Baby shower ideas: Old-timey

Name: Elizabeth Wong Pagnotta
Lives: Mississauga, ON
Due: January 30, 2014
Job: Freelance Event Management

For my baby shower, I wanted to choose a simple theme that was sophisticated yet still captured the sweetness of babies. I opted for this old-timey party, which works great when you're expecting a boy. I have crazy talented friends and family so I wanted to use this event as an opportunity to feature their amazing talents. The cookie favours, French macaron tower, cake and cupcakes, photo booth and more were all courtesy of these incredible folks.

To set the mood at the banquet hall, I had an assortment of jars filled with Baby’s Breath displayed on a wooden slab. I also strung up a DIY doily banner. The vintage luggage card box and wine crates contribute to that old-timey feel, too.

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I love the look of Baby’s Breath; it's so simple and delicate, kind of like a baby. I thought that lace was too feminine for a shower for a little boy so I brought in burlap and wood to add a rustic, masculine touch.

The guests loved the onesie decorating station, the jelly bean guessing game and, of course, the playful photo booth by Still Motion Booth. But the Baby Relay (eat baby food, drink from a bottle, do a word search, change a diaper, swaddle a baby) was the biggest hit of all!

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Banquet hall showers tend to have a super formal feel but I wanted to make sure this shower was more intimate and about togetherness. To do this, I ditched the idea of the traditional head table and put my table between the others to improve interaction and closeness with my guests. I created this lovely mirror doily seating chart to show everyone to their place.

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15 unique (and fun!) baby shower ideas>