The next event of the year was our friend VV's surprise baby shower on Feb 9th.

3 of us D, M and I had a lovely time planning the baby shower over the last 2 month. We all work and have kids so it's a good thing we took it slow. V had a wonderful time at the shower but we had a blast planning the event.

We considered a lot of themes and we narrowed it down to "Cute as a button" in the colors blue, green and orange as she was having a boy. We booked the hall and sent put the invite only 2 weeks before the shower. We planned to order Italian food and booked for delivery of 2 entrees only to the venue. We picked up appetizers - Tomato Onion topping with Bruschetta and Antipasti such as green and black olives, marinated artichokes, cheese balls, sundried tomatoes served with crackers. We couldn't find marinated fresh mushrooms which would have been nice. We also picked up cups, plates, sodas, water, juice.

We knew V wouldn't be dressed for the occasion since it was a surprise so we picked a dress off Amazon for her as well as accessories. Balloons were pre-ordered to be picked up on the day of the party.

The cake was ordered from Balduccis and it was so cute.

We gave picture frames as favors to everyone and gifts for games were a pen and pad for winners.

Decorations were M's responsibility and they were superb. She made banners, lots of cut outs and the cake table looked adorable.

D and I were in charge of the games. We organized 5 games in total. They were all taken from this website and modified. Here are the rules for each game below.

1.   Baby Animals Game - Please name the corresponding baby animal.

 http://www.plan-the-perfect-baby-shower.com/free-baby-shower-game-animal.html

2.   Daddy Knows Best Game - We asked Dad to answer a series of questions. Mom needs to guess how Dad answered each question. Guests can guess along with Mom.

I was inspired by this link and modified the questions. M also created a spiral keepsake in keeping with our theme.

http://www.eventsbyshelbirene.com/2012/03/daddy-knows-best.html

1.     How many diapers does a baby need each day? 

2.     Who will be the first to hear baby cry in the middle of the night? 

3.     How many hours does a baby sleep each day? 

4.     At what age does a baby start sleeping through the night? 

5.     At what age does a child stop needing naps? 

6.     At what age will baby start eating solid food? 

7.     Do you think baby will be born with a lot of hair? 

8.     How many kids do the VVs want to have? 

9.     Who'll be the firm parent, and who'll be the pushover? 

10.  What is the date that you think the baby will be born? 

11.  What did Dad say when he found out Mom was pregnant? 

12.  What is Mom's favorite craving during pregnancy? 

13.  How many times has Dad run to the store to satisfy mom's cravings? 

14.  What features of Dad and Mom do they hope the baby does not have? 

15.  Which of the following is not a kid’s TV Show?

1.     The Backyardigans

2.     Dragon Tales

3.     Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

4.     Wonderful Land

5.     Bear in the Big Blue House

 3.   Nursery Rhyme Jeopardy Game - Guests will be divided into teams of 4-5 each. Each team rolls dice and whoever rolls highest goes first. They choose a category and price and can answer the question. If they get it right, they get to choose another question from the game board. If they get it wrong, the one who rolled the dice next highest will get a chance to answer and so on. Regardless of right or wrong, it is that team's turn to choose a category for the question. The team with the most points wins! Time to answer each question will be 30 seconds.

I changed a few of the questions here to make them a little easier.

http://www.plan-the-perfect-baby-shower.com/jeopardy-nursery-rhyme-game.html

4.   Price is Right Game - We will show pictures of baby items. Guests have to guess the price of each item. You have to calculate your total and give it. Winner is the one who gives the closest total amount. All items were from amazon.com. This was also a great game and it was simplified because I asked everyone to calculate their own totals. 

  

5. Diaper Designer Game - Guests will divide into teams of 4-5 each. Timer will be set for 2 minutes. You need to diaper 2 of your team members with the toilet paper as quickly as possible. No pins or other tools allowed. Mom-to-be will be the judge.

This game was the hit of the party and the finale. It was so much fun and it really broke the ice..Obviously, you cannot pretend to be dignified when someone is wrapping toilet paper around your middle and everyone was in total splits. Someone actually asked the mom to be hold the toilet paper while they were "diapering" their team member. I was going to call a penalty on that one but just gave them a warning and let them proceed ! LOL...oh, I am still ROTFL...

      We had received a Director's megaphone during our Christmas gift exchange. It came in so useful during this event..when you have a crowd of 35 people it's tough to get them to listen to you. This was a definite keeper.  

      Our friend VV was really overjoyed and emotional. She is one person who doesn't cry easily but she had tears (hopefully of joy) through the whole program. I am just glad she was completely surprised and had a wonderful time at her baby shower. 

       This is a special moment for a woman on the brink of motherhood. This is the only time the event will be all about her and after this it will all be centered around the child...every woman deserves to have a wonderful baby shower in her honor. I am happy that I was part of a wonderful team who were able to give our friend an awesome baby shower!