“Cute as a Button” Baby Shower
What a celebratory spring it has been! Our Baby Girl has been lavished with so much love from all around—especially through baby showers. The celebrating began this past March with a baby shower hosted by my mama at our home church in New York.
The theme?
Cute as a Button! And my mom had “sew” much fun with her team of friends in pulling together the decor, food, and activities to play off of the button motif.
We snapped photos galore of the grand event so you can travel back in time with us to enjoy the day while gleaning inspiration for hosting your own “Cute as a Button” shower or party. Be sure to enjoy a virtual taste of the cake. It was mmmmm-good!
The Decor
Naturally, the theme of the shower was declared loud n’ proud across a pennant banner strung above the food table.
It was assembled by hand using colorful triangles cut with a paper-cutter, twine, and stick-on letters purchased from the craft store.
Paper pennant banners strung across the fellowship hall poles really added a burst of whimsy to the entire space.
I love how much the *rustic burlap table runners spruce up inexpensive plastic tablecloths! Pink buttons were scattered among confetti in the center and added to the festive spirit.
My sweet father was put in charge of the flower arrangements. Aren’t they gorgeous? Turns out, he was once the President of the Jr. Garden Club of his hometown in N.Y. I had no idea he had acquired this special skill as a young lad!
My mom brought a stack of quilts from home and displayed them overtop the gift tables, rocking chair, and room dividers to warm the space and create a more intimate setting for opening gifts. Instant coziness!
Name Tags & Corsages
When guests first arrived, they picked up a “Cute as a Button” button that served as a party favor and name-tag. Clever, right? My mom is the genius behind this original idea!
This worked great since we had in attendance family, church friends, co-workers, neighbors, and high school friends. And if folk didn’t know each other already, they became fast friends.
I helped my mom with the design using the free editing software, PicMonkey, and she had them made through a company called Button Frog.
I’m offering all four “Cute As a Button” button designs fo’ FREE download to my lovely newsletter subscribers. Just sign up using the form below or by clicking HERE, and you’ll receive access to a folder with all 4 designs. {Fine print: These designs are for personal use and not to be used for commercial purposes.}
My mom and I were gifted our own custom name-tag corsages to wear during the event. It made me feel like a pageant contestant, and I didn’t hate it. {Wink.}
These corsages were handmade by my Mom’s co-worker and gal pal, Pamela, who also made one for my grandmother in Florida. She was with us in spirit…and received it via snail mail after the event. Here’s some pin-spiration if you’re looking to DIY your own or purchase some via Etsy artists.
The Dessert Table
The “Cute as a Button” theme carried through to the dessert table where the yummy-in-my-tummy cake was on display! My mom DIY’d the mini-pennant banner cake topper herself. And we’ve gotta give a shout-out to local bakery, ABC Cakes, for their handiwork with the fondant buttons.
On the dessert table we also displayed side-by-side comparison photos of Mark and me as babies. We can’t wait to see who our girl looks like…or if she’ll be a chubs like I was at a whopping 11 lbs. at birth. I know—my mother truly is a saint!
Here were a set of countdown blocks Mark and I gifted to our parents for Christmas this year. Aren’t they a fun addition to the party decor? They’re handmade by Spang Gang Designs on Etsy.
Games & Activities
Most of the guest games & activities were done independently over the course of the party. My mom had stations set up in the window-sills and made a few announcement reminders throughout the shower to encourage folk to participate.
One was a station calling for Name Suggestions for our Baby Girl. Not gonna lie, there were some great ones in the mix! And you’ll just have to wait to her June arrival to find out what we settled on. {Grin.}
And though my grandmother is in her nineties, and her mind is failing, she was still able to contribute to the shower through this Charlotte Pomerantz poem she had shared with my mom for a baby shower back in 1992. How serendipitous that my mom came across it when planning our shower! It was a really special way to include my grandmother in our day.
And then there was the “Diaper Diaries” station! Gotta love that my mom was inspired by my own blog post on the subject back when I created a New Mommy Survival Kit for a friend.
She plans to tuck these encouraging (and laughter-inducing) notes in between our diapers to help give us a smile during the umpteenth diaper change of the day.
These cute paper onesies were cut by hand by the amazing Pamela. But this would also be the perfect job for a Silhouette machine if you had one!
