Little adventurer baby shower

28 July 2014

The run-up to Natalie and Joe’s wedding was remarkably calm, from my perspective, but there was one aspect of the festivities that was a little nerve-wracking – my other sister-in-law’s due date, which was one week after the wedding! Today is our nephew’s official due date, but despite dancing up a storm at the reception he still hasn’t made an appearance. Though I’m not sure Marget would agree at this point, I’m glad I’m able to make a report of the shower in his mama’s honor before he arrives!

We held the shower in New York, where my sister-in-law lives. We went with a loose “adventurous little boy” theme, since that’s (loosely) the theme of the nursery. Here’s the invite I made to send to guests:

adventurer-baby-shower

colorful-baby-shower-invitation

I printed the invitations at FedEx, and sent them out in kraft envelopes from Paper Presentation I had on hand. I actually decided to list these as a download in my Etsy shop, so if you have a use for them, they’re right here!

We kept the decor fairly minimal: one of M’s friends made an adorable gingham garland, we arranged colorful yarrow into little tin buckets, and we displayed some adventurous books, pine cones, and wooden woodland animals. (They were part of my shower gift to Marget – maybe the start of a collection!) I also picked up a few tree trunk slices from A.C. Moore (easy to travel with!) for displaying food and made a special sign with nephew’s nickname.

adventurous-baby-shower

camping-baby-shower

To make the sign, I spraypainted a wooden craft store plaque white, then hot glued on twigs. Easy!

camping-shower-food

simple-shower-food

The favors were little muslin bags stamped with “Adventure is out there” and filled with trail mix! I used a self-inking stamp from RubberStamps.com and it worked beautifully on the fabric.

muslin-favor-bags

I really dislike most baby shower games, so we went simple and just had one activity aside from eating, socializing, and opening gifts: we painted blocks for the baby! The blocks were from A.C. Moore, and I picked up craft paint in the nursery accent colors and a multi-pack of brushes. It seemed to go over well; my brothers-in-law even picked up a brush to complete the set post-shower. As a side note, if you’re trying this and planning to have a really young child who might put them in his mouth play with them, I’d recommend adding a food-safe sealant after they’re dry.

painting-baby-shower-blocks

painting-wooden-blocks

wooden-baby-blocks

Now we just wait eagerly for news of our nephew’s arrival!!

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July 28, 2014 10:04 am

Too cute! I am not a fan of typical baby shower games and love your block-painting party idea. Practical and fun!

July 28, 2014 12:32 pm

What a sweet shower! I love the blocks, such a great way to get the guests involved and a one of a kind keepsake for the baby.

Brooke
July 28, 2014 9:36 pm

Love the blocks! What kind of paint did you use? And did it dry fast enough so that the guests could paint all 4 sides? It looks like it did! You did a wonderful job!