Outside the Box

STORYBOOK BABY SHOWER

The above collage gives you an overview of the shower.  It was originally going to be located at a park to include our family.  Due to location problems, it ended up being at my house.  I didn't want to dilute the theme of barbecue, so I kept all of the planned games.  We had corn hole and bucket toss games in the front yard.  I had a golf tee and

hoola hoop games on the front porch, and two more games in the house.

I used children's books as a theme for each game or decoration.  In the top row's middle box, you can see a tea setup for "The Teddy Bear's Picnic." In the bottom row, there is a character match-up game above the punch bowl.  "Row Row Row Your Boat" put two of

the characters in a boat for the centerpiece.  The third box in  bottom row is Old MacDonald's Farm and Golf Tee. (Creative license was used here.)

We have a balcony that opens into our front hall and dining room.  The second row in collage shows a baby in stuffed baby holder that is resting on a luggage rack.  Believe it or not, this was the favorite game.  Family members went upstairs and "dropped" the baby to try to have her land on the bed.  If she did, they qualified for babysitting our newest family member.  Only one family member qualified, but a lot of laughter ensued.

The balloon poles were designed to match the games.  I learned how to tie 260 long balloons around poles this summer from watching YouTube.com demonstrations.

The very first box in the collage above were party dinosaur favors.  I made each dinosaur from two green washcloths.  I included foot massage lotions and sundry.

I baked brownies to match "If You Give a Mouse a Brownie."  This is one of many books

in this series.

I challenged my sister, the future granny, to make a diaper golf bag.  I think she did a fabulous job.

She got carried away after watching numerous Pinterest demonstrations.

                                                 

My manzanita trees with lanterns always add a festive touch.  I bought small stringed sets on Amazon, but didn't attach the lanterns to the wires.  I cut openings larger to fit small,

battery operated candles and made wire handles.

The above collage is made from shots of family using the weighted hoola-hoop I provided.                                             

                                       

                                             

As my niece was opening her gifts, the family was playing Gift Bingo.  We generated the boards online using common gifts a baby would need. In the photo above this one, you can see members of our family excited about winning this game.  Everyone really paid attention to what was being opened.  There was a lot of laughter, and it made it more interesting for the men and children.

The BARBECUE food was actually ordered from Chipotle Catering.  I had burritos and fixings for salads.  I also had pasta salad and potato salad. My sister Patty made her first attempt at a charcuterie board.  We put a  raspberry sherbert based punch in the hall red bucket. I thought it looked like a baby bathtub when I bought it.  

I provided each guest with a games booklet.  It included a page with a graphic/score card, along with the bingo card.

Everyone had a great time, including the mom-to-be, who is having a GIRL!!