Monday, January 10, 2011

a winter {penguin} baby shower

This last weekend, I had the opportunity to host a baby shower for my sister-in-law who is due in less than a month.  Since, it's not every day that I host a party, and never had I hosted any sort of shower, I was thrilled to seek inspiration and bring to life such a party for this lovely lady.  

Since it is January, and the weather is forecasting snow all over the map, I had to capitalize on the season. 
But of course, with snow, there should be penguins!

Penguins, penguins, penguins!

ice blocks and flurries of fake snow centered the table,

with decorative penguins

and edible penguins scattered about.
Husband made these little guys.
Aren't they sweet? And him, too?
He complained when I asked him to clean the bathroom,
but jumped on making edible penguins.
He can't resist a session of creativity.

There were chocolate and vanilla cupcakes topped with fluffy cream cheese frosting

and plenty of snowflake sugar cookies, too.

This black stemware was a must,
and I have my Mom's best friend to thank.
Now, if I could only get myself a set of 12 or 18!
I'm becoming my mother...but black is SO versatile!

The candles added to the winter ambiance.

I had such a fun time making this banner.  I just loved making the tiny snowflakes and the wee little 
paper-pieced penguin in the center.
It was inspired by one of Brooklynn's children's books.
The papa penguin on the mantle is my new favorite winter friend.  I eyed him at the store for at least a couple months, and finally snatched him up for $11.99.  Unfortunately, he only had two arms for about a day.  The kids were after him like a new puppy.


I hung glistening snowflakes from the light fixture above the table
to add to the snowy theme.

When I saw these pails, I had to have them for the shower.
I searched high and low for 22 of these white Target pails.
I had three people purchase them for me, and even had help from a friend in Arizona!
Filling them was the tricky party, but I finally settled on hot cocoa and marshmallows and a couple chocolaty treats.

We played a few games, including this
icebreaker game...
I think I made a few dumb jokes about the ladies preparing to get fast and furious,
and they didn't know what to make of me.  But by the end, an icebreaker it was.

We played the 'Dirty Diaper Game'

and the 'Name that 'Baby' Song game,' where you name the song and the artist of the song with 'baby' in the title.  Oldies are perfect for livening up the group. Ice, Ice, Baby, and Hit Me Baby One More Time are sure to spur a sing-along.

And of course, we showered the honoree with plenty of gifts and love.

It was a lovely afternoon and plenty fun to host!

Maybe in another post, I'll tell you all the things I learned not to do when preparing for the big day.

xx

13 comments:

I Love Pretty Little Things January 11, 2011 at 5:54 AM  

What a great theme!!! I would have never have thought of penguins, but that is so much fun!

Dee Paulino January 11, 2011 at 6:02 AM  

I love the originality of this theme. How creative. Everything from the food to the decoration looks perfect.

Cassie January 11, 2011 at 8:40 AM  

Yes, it was so much fun! Love a themed party!

Thanks, Ana!

kimbirdy January 11, 2011 at 9:39 AM  

that looks like such a hugely successful and fun party!! way to bust out the creativity! and such a cute theme. i love all of it!

Tammy January 11, 2011 at 11:20 AM  

WAY CUTE, Cass! Love every little detail!

Gigi's Thimble January 11, 2011 at 2:53 PM  

Good job Cass! Everything looked great. Loved the table and the food and the banner (wish I could see that up close!) Good job. You pulled it off so well!

Cassie January 11, 2011 at 4:43 PM  

Ambs, I wish I had a closer picture of the banner, too. The closest is the one from the last post...and now, it is probably hanging up at Stef's.

Thanks for all the kind words!

Shantel S. January 11, 2011 at 6:19 PM  

Amazing! What a fun and beautiful theme.

mlyster January 11, 2011 at 8:19 PM  

SO CUTE, thanks for posting pictures! The pails turned out great!

Brittnee Violet January 11, 2011 at 11:32 PM  

It was truly darling. Cass you were a great host, relaxed yet on top of things. Glad to have been apart of it, and look forward to any times to come. Till then my friend, take care.

Connie January 11, 2011 at 11:54 PM  

Superb, Cassie! The whole look is just what we hoped for, wasn't it? I think Charlotte got a lot of her goblets at garage sales, so you can look for them there. And I LOVE Nate's edible penguins! Way to go! Did you two create them, or did you get the idea somewhere? And I love the big guy on the mantel. Too bad the kiddos got ahold of him...:)

Shaleign January 12, 2011 at 11:39 AM  

Great job cassie, hard to believe it was your first. I LOVE LOVE LOVE, putting on parties and/or weddings and do it very often. I, myself just got the pleasure of have the task to host a babyshower next month. Everyone in my family and family-in-law knows to come to me because I'm more then excited to lend a hand. I think those penguins are too cute. You and your hub are very creative duo.

Erin January 13, 2011 at 3:22 PM  

Beautiful Job Cass! :) You are stunningly creative always. Love all your details! :) Joey made those tiny penguins for Christmas last year! I think our hubbies have more in common than they know!

“You must write every single day of your life... You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads... may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.” ― Ray Bradbury
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