Children's Book Baby Shower

This past Tuesday, three friends and I hosted a surprise baby shower for our good friend Cassie. She's having a little boy in early September, but since they're moving to St. Louis right after graduation, we wanted to make sure we took advantage of her last few weeks in town to throw a party and celebrate her new addition.

Since she and her husband are moving soon (and don't need any more stuff to pack), we asked each guest to contribute to a gift card for one of her baby registries. That way, she can buy what she needs once she's settled. But what fun is a baby shower without gifts?? So, in addition to the gift card, we asked guests to bring one of their favorite childhood books to help start a little library for baby Z. Then we ordered a big LL Bean tote to hold all of the books. A few shots of the "baby book banner" we created, as well as pompoms and table decor. (Big props to my friends Alle and Erin for the creative genius-- and manual labor-- behind the decorations!)

In keeping with our outdoor venue, we kept it simple and streamlined-- paper plates and table cloths, fresh flowers in yellow, blue, and white, and a buffet of mostly make ahead salads and appetizers.

A few of the food items weren't out yet in the picture above, but I love how pretty and fresh the multi-colored salade nicoise looks. And here are two of the hostesses, Erin and Lauren, pre-shower.

Unfortunately, this is where my picture taking stopped. But the guest of honor was surprised, and I think everyone had a good time, so we fledgling baby-shower-planners considered it a success. And now that I've figured out how to make those poms, I'm totally using them again at another event!