Welcome to Baby Week on Kiki and Company. I hope you will come back each day this week as I share all kinds of baby posts including showers, printables and must haves for those sweet little munchkins that come into our lives!
Last year, I was faced with a problem. My best friend lived across the United States in Washington D.C. and she was going to have her 5th child. I don’t know about you, but I love celebrating EVERY LITTLE BABY when they are coming. I wanted to come with a way I could throw a shower that was different and could connect a bunch of friends. I was new to Instagram at the time and was having a blast connecting with my friends all over the world and so I tried to come up with a way we could connect via Instagram and throw her a shower. YOU GUYS, we had the best time a few weeks later, chatting and oohing and ahhing over baby things via Instagram. It was SO fun and worked out perfect. So I wanted to share some of the ideas and printables I used to throw it.
THE INVITATION:
This invitation was super simple and fun to come up with. Because there were girls all over the country that would be coming together, the easiest way to pull this off was to send the invitation digitally and have them RSVP at the Instagram account I set up just for the party. Those who didn’t have an account were encouraged to either get one (if they had a phone that could support it) or to get together with someone who was close by who had an account. My friend made sure those she invited had an account so it all worked out.
PREP WORK:
This was the really fun part for me! As the organizer, you just want to make sure everything gets done and sent off with plenty of time to spare. I had a blast coming up with some super simple decorations and printables to use.
I made a bunch of cute Instagram squares in a few sizes. I decorated her box to go with them and used one as a card.
I added a sweet little banner on the inside of the box.
Then I got her present together. For this shower, we sent more sentimental items, since it was her 5th (3rd girl). I made her a sweet little blanket with gold binding.
I just LOVE how shimmery it is.
I adore making little blankets for mommy to snuggle her baby with. None of them are perfect, but putting together the combinations for each mom is so fun.
I also added in one of my baby books so she can remember that quick first year.
I added in some other fun random things including new fresh soap and some fun jewelry for momma to wear!
Then I added in some party food for her to snack on during the party (or to stick in her hospital bag!)
I then boxed it all up and sent it off.
So as the shower organizer my prep was a little longer, but each person coming to the party sent my friend a gift by the date on the invitation.
THE PARTY
The whole party was put on at the account and hashtag that I had set up for the party. Each of the ladies were “followers” of the account so it was easy to follow along.
You could also do this at your own account if you wanted, but because all 600 of my friends on her Instagram account weren’t invited, we thought it would be best not to clog up her feed with tons of pics! I sent out a reminder that morning.
and then we started with introductions. She had friends from Utah, Idaho, Washington,Nevada, Arizona and Australia that all showed up!
So you can understand some of the conversation, here are some of the responses:
*I hope you have brains like your mom. Aren’t afraid of the dentist. Love yourself. Get good grades. Laugh when you feel like crying. Never forget how much you’re loved. Ignore gossip. Become whatever you want and makes you happy. Respect diversity. Grow healthy grass in your lawn.
*I hope you never forget who you are and how amazing your mom is. I hope you grow up strong in your faith and beliefs. I hope you always remember how loved you are. I hope you never lose your imagination. I hope you’re always a kid at heart.
GAMES
Then the games began.
This game was really fun. There were 6 different things to do on this one. Here is an example of one:
It was a really fun way to get to know the other ladies and the other 5 were really fun too!
*Who weighed the most at birth
*Person who was born furthest away from due date (early or late)
*Who has the most grandchildren
*First person who can share a picture of their first born at any age.
*First person who can snap a picture of anything with the word “baby” on it.
Then we set up our bingo cards. This was a fun way to keep everyone involved in present time:
PRESENT TIME
Next was present time. So because the entire shower was just an hour long, my friend had opened up her gifts earlier that morning and taken pictures of everything. You could have them do it right then, but it might take a bit longer for everything.
I just wanted to share a few sweet presents she got:
I thought this was was so fun. One of Jess’ aunts got her baby a baby unicorn because Jess had a unicorn named “Bonnie” as she grew up. I thought it was so cute that she went right out and found her original Bonnie and showed it to everyone..how cute is that?!
It was just so fun to sit and ooh and ahh over all of the little presents she got. They were all so sweet and thoughtful.
After the presents and after we got 2 bingo winners we ended with a little last minute advice:
Here’s a few sweet ones she received:
*An editable invitation (boy and girl)
*14 party pics for your Instagram party including:
-a reminder
-welcome
-I am looking for game with 6 questions
-Prize alert
– Baby Gift Bingo
-Present Time
-Last Minute Advice
-Take home favors
-It will also include a take home digital favor of both Girl and Boy Growth Cards (These are normally $6 each) that you can email to the attendees.
You can buy this whole pack by clicking HERE.
I’ll see you tomorrow for more Baby Week ideas!