A "Golden Book" Themed Baby Shower

In early October 2022, I hosted a baby shower with two dear friends for my daughter, Ashley, who was expecting her first baby, a boy! The shower was held in Jefferson City, Missouri where my daughter spend the majority of her growing up years.  So many people and businesses came together to make this an extra special event for my daughter and her husband.  Let's get right to it!

The Hosts

I joined friends Ashley and Lynne in hosting this event.  Lynne has years of experience hosting high-end events for people all over Jefferson City.  Lynne is Ashley's mom and the two are a force, let me tell you!  

Ashley, Lynne, Eric, my daughter Ashley, me, and Bob!

Color Scheme

When deciding on a color scheme, I took into consideration that my daughter is a book blogger at hastybooklist.com and I wanted to incorporate books.  Lynne, Ashley, and I settled in on a Golden Books theme pretty quickly and the hunt began!  I started visiting used bookstores to grab up all the Golden Books I could.  I have to admit, I got into it and I loved the hunt.  I found a few special editions and collected a bunch of Christmas ones for the future!

We focused on Golden Books that featured blues and yellows.  We used these Golden Books to be a part of the centerpieces for the event.

The tiny mums were our favors for the guests.  We hope they were planted with joy!

The Invites

After the theme was chosen, I commissioned Ashley's sister-in-law Joelle to design the invitations. Joelle was extremely patient while we came up with the most adorable invitation.  Once we finalized the invitation, I ordered from vistaprint.com, where I have ordered family Christmas cards for many years.  I love using VistaPrint because the quality is high and consistent and their service is quick!

The Decor

Oh, did we have fun with the decor at this shower!  October is such a beautiful month (it's the mom-to-be Ashley's birth month) and we decided to add a little fall flavor to our decor.  First, we purchased Cinderella blue pumpkins and yellow pumpkins at The Dutch Bakery in Tipton, Missouri, just a few miles west of Jefferson City. 

Next, we purchased dozens of balloons from Live Your Story JC   Blue and yellow balloons were everywhere, but mainly at the entrance, to mark the gift table, and for the photo wall.  I highly recommend their service.  

Can you see the hint of the tablecloth at the back of the photo?

Of course, we had the table decorations of Golden Books and mums that I described earlier but I think my favorite, all-time decoration was the incredibly beautiful hand-crocheted tablecloth made by Ashley's late grandmother, Irene Neimeier Steffes.  It was the perfect elegant piece.  It was used at my wedding, my baby shower, Ashley's wedding, and her baby shower!

Lynne loves flowers and didn't let us forget a huge beautiful bouquet for the food area.  Aren't these just gorgeous?  There's a big blue ribbon that says "It's a Boy!" on it that is so sweet.

The Photo Wall

As customary these days, we had a sweet photo wall where groups of friends and family could have their pictures taken.  With the adorable balloons and a few pumpkins, this was one of the highlights of the shower.  So many people used this backdrop.  It's well worth planning for your own event.

Ashley and Bob helped the photographer set the lighting.

The Food

We chose the venue Dominico's as it has been a part of the Jefferson City culture for decades.  It is well-known and beloved and my book club meets there regularly.  Our menu consisted of mini meatballs, toasted ravioli, Cajun shrimp, and a huge beautiful salad that served as the main course.  Of course, Mark, the owner, set out loaves of his beautiful and delicious bread.

We created a special cocktail for the day that I invented!  I was so excited about it and it was delicious.  It was also very popular, too!  I called it Little Boy Blue and it is so easy to make.  One shot of curacao and a shot of Malibu rum.  Fill to the top with lemonade.  Garnish with a lemon wheel.  The perfect balance of sweet to sour, the most beautiful color, and tasty!

Our sweets table was magnificent.  Created by The Blakery,  we could not have been more pleased.  The Blakery is located in Columbia, Missouri, not far from Jefferson City.  We had a two-tier lemon elderberry cake with strawberry buttercream, cupcakes in carrot, vanilla, and chocolate, gooey butter cake bites, cheesecake brownie bites, and blue macarons with gold dust.

Activities

Ashley isn't one for a lot of games, so we kept the games simple.  As you walked into the door, we asked people to put on a name sticker, which had baby photos of Ashley and Eric on them.  

We asked participants to bring a children's book in place of a card and to write their messages of good wishes in the books.  Ashley had fun reading what was written in the books.

We had planned on playing a Baby Bingo game, but the file wouldn't print correctly so we ended up giving the prizes to the ones who traveled the furthest.  

We continued the guest book idea started at Ashley's Bun in the Oven shower where guests would write parenting advice to the new parents.  It was so fun to read those at home after the shower.

Best of all

We could not be more grateful for those who were able to attend this joyous moment.  Family, high school friends, college friends, former teachers, my friends, Bob's friends, coworkers... we were blessed by having them there with us.  We are ever grateful to our friends Lynne and Ashley who were so incredibly patient and the backbone of the event.  Without them, this would not have been all we dreamed of.