One final guest activity involved creating a Mobile of Paper Cranes for the nursery! My sister Lisbeth had been a guest at a baby shower where guests had done this and passed the idea along to my mama. Our friends Junko & Kayana walked guests through the process of folding origami cranes…
…then guests hung their creations onto a few sticks spray-painted white using thread. Here’s a photo for inspiration of how one might display a mobile like this in a nursery.
Can you believe that Mark was able to pack this mobile in our suitcase in such a way that it arrived to Orlando safe n’ sound? I married a man with some mad packing skillz, that’s for sure.
Favors
Before guests left, they got to create their own goodie bag of favors, which included…
…chocolate lollipops, which my Mom made herself using this button mold (she has been the queen of chocolate lollipops since we were kiddos and made them for every birthday party I can remember)…
…and Bible verses guests could pray for our girl. Such a sweet gesture! My mom downloaded the verses as free printable cards from The Purposeful Mom. She added a note on the back that thanked guests for coming and laminated them at Staples.
To Close
To be surrounded by friends and family who have known me since girlhood—some since I was in the womb—well, it was such a surreal experience. I felt overwhelmed in the best sense. It blows my mind how much our Baby Girl is loved already, and not just by me, but by an entire community of amazing women.
Thank you, one and all—including you dear reader—for this barrage of love. We are so very humbled.
And an extra special thanks to my Mama for helping to facilitate such a meaningful and joyous event in honor of our “Cute as a Button” Baby Girl. ‘Twas a day for the record baby book.
Want More Baby Shower Inspiration?
Here’s a collection of blog posts related to all-things-baby-shower!
- Balloon Release Gender Reveal
- Pregnancy Timeline Photo Banner
- “Cute as a Button” Baby Shower (you’re here!)
- “Bring a Book” Baby Shower
- A Charming Mint & Gray Baby Shower
- How to Throw a Virtual Baby Shower
Annnnd, if you have the task of hosting a baby shower for a loved one, then I must share about a resource you are going to love! My sweet friend Meredith from unOriginal Mom recently published an eBook called The Baby Shower Book! It it chock full everything you need to prepare for a party to remember—from a 10-page printable planning toolkit to 20 printable baby shower games & activities and so much more. I can’t wait for the chance to host a shower just so I can put her great ideas to use. Click HERE to learn more about it.
Thanks for joining me for this fun flashback to our “Cute as a Button” Baby Shower!
Next up in this ‘lil series: the “Bring a Book” Baby Shower hosted by my Orlando family and friends.
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So happy for you Lauren and Mark!! What a fabulous baby shower! You have such a precious and so special, Mom and Dad, and I know they are almost as excited as you and Mark are for the arrival of your wonderful gift from God!! ( I know you will be super busy soon, and things have been busy with us lately, but I still plan to order two more of your books for my “daughters-in-love”!! There is no rush on your part to get them to me.) A whole new wonderful world is soon to be unfolding for you. I know you will be a wonderful mother to your precious little girl. She is blessed!! Kay Cummings
Thank you for so lovingly documenting this special celebration! Isn’t it wonderful how family and friends pitch in, help along the way, and come to share the joy?!…we couldn’t do it without them–or at least it wouldn’t be as much fun!
Praying for days of peaceful anticipation and expectancy during these days leading up to meeting baby girl! Can’t wait to meet her and see you and Mark in your role as parents! Psalm 139!
God is SO good!
Lauren, your shower was the sweetest one I have ever been to. All the details were wrapped in love. The activities were so creative and fun and the décor was beautiful. But the best part was watching the love that emanates from your precious family. The décor and atmosphere in the room was simply an outpouring of that beautiful relationship you all share. Your sweet baby is so blessed to have your family, as are you. You are already a wonderful mama! I’m praying for a smooth and peaceful delivery and can’t wait to see her! God bless you.
Oh goodness, looking at all these photos I can just *feel* how much love there was at this shower…so many special and personal elements, and lots of hours of preparation put in just for you and precious Baby Girl. I love all of the little details. And those diaper changing notes are clever – you’ll get lots of laughs out of those, I’m sure! And thank you so much for your sweet shout out for my book, friend!!