere down the line, lol)

Their mom had her video camera to capture guests' comments to baby Lea.



Imagine this: family members are very heartfelt while expressing their excitement for baby Lea and mom is holding the camera.  The people start to get emotional and mom is nodding her head and starts to cry silently...  To break the ice, I said from the side,

"We need a new videographer, Mom is making everyone cry."

She turned to me covered in tears with her nose was running; she was SUCH a mess that she really just needed to laugh at that immediate moment, lol. 

OMG! Get this:  Jasmine's mom gave the sweetest gift!  Jasmine read the card from her mom and it went something like this:

"Jasmine, I remember the day you were born.  I spent my time planning for your arrival by knitting you an all white cardigan and hat.  You wore that outfit home from the hospital with the cutest tiny white shoes and, on that day, you became my baby doll.  I call you my sunshine and my favorite baby photo of you is one when you are wearing a cheerful pink sundress.  You have always been a happy baby... My happy baby.  I can't wait to see you enjoy motherhood.  The baby items I mentioned have brought me great joy and I am happy to pass them on to you."

Jasmine looked in the basket to find her baby clothes and they were in mint condition.  Everyone was crying as she pulled them out.  Her mom also gave Jasmine's favorite bedtime story and surprised her with the tiny wooden rocking chair her grandfather made for her when she was little.  Again, we all teared up; it was a sweet moment.

Everyone felt the love :)

I always giggle to myself when strangers approach me after events and say,

"Tabby, you have a gift! You should consider event planning for money!"

I just nod, smile, thank them and think, "if ONLY you knew! I'm kind of a psycho event freak who actually enjoys the adrenaline rush and started my own business as means of self-inflicted pain."


Looking back, I didn't realize how much I worked to pull things together.  I just wanted to do whatever it took to relieve some stress from the hostess :) 


It was a success and Ryan did a GREAT job... I did, however, kick myself afterwards because I remembered a dress that would've been perfect for the shower:

It's covered in birdies!