Spring is just about to spring, and we’ve got our sights set on as many outdoor parties as we can possibly throw. Today, we’re turning our focus to baby showers. If you’ve got as many gal pals as us, chances are that you’ve got a baby shower or two on your calendar this year, and maybe you’re even throwing one! If you feel like a change of scenery and charging up on Vitamin D, may we suggest bringing your next baby shower to the great outdoors?
From scouting out a lovely location to prepping up lots of sweet and savory snacks, here are eight must-haves for a springy outdoor baby shower.
1. The Perfect Location: Try setting up a picnic in the park or at the beach to enjoy the natural surroundings in your area. And don’t forget the music. Bring a few portable speakers and sync them together so that you can create a surround sound experience. In terms of choosing music, we recommend a mix of the mama-to-be’s favorite tracks as well as a few silly songs that will get people laughing and dancing.
2. Blue and Pink Cocktails (and Mocktails!): Pre-mix cocktails for your picnic and bottle ’em up using a DIY building block cork stopper and glass bottles. If the shower is for a baby girl, make pink cocktails using a mix of lemonade, grenadine, vodka and an orange slice. For a baby boy, it’s all about the Blue Curacao. Add lemonade and vodka to this bright blue liqueur and your guests will love it! And of course, leave out the vodka for the mama-to-be.
3. Pastel Muddy Buddies: For dessert, serve pink or blue Chex™ Muddy Buddies. The combination of Chex™ cereal, peanut butter, powdered sugar and pink or blue candies are an adorable and mouth-watering treat for your guests to enjoy.
4. Plenty of Sandwiches and Snacks: Offer foods and snacks that won’t spoil, like dips and veggies, cold salads, sandwiches and fruit. On the sweet side, make sure to have lots of blue and pink treats like jelly beans, lollipops and cake pops.
5. Pillows, Blankets and Portable Furniture: Though we’re all about spending a day laying on the grass, for an actual party it’s good to recreate a sort of semi-living room. To do this, we brought a couple of poufs (lightweight ottomans will also do), a folding table, a bar cart and a breakfast-in-bed tray that doubled as a would-be coffee table.
<b>Tissue Paper Pom Poms</b>
Create a festive vibe by hanging up decorations on trees around you. These tissue paper pom poms will pack a lot of punch without breaking the bank, or even breaking a nail.
7. Patterned Decor: To create a cohesive theme, we added triangle patterns to anything and everything we could, including balloons and a fold-up tray. To do so, we cut triangles out of contact paper and adhered them to everything.
8. Play On Playa: Time for a new twist on a shower game. You know the game celebrity? Try a take on the classic game that fits with the theme of your baby shower. Create the clues ahead of time — all movies, songs and celebs related to babies.
And there you have it — add in your besties and your favorite mama-to-be and you’ve got the perfect outdoor party.