Saturday, December 27, 2008

Where I beg relentlessly for help

I’ve had some unexplained obsession with hosting a baby shower. Don’t ask me why, I am not quite sure. Repeatedly I’ve volunteered to host baby showers. In almost every instance I’ve been rejected they’ve had someone else who has already been designated.

However, my sister is having a baby. She’s family, she has no choice, she can’t bypass my obsession generous and kind offer. I’ve been excited to plan this shower for ages. Just last week the date got bumped up (to Jan 17th) and I’m panicking. How I can throw the shower of all showers in just three short weeks? I’m jabbing my fingers into my eyes right now, can you see me?

I’ve found very few shower-related accessories that fit my taste. Apparently I’m picky, difficult, or just have bad taste. I’m opting for particular with outstanding taste, but I might be a little biased. One thing I can’t stomach is really traditional baby décor. Case in point, Kate might be the only kid with snowman pj’s that say “Chillin’ with my Homies.”

When it came to shower invitations, I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I looked everywhere. So, I decide TO.MAKE.THE.INVITATIONS. Insert the raucous laughter here, I know. Crafts are not my friend. Now, I did steal the idea, I’ll admit that. Despite the fact that I didn’t come up with my own design, I’m pretty darn proud of them if I might say so myself.

To accomplish this task, I even ventured into a craft store. I am now the proud parent of a corner-rounder, which I need to find another purpose for now that my invitation-making days are over.

Behold the final product; these are the diapers that the actual invitations slide in to.



Here is one with the invitation in it. Oh, how I adore paisley.



And a peek at the cute little invitation inside.



If I start blogging about my new scrapbooking addiction, or my quilt squares, please send someone to my house to beat me senseless. On second thought, please find out which delusional person has taken my mind hostage. Please and thanks.

Anyway, I’ve successfully mailed the invitations. That leaves the remainder of the shower to plan. You’d think a person who has relentlessly wanted to plan a shower would have a better game plan, huh?

Decorations? Shit. Help
Food? Double shit. I am not a cook. Help.
Games? Or, fake effortless non-games that can pass as games. Help.

Who signed me up for this gig anyway?

18 comments:

cw2smom said...

Adorable invites!! How about playing the dirty diaper game? It's really gross, but funny! I went to one where they melted various chocolate candy bars into little preemie disposable diapers and we had to guess (write down) which candy bar it was by examining it fully! Can you imagine? If someone walked in who didn't understand what was going on, they'd freak! Diaper pin game, where everyone wears/starts with a diaper pin and they have to refrain from saying some "baby" type word that you decide...like "baby" and when they do, you take their pin and whoever wins the most pins at the end gets the prize. It's fun to watch the pins get taken away because people can't refrain from saying that word at the shower! Who can suck a 4 oz bottle of juice/punch dry the fastest? Just some ideas! Have fun and can't wait to hear how it goes! Blessings, Lisa

C. Beth said...

Those are SOOOO cute.

The shower I hosted was November 6 so look at my posts from around then to review the game suggestions I got, and the menu.

Decorations? NOT MY THING. Someone else did those. The person who originally was planning the shower before I somehow volunteered to do games and food and host it at my house.

Call Me Cate said...

I'm of no use at all, unfortunately. Except to say that those decorations are totally awesome and I might even consider attending a shower that looked so cool. But since everyone I know seems to think I hate babies, I don't get invitations anyways.

Unknown said...

Awesome invites!! They must have been SO much work. But worth it! BTW-I left you something on my blog (http://1momof5.blogspot.com/2008/12/awarded.html) Have a great weekend!

Kelly said...

Those invites really rock! And, btw, I have been the proud owner of a corner rounder for many years. I actually do scrapbook when I have time, which means once or twice a year!
If you get creative with the color scheme and patterns like you did on the invites, the decorations could be baby chic. I would totally buy as much pre-made food as you can - chicken salad, fruit trays, cheese trays, etc. Just make sure the cake is pretty. And, I hate party games, so I am no good there! Let us know how it goes - you can DO IT, WATERBOY! (Weird Adam Sandler reference, sorry)

Christy said...

