My Sister's Baby Shower Recap, from the Outfit to Event Decor and Games
A forest animal themed baby shower fit for a nature lover.
The childhood days of playing house with our baby dolls is about to become a reality for my sister as she prepares to welcome a baby girl in May.
To celebrate, we held a baby shower last month in the theme of her nursery, baby forest animals — perfect for the nature kid who was obsessed with Ranger Rick.
Here’s a look at the event decor, my baby shower gift, and of course, my outfit.
The Outfit
The dress code for the shower seemed like a no-brainer: a pink dress.
Immediately, I was challenged with how to make my dress girly, exciting, and different from what everyone wears to baby showers. The last point meant florals were immediately out. Plus, it was March, which felt a little early for botanicals.
My vision led me to black polka dots set on a short pink dress or a soft pink elegant milk maid dress.
But the dress hunt proved to be an even bigger challenge since my specific vision also came with a small budget and a desire for free shipping and returns.
I was starting to face the reality that I would have to sacrifice my vision when it hit me: Dressing in pink wasn’t the only way to dress on theme. I could instead dress according to the actual event theme of forest animals.
The dress needed to be an earthy color, and it just so happened that a fitted brown maxi dress that I’ve been dying to wear for months was hiding in the back of my closet.
And this is why we keep the dress that fits like a glove even though we have nowhere to wear it.
What sold me on the outfit was adding animal details: Ralph Lauren Leopard Lanette Haircalf Pumps, a tortoiseshell bracelet, and my vintage Coach purse with leopard patchwork.
The Pinterest Board
Every party starts with a Pinterest board in our household. Here’s a look at our inspiration for the event:
The Decor
A forest colored balloon photo backdrop with baby forest animal cutouts
Moss-wrapped floral arrangements
Fake birch trees
Ivy garland
A forest backdrop
Forest animal stuffed animals
Green textured table runners
Real pinecones and acorns — collected by my parents on their walks
Wood tree candle rests
Wood tree table number holders
Floating flower candles in green water
Forest trees on the cake
Animal balloons
Fake birch-wrapped candles
Customized Hershey Kisses
The Games
Who’s my mama?
Match the animal with the name of its baby
Guess how many animal crackers are in the bear
Play-Doh baby making competition
What do you meme?
Meme writing competition for baby photos
Diaper raffle
Bring a pack of diapers, get a raffle ticket
How old were mom and dad?
Guess the ages of the parents in the photos
Guess mom’s belly size
Cut yarn to your guess size
Don’t say baby
If you catch someone saying “baby” take their baby clothes pins
The Gift
The best part of having a baby girl is that you get to play dress up with her, and since my sisters and I grew up loving princesses, a dress up station was a must.
I found the Snow White, Tinker Bell, and Boo outfits — yes, I know Boo isn’t a princess, but I couldn’t resist — on Facebook Marketplace. I also had to order a dress of my sister’s favorite priness, Repunzel. I got each outfit in a different size to fit her baby girl at various stages.
I hung them all on a small clothes rack with baby hangers adorned with Mickey heads in the hope that when her little girl gets older, she can have an actual dress up station in their house.
I also got her three princess books, two of which are about my sister’s favorite princesses, and one to show her what each princess can teach her. I put these in a basket on the bottom shelf alongside baby headband tiaras, Minnie shoes, Mickey & Friends sunglasses, and a sparkly Elsa purse.
And the card of course, had a dress on a clothes line to match.
Now, that the shower was a success, we await the baby girl!
