Baby Bottle
I just got back from my friend, Lisa's, baby shower, and it was so much fun. She is having a boy so everything was blue. Her friend, Kim, hosted the shower and decided to use a baby bottle theme. It was a great idea and I'd love to tell you about it.
I received a baby bottle invitation in the mail. It was a small plastic baby bottle filled with blue jellybeans. A label, like the one you find on water bottles, was wrapped around it with all the party information, and a blue curling ribbon was tied around the rim of the bottle. It immediately got me excited about my friend's shower and I responded right away.
The party was at her cousin's home, not far from where we both grew up. When I walked through the door there were blue and white balloons everywhere. Giant plastic baby bottles filled with blue hydrangea and white stefanotis stood on the floor in several corners and walkways. Smaller baby bottles were also filled with the flowers and placed on coffee and side tables. I was asked if I'd like the house drink, so I said sure. A minute later I was handed a baby bottle filled with a blue raspberry punch. It was delicious and funny to see so many grown women holding and drinking from baby bottles.
I made my way to the family room where most of the guests were standing or sitting. I noticed several baby shower gifts piled in one corner. There was a blue hand-made baby blanket draped over a tiny rocking chair; an oversized teddy bear holding a basket of blue rattles, bibs, booties and onsies; and a powder blue wagon was filled with large plastic trucks, pails, shovels, and Blue's Clue's books and accessories. The hostess, Kim, came in while we were all talking and asked us to take a seat so that we could play a game.
She brought out a tray of baby bottles filled with a sour blue punch and explained that the game was a race to see who could drink the bottle the fastest. The sour taste was to make it a little more challenging. We went around the room and each person took a turn drinking. We were timed with a stopwatch and the fastest time was declared the winner. We all laughed at the funny faces made by the “drinker” and when it came to my turn, I plugged my nose, hoping to make the taste better. It didn't work, but guess what? I had the fastest time and won an old-fashioned milk bottle filled with fresh flowers.
After the game it was time to eat. We all walked to the dining room where a beautiful buffet table was set. A powder blue satin cloth lined the table and small baby bottle-shaped confetti glittered on top. There were silver trays of finger sandwiches, blueberry and pumpkin scones, and banana bread. A large bowl with a shrimp ceasar salad was included. And there was another bowl filled with fresh strawberries. Kim is an artist and she made, or rather painted, all of the luncheon plates. She visited a paint-it-yourself art store and decorated two dozen plates with the words, “baby makes three,” on them. The words were written in lower case cursive and turquoise blue. The store fired the plates and made them suitable for eating off of. They were a special gift for Lisa. White linen napkins tied with blue ribbon held the silverware.
While we ate lunch we were treated to live music performed by a guitar player who walked around the party. The songs were all lullabies and they filled the house with wonderful atmosphere. When everyone had finished eating, the musician sat before us and sang a song that my friend's husband had written for her and their baby. There wasn't a dry eye when he was finished and he handed Lisa a copy of the song typed on baby blue paper.
Kim announced it was time for one more game. She handed a piece of paper to each of us with the words “blue baby bottle” written at the top. We had 2 minutes to write as many words as we could, using letters from those two words only. We hurriedly wrote as the clock ticked, covering our papers so no one could peek. This was a serious competition, and not as easy as it sounds when you're in a hurry. When 2 minutes was up, Kim asked by a show of hands how many words people had written. The winner had written 28 words. I wasn't too far off, with 23.
Lisa opened her presents next, and in addition to the ones I mentioned earlier, received some unique baby shower gifts. One friend gave her “A day in the life” gift – baby items from bath time (a hooded towel and wash cloths) to lunchtime (sipper cups) to sleep time (cute blue striped pajamas and receiving blankets). A coupon book for dinner for a month was another unique baby shower idea. This gift was given by a group of girls who said they would be bringing over dinner every night for the first month after the baby was born. The last thing a new mom wants to do is cook dinner so this was a fantastic gift idea. And there were several gifts of baby supplies and other necessities. Overall, Lisa made out really well.
Lastly, cake was served. Before it was cut, however, we all got to see it. It was a huge cake in the shape of, you guessed it, a baby bottle. There were small blue frosted roses around the perimeter and best wishes written in the middle. It was delicious and a perfect ending to a perfect baby shower.
