Last August (yes, that was over 6 months ago), I threw two baby showers that I haven't had the chance to share with you yet. I planned on giving you a recap in September, but then Labor Day happened, traveling happened, Thanksgiving happened, Christmas happened, and finally, moving to Mississippi happened. Why the delay after that? I simply forgot!
If you've been with me since last year, you know that we lived in Southern California when I threw these showers. Both of the showers were held in the Midwest (one in Michigan for my sister, and one in Chicago for one of my best friends). So, you can imagine the challenges I had to face by planning two very long-distance showers, for two different people, within one week of each other! Despite the craziness, it was a lot of fun!
The shower theme for my sister was Milk-aholic. She and I are both lovers of milk, and it is a standing joke that when we both are visiting my parents in Michigan (my sister resides in Colorado) my mom stocks up on gallons of milk to prepare for us! So, when I saw this idea for a Milk-aholic themed shower, I knew I had to go with it!
To set the theme, I created the party invitations (pictured above) in my Pages program on my Macbook, then printed them on cardstock, cut them with a paper cutter, and rounded out the corners with a scrapbooking tool I had.
The first thing the guests saw when they walked in the door was this guest book stand. The pictures don't show it very well, but the idea here was to leave the parents-to-be a message in the milk bottle. I also framed the invitation on this table and sprinkled the surface with baby shower confetti that said "It's a boy!"
My mom and best friend, Vicki, helped me with the food. Since milk and sweets go so well together, we decided to lean heavily on desserts, while also serving pulled pork sandwiches to round it out. The dessert table consisted of blueberry crumb bars, monster cookies, chocolate brownies, cream puffs, chocolate dipped strawberries and caramel corn. The cake and cake pops (made by Vicki) stole the show!
We set card tables up outside on the back deck and covered with black table cloth, decorated with a milk jug and flowers centerpiece.
I ordered the cake from Oh Sweet. Judy did a fantastic job and custom made the cake exactly how I envisioned! I have to admit, it is very hard to find a decent cake bakery when planning from a distance. I took a leap of faith here, and so glad I did! If you're in the Grand Rapids area, I highly recommend her!
For the drinks, we served milk and punch. The punch (not pictured) was my favorite concoction of white grape juice mixed with gingerale, kept cold with sliced frozen lemons and limes, along with frozen grapes. The milk was served in large milk bottles I bought from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I gave the choice of almond milk, chocolate milk and low-fat milk. Everyone got their own half-pint sized mason jar with a blue and white striped paper straw. If I didn't have to travel for this shower, instead of the mason jars, I would've used my individual milk jars that I collected. If you throw a Milk-aholic themed shower, I suggest you buy the bulk pack of Starbucks Frappuccino's from Costco (wait for a $4.00 coupon) and save each bottle. Wash them out and remove the label. From this, I now have 12 milk bottles!
My favorite part of this party were the party favors. I found a template online to guide me through creating my own template for these adorable milk cartons. Since it took me for-ev-er to do this, I decided to share the template with you for free so it can get even more use, hopefully! 🙂 Print them on cardstock, fold and adhere with double sided tape. Then, stuff them with bite sized cookies (I used Famous Amos.)
Although I'm not a huge game person, we did play a few games. One game I actually made up and I've provided the printable template below. (Instructions included.) And, of course, there were lots of gifts. Look how beautiful my sister is above with that adorable giraffe!
Since the shower was over half a year ago, obviously my sister has since had the baby. His name is Evan! 🙂 Here he is with the cutest Denver Broncos cap I got him for Christmas from Etsy. And, of course, a photo of Evan being held by his proud cousin, Judah. 🙂
Angie was already the best aunt ever to Judah, so I have no doubt that she is going to be even a more wonderful mom! Ang, I am so very thrilled that I got to throw this shower for you, and now you are also the mom of a sweet baby boy! I can't wait to have our sons grow up together and be best friends forever. xoxo!
Vendor and supply information:
White Milk Bottles (center pieces and guestbook table): Bed, Bath and Beyond
Decorations: Party City, Hobby Lobby
Paper Straws: Shop Sweet Lulu
Cake: Oh Sweet
Cake Pops: Vicki Lindsey
Theme Gift for the Mom-to-be, Happy Hour Onesie: Bully Design Co.
Theme Gift for a game winner, Milk and Cookies soap: Sun Basil Garden Soap
Invitations: Seeded at the Table (free printable-blue) (free printable-pink)
Milk Carton Party Favors: Seeded at the Table (free printable blue) (free printable - pink) (free printable - yellow)
Milk Carton Party Favors Sign: Seeded at the Table (free printable)
Cookies & Sweets Sign: Seeded at the Table (free printable)
Food/Drink Labels: Seeded at the Table (free printable)
Guest Book Sign: Seeded at the Table (free printable)
Baby Bottle Scratch Game: Seeded at the Table (free printable)
