Throwing a Baby Shower

So finally it's a boy! After months of dreadful pregnancy, now we know the gender of our baby. As excited parents, we wanted to celebrate this new milestone of our lives. And, one way to celebrate parenthood and the coming of our little one is a baby shower. So what is a baby shower? I am not even familiar myself because I haven't been into one yet. But here's what I found.

"Baby Shower is gathering circle of friends and most likely a fun occasion to shower and honor the mother-to-be..."  (https://vernflash.wordpress.com/)

Unlike other baby showers which are thrown by the mom-to be's friends or relatives, Zohan's dad and I planned ours. We thought that we could throw our own for our first child. If you want to know more about baby showers, you may read about Baby Shower Guide and Etiquette.

We allotted a month for planning everything. And I just love planning, especially when it comes to styling and decorations. If I had another job, maybe it would be party planning and styling? 😉

So here's how we prepared it.

• Date and Time

First, we set the date and time. Like most baby showers, we held ours before my baby was born. So we held it on the 7th month of my pregnancy. It was held on a Saturday noon. We thought that a Saturday would be a good idea because most of us are off from work. Thus, most of the guests can possibly attend. Also, an afternoon party would also give us ample time to prepare.

• Guest List

Initially, we wanted to invite few of our friends and relatives only. So maybe around 30 people. But as we listed them, it looks like 30 would not be enough. I also thought that not everyone we invited will be able to come so why not invite more. What we also did is divide the number of guests - half from the dad's side and another half from mine.

• Theme

We didn't really have a specific theme but just a color theme (blue and white). After you have decided the theme, then all must follow - the decorations, invitations, cakes, tokens, etc. You can find a lot of ideas and inspiration in Pinterest or simply google.

• Venue and Food

Since both of us are working, we didn't really have the time to personally find and canvass for a venue and food. So we relied online (as they say, you can almost find anything online) and after a lot of searches, we found Rooms498. One of the reasons we chose to do it here is the location, it is somewhere in the middle of north and south which our guests will be both coming from. After we decided on the venue, we then planned the menu. There are a lot of choices since they are in partner with Gloria Maris.

• Invitations

To save on paper and hassles, we just created an event page in Facebook and invited our guests there. You could see how many people are coming and you can also set the group as private, which makes it visible only to your invitees. We posted updates from time to time.

• Baby Registry

In order to avoid duplicates, we have created a baby registry where you can customize your item/product selection. In this registry, guests may choose item/s and reserve. What's nice is everyone can check on the items which are still available and which are already reserved. But the twist is we don't know who reserved a particular item. It's nice, simple, user-friendly and FREE! 😆No hassles because it's online. If you're interested you may check babylistregistry.com. Before I found this site, I looked and tried many others and this is the best that I found. Usually there are registries in stores like Rustan's and SM, however it will restrict your guests from choosing their gifts and store.

Zohan's Baby Registry Page

• Tokens

I chose customized cupcakes for the giveaways, I ordered it also online. After days of searching for a supplier, I found 57 Sweet Tooth https://m.facebook.com/57sweettooth. Chose it because of good reviews, gorgeous looking cakes, delivery location and easy to contact supplier.

• Decorations

Foil Balloon

Mini Centerpiece 

Made our own decorations 😄 (DIY) with the help of friends. Before the event started, we decorated the room with the help of our very own guests who came early at the venue. Haha. Just bought the materials such as the balloons, crepe papers, etc.

• Program

The host of the event is no other than Zohan's dad himself. The baby shower wouldn't be fun without the games so he prepared the games and prizes. We also had raffle draws.

Raffle Prize: Smart Watch

Raffle Prize: Ironman Flashdrive

Game Prize: Phone fans

It was just a simple celebration we personally organized, no caterer, no party stylist, no event coordinator and whatsoever. Because whether it's an extravagant or a simple baby shower party, what's important is you shared the special occasion with your close friends/families.

Special thanks to our friends, colleagues and relatives who came.