At my shower, we raced diapering a baby doll blind folded. It was actually funny. I was pleasantly surprised. :-) Love the invites.

Anonymous said...

hmmmmmmmm.... what adorable invitations.

wonder who you got the idea from??? :)

glad to hear you survived christmas!

jana

Unknown said...

Food...I did quiches (women DO EAT quiche!!)...For decorations, I did the baby's name in cute wooden letters hanging from ribbon (since you don't know the baby's name, do something cute like believe or love...also I bought wooden blocks and arranged them on the tables and other areas spelling Mom's name and Dad's name and their last name, etc... (then I gave the blocks to the mom) and my favorite game was to buy necessary items for the baby (pacifier, bottle cleaner, clippers, cute little diaper cover, bib, etc...) and put them in brown paper bags. I numbered each bag and passed them around the room. People felt each bag and guessed what was inside... Then all the items went to the mom!! If you have questions...let me know and I'll be happy to share more info. BTW...love your blog. Good luck...

Lyndsay said...

cw2smom - Thanks for your suggestions. I'll be sure to let you guys know how it goes :)

Beth - I remember that I loved the menu you did, so I'll have to hunt through your posts from then. Thanks for the reminder! Decorations are so not my thing either, hence the plea for help :)

Cate - Don't they know babies aren't typically at baby showers? LOL. Wanna help with the decorations? huh? cmon!

Lolli - I'll check out your blog shortly. Actually, the invites weren't that much work once I had all of the stuff I needed.

Kelly - Thanks for the compliments! I hate shower games too, hence trying to find some non-game games that could pass as games, but aren't games. You got that? :)

Christy - That is funny! Much better than the shower I attended where you "drew" the baby blindfolded ... some scary looking babies!

Jana - I'm not sure where that idea came from ... hmmm. Let me think :) Hope your Christmas was good too. How did Mason do?

Paige - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the decoration ideas. Those are totally up my alley! Quiche is a great idea ... I do eat quiche ... not sure how I'd do on making quiche ... Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Annelie said...

I absolutely love the invites. Adorable. Unfortunately, besides for providing praise, I am useless in helping to plan the baby shower - I have never been at one...
Good luck!

Special K said...

You know....Costco does Quiche.....

Simplicity said...

I absolutely love those invites! I'm not very creative with food unless I know the people personally...sorry! :( I don't think you'll have any problems whatsoever! Anybody who can pull A's out of their hat just before the Christmas holidays while juggling a life being a wife and mom can pull this off!!

Anonymous said...

The invites are stunning! I have a feeling the decorations will be beautiful as well. If someone makes such lovely invites, she definately has an eye for decoration. :)

Yellow Beads said...

Youre invites are so adorable. I hate the game when they guess the mother's waist size, so not fun for the mom to be, ha.

Jenners said...

I think my comment got erased so I'm trying again ...

Those invites are adorable! I can't believe you think you are craft-impaired!

I don't think I'd be much help with shower ideas -- the first one I attended was my own and I've never hosted one. The coolest thing at my shower was a diaper cake -- which was really cute and useful. Here is a link to a blog that specializes in that stuff -- you might find some cool stuff there:

http://www.cutiebootycakes.com/

Hope you have fun!

Laura Marchant said...

OMG! So cute!

Anonymous said...

Very cute invites. Great job for not being a craft person(or so you say!!).

Check out the deli section of the grocery stre for premade trays or appetizers. Or get a big sandwich or a bunch of little sandwiches. Those are always good.

I have one game suggestion. Get a bunch of clothespins. Have people pick them up one at a time and name a baby item. Whoeber gets the most before dropping a pin wins. Don't worry if people have smaller hands. I did and I came in second at this game!!

BTW, I found your blog through Ida's

E. Sloane Cannon said...

Those invites are beyond cute!! And so creative! I think you're on the right track, even if you don't know what you're going to do I'm sure you'll be able to come up with some amazing ideas :-)