Baby Shower Party Decor

When I offered to host a small baby shower for my sister in New York City, three questions immediately came to mind:

1. When will it be?
2. Where will it be?
3. What will the theme be?

The first two questions were easy to answer. This small gathering of my sister’s friends would be held the day after the family baby shower her in-laws were throwing for her, and we’d keep it casual (and cost-effective) by doing it in her apartment. My biggest challenge would be choosing a theme, color scheme, decorations, and party favors.

See, as much as I love throwing parties, I’m more of a big-picture person — great at brainstorming ideas but terrible at executing the tiny details. I usually overthink every little to-do on my list so I feel perpetually overwhelmed, and my perfectionist tendencies often get in the way of making decisions. Like I did for Levi’s first birthday party, I wanted my sister’s baby shower to be a picture-perfect occasion worthy of a magazine spread (or at least a blog feature), but I had no idea how to make that happen.

Oh, and one more thing: Whatever decor I dreamed up would have to travel with me from Omaha to New York City.

So when Minted offered to supply the party decorations for my sister’s baby shower, an enormous weight was suddenly lifted off my shoulders. Their collection of all-in-one party decor packages features festive indie designs that all matched the handcrafted-but-better vibe I was hoping to achieve. Plus, I could easily pack the baby shower decorations in my suitcase and set up quickly at her apartment. (I suppose I could have had the package shipped directly to her apartment, as the party wasn’t a surprise, but I wanted to take a look at the supplies first.)

I chose the Oh Boy perfect party because I wanted everything the basic package offered plus cupcake toppers, a personalized party sign, and the striped paper straws. I didn’t necessarily need paper plates and napkins, but all of Minted’s packages come with them. I also wasn’t sure what to do with 50 mini notecard favors; however, my mom had the brilliant idea of having my sister’s friends write motherhood advice or good luck wishes on them.

In lieu of finger food and cupcakes, we made a whole dessert table and used the flag toppers to decorate raspberry bars, mini banana bread loaves, and waffle cookies. The grey and white striped straws sat in mason jars at the do-it-yourself lemonade bar, which boasted raspberries, blueberries, and fresh mint as mix-ins. And the tricycle stickers sealed clear plastic bags filled with chocolate candies made by my mom.

(By the way, my mom made all of the desserts and chocolate favors. Is she incredible or what?)

Now, if I had done the party decorations myself, you can be sure I wouldn’t have thought of table confetti, which added a really festive touch to my sister’s white table. The striped straws were a huge hit, but — did you know? — paper straws eventually start to dissolve a bit as you’re using them. No biggie, though.

Overall, the baby shower was a huge success — mostly because my sister and her friends were so awesome. But nearly everyone commented on the party decor, and the best compliment I received that day was that the decorations looked like something from a party planning blog (though I guess Minted really gets the credit for that).

Minted provided the decorations for my sister’s baby shower gratis, but the opinions expressed in this post are all my own. Thank you, Minted!