Bet you weren’t expecting to see me over on these pages! I’m stepping out of my usual spot over on Rock My Style to bring you today’s entertainment post.

A few months ago my beautiful pregnant friend Bex told me she was keen to get the girls together before she gave birth. A traditional shower however wasn’t on the cards as she felt uneasy about her friends forking out for gifts. Instead we came up with the idea of a ‘sip and see’ party. A chance to get the gang together for an afternoon of low-key celebrations.

As I was decorating the lovely Lisa from Little Beanies popped round so she was able to take the professional snap of the fireplace above. As you may have noticed all the other images in the gallery below are taken on my iPhone.

Mocktails

As the girls were coming round to ‘sip and see’ I thought I better make an effort with the drinks. Lorna and I both have a few drink dispensers which are perfect for parties (and lazier hostesses). I filled one with still water and mint leaves and the other with a mocktail made by my friend Sam, a fruity concoction of elderflower and apple juice. Carafes of orange juice and cranberry were also on hand for any one wanted to turn their champers into a fruity Mimosa.

Share the Love

I asked each guest to chip in and bring along a contribution to the buffet; the lovely ladies brought platters of cheese and meats but I also made sure there was a load of fodder suitable for the mama-to-be; I knocked up a crostini bar with three different toppings as well as a pasta and couscous salad.

For dessert my friend Lindsay created a gorgeous naked lemon cake which we adorned with eucalyptus, and we also feasted on raspberry and chocolate brownies, spring fairy cakes and an awesome banoffee pie.

Decor

I picked up the initial ‘oh baby’ balloons from eBay for just a couple of quid and simply stuck the inflated letters to the wall with double sided sticky tape. I raided the shelves of The Range for the initial bunting to deck the fireplace and grabbed their kraft patterned bunting which was just a pound for nine pennants.

The script signs were simply made from a clip frame from Tiger where I used a faux calligraphy technique to transfer a design on to the glass.

Organised Fun

As all the girlies knew each other so there wasn’t much need for icebreakers. We wanted to have a good old chinwag rather than play games.

I froze teeny tiny (rather odd looking) babies from eBay in to ice cubes and dropped them in the welcome drinks. The first one to melt had to declare ‘my water’s just broken’ to win a prize.

I also asked the guests to bring along their baby photos to play ‘guess who’ pegging all the photos to a vintage ladder covered in fairy lights.

I also created a Spotify list with a bunch of tunes featuring ‘girl’, ‘boy’, ‘mama’ and the like in the title. This could be used for a game but we just had it as atmospheric background music and a chance to indulge in a cheeky bit of Britney and Mariah.

The Sweetest Touch

We all wrote notes to the baby and I think giving a few pointers really helped. The book was circulated with a prompt card for the ladies to fill in the blanks. Bex ended up with a really sweet book full of really personal notes to her little bundle of joy. We couldn’t let the day go by without a few presents, however we bought a fluffy dressing gown to pamper Bex rather than a pile of pressies for the baby. We’ll wait for the wee one to make an appearance and then the gifts will arrive!

 
Are any of you pregnant ladies planning a bash before the arrival of your little one? Any tips for throwing an unofficial baby shower?