~ It’s a Girl! ~
Last fall, I hosted ( along with two of my sisters-in-law) a Book Themed Baby Shower for my niece.
The niece {husband’s side} was none other than the one whose Love is in the Air Bridal Shower, I hosted back in the spring of 2015. Click here for a look at her Bridal Shower.
The Mom-to-Be had other baby showers that were given for her including one by my sister-in-law (& co-host of this one), the Grandma-to-Be. The other showers had cute girlie themes (think barrettes, headbands, accessories). So I had to come up with a totally different theme for this shower.
I went to sources like Pinterest for inspiration, and saw some book themed baby showers. I asked Grandma-to-Be if the Mom-to-Be enjoyed books. I learned Mom & Dad-to-Be were both readers. At that point, being a lover of books myself, confirmed giving a book themed baby shower was a no-brainer.
I had a blast putting together all the book-related details for the shower.
MY FOYER CHEST
Books ~ Books ~ Books
It was quite clear to guests when they walked in the front door, this was a Book Themed Baby Shower…
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SETTING THE TABLE…
Simple florals and children’s books were my starting point…
Besides children’s books I had in the house, I also purchased a few kid’s soft covered books that were on clearance at my local used book store. I ripped pages out of those books and scattered them across the table.
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Many of the books {like the Nancy Drew books and The Giving Tree pictured above} that I used for shower décor details, I purchased from the used book store. I gave all those books to Mom-to-Be after the shower. She {like me} is very happy to have gently used books as part of her library.
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A Second Table Close By…
TABLE DETAILS – A CLOSER LOOK
The Centerpiece
The Giving Tree and
Book Pages and Baby Girl Decorations Hanging from Silver Branches
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Gummi Worms for the Book Worm…
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Noah’s Ark and some of his animals…
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Alice in Wonderland and her looking glass…
and more Gummi Worms for the Book Worm
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Old MacDonald and one of his farm animals…
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PLACE SETTINGS
I rented silver plate chargers and layered them with white plates with silver trim
Colored baby bracelets were used as napkin rings
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CHAIR DETAILS
I rented white folding chairs, and attached 4 pink ribbons to the back of each chair
Mommy-to-Be had a special place
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OTHER DETAILS…
Baby girl onesies hung in the windows
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My dining room chest – more books
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THE INVITATION
In keeping with the book theme, I called the shower a “Storybook Brunch”
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We also asked each guest to bring a book in place of a card and/or as part of their gift to start a kids’ library for our Mom-to-Be.
I printed up “Book Plates” that each guest filled out with their name at the shower. The book plates were affixed to the inside cover of the books.
STORYBOOK SIGNS
I displayed 3 framed signs telling a short story about our Mom & Dad-to-Be…
This one was displayed with the drinks
{Dad-to-Be is a pilot}
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The “After Marrying…” sign was put out with the food
The “Sweet Endings” was displayed with the desserts
-FOOD
FOOD & BOOKS
Of course the food we served had to coordinate with the book theme as well. A book was displayed that related to each food dish served. The three of us split up the food dishes and the coordinating books we supplied.
I printed up “Food/Book” tent signs for each food item.
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Peter Rabbit and his vegetable patch…
How fabulously creative was this veggie platter my sister-in-law made!!!
We were still in the process of setting things up before guests arrived so kitchen background was still quite messy:(
The Very Hungry Caterpillar…
She also did a great job with this one too!
Each caterpillar had different colors (fruits)…
Dyed coconut for the grass
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Green Eggs and Ham…
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Three Little Pigs with a Blanket…
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Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Chicken Fingers…
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At the Pond One Day Flavored Water…
Ducks took the place of frogs
My sister-in-law also had little rubber ducks floating in the water too
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A look at the food spread…
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“SWEET ENDINGS” {DESSERTS}
Pinkalicious Sweet Treats
All things pink…
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Pretty pink onesis cookies…
My two “Betty Crocker” pals ~ The Two Kathys ~ were nice enough to step up to bat again with their fabulous baking skills, and bake these darling cookies (& the cupcakes). {They had also baked the wedding cookie favors for my daughter’s wedding. Click here for a peek at those.}
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Pink Cupcake Dress with Jewels
Cupcakes baked by The Two Kathys, and then I arranged them on a poster board and added the white M & Ms giving a ‘belt effect’ to the dress…
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Madeline’s French Macaroons
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Berenstain Bears’ Gummi Bears
and
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish Swedish Fish
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A look at all the Sweet Endings goodies…
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GAMES
We played two quick games with “but of course” book themes {Game ideas found on a Google search} …
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