My sister-in-law's baby is due next week but s/he could be here any time soon. We celebrated the imminent arrival with an afternoon tea party back in May (just in case s/he arrived early or in case T didn't full up to hosting a house full of women much nearer to the birth).
T and I made the invitations together one rainy weekend afternoon, which in itself was very enjoyable. I printed the wording onto
plain white Smythson cards using my home printer and a font that I downloaded (creating a pdf of the cards measurements) and we then hand drew the decorations together before using watercolours to add a wash. The matching Smythson envelopes were then hand addressed and posted.
We didn't want the main focus of the baby shower to be presents, rather we wanted T to be able to have a chance to chat to all her girlfriends over the course of the afternoon. So, we served prosecco and fizzy elderflower and a spread of food including a selection of finger sandwiches (cucumber, salmon, ham), scones, coffee cake, mini sausage rolls, strawberries, blueberries and grapes. Later, we had cups of tea. Several of the guests also brought various additions including cupcakes. The food was served on a Marrimeko table cloth made by T's mother and we had grey striped straws. And somehow, in all the helping to host and serve drinks, either I didn't take any photos or they've disappeared into a photo black hole, as I can't find a record.
However, we didn't want to let the occasion pass without a present of some sort, so we gave T a present from all who came of a box of goodies including a
giraffe pram toy, various
Aden + Anais swaddles and muslins with giraffe and cow prints and some Burts Bees toiletries for baby including the
nappy balm which I read somewhere was above and beyond the best you can buy.
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iphone snaps by me and edited (rather crudely, sorry) to disguise the party's location.
had the best review 
