THE JOYS OF EVENT PLANNING: BABY SHOWER EDITION
So, you have been blessed with pregnancy. You made it through the first trimester (barely) and the nausea has faded away. Your second trimester was a relief and people started to comment on your “pregnancy glow”. Your belly burgeoned and you started to feel that faint flutter of your little jelly-bean as they stretched and rolled… Ahhh bliss!
Then… bam! The anxiety kicks in. Everyone has a story about birth trauma. Yet no one really tells you about the emotional stress you go through as an expectant parent. From the health of your baby to the changes on your body, never mind the impact on your career – just to name a few.
What they definitely don’t tell you about is the stress of planning a baby shower. With so many considerations and Instagram influencers showing off those picture-perfect moments. The custom signs and majestic balloon arches, you find yourself spiralling into a pit of self-doubt and competitiveness. It can all be a bit much. So I thought I would take you on my journey with the best and worst parts of baby shower planning!
BABY SHOWER DILEMMA ONE: THE STYLE
So, it’s decision time! Do you want a traditional baby shower with your girlfriends, loads of games, and baby trivia? As a late-to-the-party parent, most of my friends had kids while I was still knocking back tequila shots at 3am so this style of party was always a bit of a drag for me. Eating pureed pees out of nappies with a savage hangover is something I never want to relive. I didn’t want to exclude anyone from the festivities so that style was ruled out.
One of my closest friends had a mother’s blessing. It was a beautiful experience where we shared generational birth stories, meditated, lit candles, and wrote motivational mantras for the mumma-to-be. There was little décor or frill as we bonded over organic vegan food and our feminine divinity (who run the world??). It was lovely, but my northern English family would have been equally confused and scared of this style of event.
Another friend had a fancy high tea at a cute garden venue. They had low tables with cushions, perfectly curated food placement, professional photographer, and a LOT of décor. Think, bougie glassware, flower arches, and the “Insta favourite” greenery wall backdrop complete with gold lettering. The thought of the cost of this event made my eyeballs sweat with an impending year of maternity leave and no income.
Now don’t get me wrong, all of these events were fun and beautiful in their own way. And I loved aspects of each of them. But none felt like me. To me, they all had one crucial element missing – the dad!
I know the impact on women of pregnancy is extreme (believe me I am 100% on board with that). But I can’t help but feel that the father’s role within the pregnancy is somewhat of an afterthought. My husband was so excited to become a father and we really wanted to celebrate this as a pair. So, we decided to do a baby shower together with all our close friends and family.
BABY SHOWER DILEMMA TWO: THE VENUE
Now I can’t stress enough how many things you need to consider with your venue choice. Especially when you are an overt planning Virgo like myself. The three biggest considerations include:
- Capacity: this means guestlist. That is a whole drama on its own, but I like to run the rule of if you wouldn’t invite them for coffee, why would you invite them to your baby shower? Be prepared for stern conversations around this and hold your ground. We landed on about 50 people in the end.
- Weatherproofing: while the forest and garden aesthetic is great for selfies, our baby shower was in peak winter… and particularly wet winter. We wanted a space that could accommodate all weather types and have enough seating for those less mobile.
- Personal style: We live by the beach and wanted to show off our beautiful area to our guests. We also wanted a venue that looked good, so we didn’t have to outsource too much decor. Can I get a collective gasp for the $600 balloon display?!!
We found the perfect spot down by the beach with views of the waves crashing over the coastline – nature’s décor! It had indoor space as well as undercover outdoor space and a full kitchen. It was complete with audio and screens plus it had loads of free parking and was close to public transport – a bonus win! The cost wasn’t that bad with a small fee for the room and a minimum spend on the bar. Again, with my English family, the minimum spend was easily met!
BABY SHOWER DILEMMA 3: THE FOOD
No one likes a hangry guest! Catering for an event can be the worst part of planning any event let alone a baby shower. We didn’t want to pay a huge amount for a blanket menu. We also had guests with so many different dietary requirements. This aspect of the planning was the most stressful for me, so we decided to outsource it.
Catering by Soul Origin was the perfect choice for us.
They had a range of items that could deliver both a mixture of brunch, lunch, and treat options. Plus, you paid per platter as opposed to per person so the value was way better. It also put my mind at ease that this was a national company and a credible brand so food safety and hygiene would be 100%. The last thing you want to do at a self-catered event is give the guests food poisoning. So, what did I buy you ask?
I started with some yummy sliders. Soul Origin have both vegetarian and meat options so we stacked up on those. We then added some wraps as a lighter bread alternative. For our vegan friends we opted for the Buffalo Falafel and Tonkatsu Plant-Based Schnitzel Salad Pots. We supplemented this with some artisan mini pies and quiches as a hot food alternative.
It was back to Soul Origin for the pastries as they do amazing danishes, banana bread and pain au chocolat. We dressed these up with a selection of fresh fruit.
Finally, what’s an event without a cheese and antipasti board? We added those from our local grocery store and we were all set to go.
The whole process with ordering Soul Origin online, to picking up in store was so easy. The team made the platters fresh that morning and required no styling from me as each product presented beautifully.
It looks like I had spent hours cooking and preparing and my guests loved the food – it was the best decision I made! I forecasted for about 8-10 pieces per person which was perfect. My friends and I whipped all this food up into a grazing table and it looked a million bucks – but didn’t cost it!
And that my dear reader was it! My baby shower journey. It turned out to be a very special day with those I love and care about. With a great venue, delicious food, and little to no stress, it really made the day a memorable one!
