Book Theme Baby Shower

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to host my younger sisters baby shower! I was so excited to be welcoming the first baby of the family, my niece,  Dakota Moon. I knew right away what theme I was going to choose. Both me and my sister are avid readers and it was extremely important to us that the new little peanut (my nieces nick name-I don't think I've called her Dakota yet!) enjoy reading as much as we do. I had so many ideas, many of which were very costly, but I managed to take my Martha Stewart side to whole new level. I knew what I wanted and I was going to make it happen, even on a tight budget!

During the planning process, I discovered that favors could probably be one of the most costly items you have to purchase, and most of the time, the guests forget them, or just get rid of them when they get home (let's face it, who wants another candle that says "So & So's shower 2014"!) So, since my sister is a huge animal lover and donates every chance she gets, I figured that a donation to her favorite charity would be the best favor I could do for her and the guests. I donated $1.00 for each guest who came and the ASPCA sent me the above donation cards for free. Each guest received a card stating that a donation was made in their name!

I didn't want the traditional 'Baby Book', so I chose one of my favorite books for guests to sign-"On the Night You Were Born". If you know someone expecting, this is a book that needs to be gifted! The sign to guests read: "Every Child is a Story Yet to be Told, Please Sign". I printed the sign myself and bought the wooden frames for $0.49 at Michaels, along with the $1.00 plate stand!

On her invitations, I asked that each guest bring a book in lieu of a card to start the babies library. I am happy to say, she now has a fully stocked book shelf and I can't wait to start reading to her!

On my book hunt, I came across another favorite book of mine-"Guess How Much I Love You". I knew I just had to incorporate this into my plan. I decided to use it for one of the games. I cut hearts out of paper and found a small box I had around the house (added some ribbon on the edges to make it look pretty) and grabbed and old mason jar and filled it with kisses. Each guest had to write their name on the heart along with their guess and put it in the box. At the end of the shower, the person who guessed correctly won the jar of kisses! Inexpensive and fun. Everyone loved guessing-most of them were WAY off:-)

For centerpieces I decided to pick some of my all time favorite children's books and stack them in the middle of each table with a mason jar full of sunflowers and greenery. I added some burlap and ribbon to the jars to give them that sophisticated rustic look. These were a HUGE hit. We ended up giving them away at the end of the shower-the ladies were practically fighting over them! Note: Simple flower arrangements can really help when wanting to create that 'Wow' factor. You don't have to spend a lot either, picking one accent flower (sunflower $2.50 each) and adding some simple greenery can go such a long way.

OK-so, I'm not going to lie....one of the reasons I was on such a strict budget was because I had to have these cupcakes! No, I did not make them myself, I wish I could have. I ordered these works of art from Sugar Bakery in CT. They are the winners of the TV show Cupcake Wars. Amazing!!! They helped me create the perfect cupcake for my event (yes-the books were edible..yum!)

Adding simple decor to the Mimosa Bar gave it that extra personal touch that everyone swooned over. I added some yellow daisy's to mason jars and purchased chevron straws from a local craft store for $2.00; adding some more ribbon and burlap to finish them off. Something as simple as arranging the glasses in a more organized fashion can make the whole table more appealing to the eye.

Last but not least, was the candy bar!  This was one of my favorite ideas. Most of the jars I had around the house, and some I borrowed, so all I had to do was purchase the burlap and ribbon, along with candy scoops. The labels I made myself and the banner I purchased from Michaels and added letter stickers to create the 'Babies Are Sweet" slogan.

Favorite Finds

- Cupcakes found at Sugar Bakery

- Donation Cards from ASPCA

Thanks so much for stopping by!