Let me start by saying I had to throw my own celebrations for welcoming my kids which was a bit unexpected considering I always thought when the time came my mom or a loved one would throw me a shower; it is quite customary. However, that did not happen but still, the show must go on. Once I got passed the initial disappointment, I was determined to be celebrated during this monumental life event and determined to celebrate my son too. As such, I planned and executed my own shower. Then, the following year, I planned and executed my daughter’s sprinkle. Overall both events were nice and a great celebration of life without breaking the bank. