Up, Up, and Away – A Hot-Air Balloon /Travel-Themed Baby Shower – Part 2

As promised, here is my follow-up post to the details I started to share with you about a hot air balloon/travel-themed baby shower two of my good friends and I recently hosted.   In addition to the Pin Your Birthplace Guestbook and Favorite Destination Onesies I shared in the original post, here are some of my favorite details that helped pull the shower together.

TABLE DECOR

Here is an inexpensive and easy way to make the room a bit more festive.  Kelli lent me 7 or 8  tin cans she had on hand where she had already removed the labels.  I took pink cardstock, cutting each sheet into thirds, and then wrapped and pasted (or taped) each strip around a can.  Then I tied pieces of twine around each strip to pull in the pink and tan look.  Lucky for me, we had pink hydrangeas and a few dark pink roses blooming on the side of our home at the time of the shower.  About an hour or two before the shower, I snipped enough flowers to fill all the vases and set one or two on top of each can.  I really could not have asked for an easier flower decoration.

We placed the flower decorations around the food and drink area in the kitchen as well as the gift opening area in the living room.  To add some height and make it feel more like a centerpiece on the coffee table, we added some of the pink and tan photo boxes I picked up at Michael’s .

 

HANGING DECOR

You can’t have an “Up, Up and Away” shower theme without decorating “up” – can you?  Well, we thought it was necessary and the couple of “up” decorations pulled the theme together.  First, Kelli worked her paper magic and created this hot air balloon-inspired banner.  The flag above each string reads a word – Up – Up – &  – Away!  We hung this banner along the mirror above the food table.

Then I made a flag banner similar to the one I made for Alister’s First Birthday.  Only using craft paper card stock and maps from an atlas instead of photos of my son.  After weaving pink ribbon through the top of each flag, we hung it along the large window in the living room, where everyone congregated during the shower.

REFRESHMENTS

What would a baby shower be without food and drink?  We filled the table with standard baby shower dishes, ranging from savory to sweet.  Hummus and veggies, fresh fruit, a cheese plate, tea sandwiches, avocado deviled eggs, spinach and artichoke dip, mini cupcakes, and chocolate dipped pretzels kept the guests satiated while we kept them busy pinning maps and ironing onesies.

A closer look at the sweet section of the table.  Kelli tackled her delicious Sprinkles’-inspired Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes while I made my go-to chocolate and vanilla buttercream cupcakes.  Having some success with chocolate-dipped pretzel rods at Alister’s First Birthday, I decided to go ahead and make them for the shower at the last minute.  More for a splash of pink on the table than anything.  Half of the pretzel rods had crushed peanuts on top of the chocolate and the others were just chocolate.  Most, if not all, of the pretzel rods were gone at the end of the shower, so I’m glad I added them to the mix.

Near the food, we set up a “Beverage Cart,” complete with one of Kelli’s hand-crafted signs.  While I originally intended to make strawberry lemonade, I decided to take advantage of the fresh mint that was taking over the side of our house.  So instead of strawberry lemonade, we had mint lemonade.  Basically, a pregnancy-friendly mojito.  Andreia, the other host, stocked the beverage cart with rose wine to complement the pink theme as well.

BAGGAGE CLAIM FAVORS

Last but certainly not least, we couldn’t let the guests go empty-handed, so Kelli pulled these little gift bags together by filling snack-sized ziplock bags with  iced animal cookies and stapling her handmade labels to the top.  Also, it allowed her to use her adorable hot air balloon stamp!

Well, I think that’s all for now!  What a great time we had at the shower and what a great excuse we had to get together to “plan” over the past few months.  Now that I no longer have party planning as my excuse, I guess that means I should start working on organizing our closets.  Shocking, but I do not have the same motivation to get going on that.

Instead, I think I’ll spend more time sharing photos from the shower!

The Guest of Honor grabs a photo with the Hostesses.

The beautiful expecting mother glows as she and her husband announced the baby’s beautiful name.

 

Tagged: Baby Shower, Crafts, Kids