Celebrate the beginning of a new chapter for the parents-to-be with this easily adaptable, gender-neutral theme!
Planning a shower and looking for a theme that will be great for boys or girls (especially if the sex is unknown)...co-ed or ladies only...and lends itself well to building a baby's library?! Look no further! This was one of my favorite events to plan because the opportunities were endless, with countless popular children's books to incorporate into the menu, decor, gifts and favors.
We got extra lucky to find the perfect venue - a book themed brewery called Fiction Beer Company with a great indoor-outdoor space, a bookshelf which served as a ready-to-use photo backdrop, and a custom-built bar made of hundreds of books! If you live in the Denver area and are thinking of hosting an event at a brewery, I highly recommend Fiction for great beers and the most accommodating service!
Tailoring the food menu to different children's books is one of most fun ways to get creative with this theme! Here are the items we went with since the shower was during lunchtime; there are lots of other options if you wanted to host this in the morning for brunch too.
Appetizers
The Stinky Cheeseman - Cheese Plate
The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Fruit Salad
The Tale of Peter Rabbit - Veggie Platter
Entrees
Strega Nona - Pasta Salad
Chicken Little - Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Dragons Love Tacos
Snacks
Finding Nemo - Goldfish Crackers
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish - Swedish Fish
Book Worms - Sour Gummy Worms
Dessert
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake - Funfetti Cupcakes
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Chocolate Pie & Brownies
I made signs for each food item that matched the font and style of the story. Before purchasing books, check out the library or reach out to friends & family - you can likely get them for free this way!
The spread was not only delicious, but served as a focal centerpiece, which is a great way to streamline the theme and save money on other decor areas.
These hand-painted, decoupaged books were one of my favorite crafting projects, and were dual-purposed as both decor and a card holder. We veered away from games since it was a more casual, co-ed setting, but still wanted to incorporate an activity that people could do on their own time, and that would be a special takeaway for the parents-to-be. This Birthday Card Time Capsule featured blank birthday cards for ages 1 - 18; guests would pick an age, write a message in that year's card, seal the envelope and place it in the box for the little guy to open on his birthday each year.
Click here to learn how I made them!
Here is a close-up of the the party favors, which were based on the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. The tags were an Etsy download that I had printed and cut, and then tied to bags with ribbon. I've found that while fancy favors are cute and great for photos, a lot of people don't actually take them and they end up being an unnecessary expense. Bags of cookies are an affordable and practical favor that will actually get utilized. These were especially well-received since they were filled with Samoas and Thin Mints and everyone loves Girl Scout cookies!
I love showcasing baby photos of the parents (or making an activity out of them like I did here!) These clothespin collage boards can be expensive to purchase, so I decided to make one using a large picture frame, screws, string and clothespins. When it's not being used for an event, I hang it in my home office with photos!
Click here for a simple tutorial!
Comments