A Winter White Baby Shower & Diaper Bag Essentials

Do you want to throw a beautifully serene Winter White Baby Shower? Check out our DIY party plan and throw a Baby Shower that everyone will remember. Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MomsTrustHuggies #CollectiveBias

Recently, I had the pleasure of going to a baby shower for one of my cousins. I was really excited to go because now that our kids are older, we don’t ever get to see all of the itty-bitty cute baby solutions that new moms always seem to have on hand. Plus, fashion and trends are constantly changing, especially for New York Moms, so it’s always fun to see how much more fashionable pregnancy gear gets year after year.

At the shower, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how fun and laid back the overall vibe was. Sometimes, baby showers can get a bit fussy, but there was none of that going on at this shower. Young children were encouraged to attend, the food was simple and tasty, and the shower games were incredibly subtle (they had a timer and whenever it stopped, they looked to see whose gift was being opened, and that person won a prize!). My cousin is also incredibly fun to be around and her bubbly personality is contagious. Plus, she’s harboring twins right now and who doesn’t love to see everything times two?!

So when Huggies wanted to talk about Moms on the go, especially in New York City, we happily agreed to share some of our humorous parenting stories about the importance of a well-stocked diaper bag and how easy it can be to throw a fun, relaxed Baby Shower that appeals to Moms of all ages.

In our opinion, baby showers don’t have to cost a ton of money. In our family, we love carefree gatherings at home more than anything else, so we encourage you to try one too. Plus, with so many talented bloggers out there (and their Pinterest feeds), you can figure out how to make all types of DIY decorations and how to properly stage a table for a Baby Shower that everyone will remember. For our Winter White Baby Shower, we used simple, rustic elements and lots of finger food to keep it from getting too fussy. Everything you see in our tablescape was DIY or made with simple supplies that we had lying around the house.

A WINTER WHITE BABY SHOWER

DECORATING & FOOD IDEAS

More often than not, simplicity is key, especially when planning a party. A Winter White color palette is always a winner in our book because it keeps the focus on the food and decorations and lets everything else fade away into the background.

For example, the white tablecloth that you see here is one that I stole from our Mom about 5 years ago. I borrowed it one Christmas and then refused to give it back to her. I am in love with it’s pearly-white sheen and subtly embossed flowers — it goes with every occasion. Plus, it’s huge, which means that I can extend out my table, or fold the tablecloth in half, or pretty much do anything that I want with it. It’s gorgeous and I have searched high and low for another one, but I can’t find anything else like it — so No, Mom, I’m still not giving it back.

Table runners are another cost-effective way to add some interest t an all white tablescape. I happen to have a penchant for table runners and have a pretty big assortment of them hiding in my buffet table. Most are white or burlap-colored because they enable me to keep my decor more on the rustic side. My fondness for table runners comes from the fact that they are relatively cheap so you can swap them out with each passing season and completely change the look of your table. But since I have little kids, I only buy machine washable ones because, in general, kids are gross and mine like to wipe things on my pretty runners, so they have to be able to be washed – often.

And when it comes to decorations, ours couldn’t be easier. All of those gorgeous paper flowers were made by my crafty sister using either coffee filters or tissue paper. That’s it! I couldn’t believe my eyes when she showed me how to make them. They’re awesome! You can see her Instagram tutorial here. The billowy white background is actually my closed curtains because even though our backyard is pretty, it’s covered in melting snow right now and that wouldn’t look pretty at a party. So instead, we opted for filtered sunlight coming in through the all-white curtains and set up a table right in front of them so the entire room took on a lovely, soft glow. To hang the paper flowers, we grabbed an old spool of twine that I had in my craft bag and hung them from my curtain rods. Oh, and those artfully placed sticks? Those used to sit in my old fashioned milk pail out on my front porch, but I cut them down to size and placed them in an extra vase that I had in the basement. We also know that a Baby Shower just wouldn’t be complete without a diaper garland on hand, so of course, we had to make one. We picked up an assortment of Huggies diapers at CVS and their adorable Minnie & Mickey designs are perfect for any little boy or girl – or in this case – two little boy bundles of joy!

Another great way to keep a party budget-friendly is to keep the food nice and easy. I am not a huge fan of eating formal meals at social gatherings because I would much rather chat away with everyone than be seated at a table. So for me, I love snacks and apps – I can grab a little bit of this, or a little bit of that, and still keep on talking. So what’s the perfect Baby Shower menu for me? Muffins, jam and bread, nuts, citrus water, pretzel thins, apple crisps, cheese and crackers – think lots of finger foods or anything that doesn’t require me to use a knife or fork!

SHOWER GAMES & ACTIVITIES

Shower games don’t always have to be so hokey. At my cousin’s shower, we didn’t even know games were being played until the prizes started getting handed out. Apparently, the helpers had a timer and whenever it stopped, they looked up to see which gift was being opened and that person won a prize! It was cute and kept everyone guessing as to who would be the next winner.

My sister and I are really big fans of original artwork, so we thought that it would be a great idea to have shower party guests create a piece of artwork for the new mom to hang in her child’s bedroom. Now this interactive group activity works best if the host draws out a picture or an object prior to the event and then leaves simple tasks for the guests to do during the party. For example, in this piece, a whale was sketched out beforehand and then the guests had to fill in the shape with the colored buttons that were left on the table. With everyone adding buttons to this adorable whale, it will be finished in no time! This type of DIY Artwork is so simple to make and is a lovely reminder of this special day. We also suggest leaving a piece of card stock next to the canvas so everyone can sign their name. Then the card stock can be stapled to the back of the canvas so the new Mom knows who helped make this cherished piece of artwork.

We also think it’s important for guests to create something special just for Mom. One of our favorite activities is to leave a blank journal out on a table so all of the guests can jot down little tips and tricks for her to read when she’s feeling a bit overwhelmed after bringing baby home. As Moms, we know that being a new Mom is tons of fun, but it’s also pretty nerve wracking too. To keep it fun and interactive for the guests we also leave stickers on the table so well wishers can decorate their pages too.

DIAPER BAG ESSENTIALS

DIAPER BAG PREP

So while we were planning our Winter White Baby Shower, it got us thinking about how everything is much more amusing in hindsight. And sometimes, what seems like a complete catastrophe at the time, will often bring you to massive belly laughs years later. As we started trading funny parenting stories, we were quite amused when we realized that most of them involved not having a fully stocked diaper bag readily available when we needed it most.

One of my favorite “Where is the diaper bag?!” stories revolves around one of our first family vacations as a foursome. We were driving from NYC to Pennsylvania and it was a fairly long ride for our youngest child. As we were getting ready to pull into the parking lot of the hotel where we were staying, she started saying, “I don’t feel so good” and started crying. Since our son was a puker, I knew what was coming. I started frantically looking for the diaper bag only to realize that we left it in the trunk at the last rest stop. As my husband and I turned around in horror, we saw throw up everywhere. In her car seat. On the floor. In her hair. On our son. It was everywhere – and we were completely unprepared. We had to strip our kids down to their diapers ad carry them into the hotel covered in throw up. Although we were mighty upset about it at the time, now we can laugh about it because it’s very, very funny, especially if you could have seen the looks on our faces.

As my sister and I were laughing our butts off, she reminded me of the time that her daughter threw up all over their car. They, too, were driving from NYC to Pennsylvania (what is it about that car ride?!) – only they were going to visit family. They had to travel through a horrific rain storm and the ride was taking forever. It got to be too much for my niece and she ended up throwing up all over their car too. My sister’s diaper bag was also in the trunk, so there was no stopping what came next. They had been in the car for so long that they just stripped her to her bottoms, cleaned her up as best as they could, let her cruise half-naked for the rest of the trip. When they finally arrived at their destination, they had to carry their daughter into the house smelling like throw up, wrapped in a baby blanket!

Our stories are many and like many moms, we’ve had our fair share of diaper blow-outs in public places (my favorite story involves The American Museum of Natural History in NYC), kids spilling and wiping food all over their outfits while they’re visiting their Dad at work in “The Big City”, and kids jumping in puddles so big (they loved one particularly large puddle outside of the Central Park Zoo) that their shoes were destroyed and they had to wear socks all the way home. But what all of these adventures have really taught us, is that one of the most important things you can do as a new Mom is to have a well-stocked diaper bag on-hand at all times, especially when you’re traveling in or out of the city!

So even though we may no longer have any kids in diapers, we have learned a thing or two about what every new Mom should have packed in their bag, just in case an emergency strikes:

• Extra diapers:  If you think you need 5 diapers pack 10, because if you don’t, that will be the day that your child gets a ’bout of diarrhea and you will never live it down.
• Baby wipes: The more the merrier – wipes are a new Mom’s BFF. They can be used to clean a baby’s bottom, wipe off dirty tables and public changing stations, clean sticky hands, remove spit-up off of your shoulder, and so much more!
• Extra clothes: When you’re a new mom, with an infant, you’ll be restocking your diaper bag daily – those little ones just love to spit up and drool everywhere. With that said, make sure that you have seasonally appropriate “extras” packed in your bag. Even now, we still keep a stocked “diaper bag” in the car with a full set of clothes for each kid. I cannot tell you how many times I have gone into that bag for dry clothes after a long day hiking in the nature trails or swimming at the beach.
• Extra food: If you breast feed, you’re all good to go. But if you bottle feed, make sure you have extra bottles and formula on hand. You never know when you’re going to get stuck somewhere. Remember, Hangry Kids equals a really bad day.
• Typical supplies: chap stick, sunscreen, baby lotion, hand sanitizer (use sparingly, but petting zoos and parks are full of germs), cloth diapers (they make great burp cloths), pacifiers (you don’t ever want to lose one in a crowded place and NOT have back up!), baby powder (it is amazing at getting sand off of every nook and cranny) and a good first aid kit (bandaids, anti bacterial ointment).
• Don’t forget these too: garbage bags (you may not always find a garbage can when you need one), pain relievers for you and baby (you never know when a fever or headache may strike or someone might get hurt), motion sickness medicine for baby (cars, trains, cabs, ferries – you never know how your child will react to a new form of transportation), busy / fidget toys (you never know how long you will have to wait on line), cell phone charger (you don’t want to get stuck somewhere new with only two bars left), and a handwritten list (yes, on paper) of emergency phone numbers (just in case your phone dies and you need to call someone, but your new Mom brain — it’s a real thing — completely blanks and refuses to recall any pertinent information).

What are your ideas for planning a simple and budget-friendly baby shower? What are your diaper bag essentials? Let us know! Before you go, we wanted to let you know that you can SAVE on Huggies diapers now at your local CVS. This Free Printable Coupon for Huggies will help you save the next time to need to restock your diaper bag!

Your Mom Friends,

Denine & Daniele

0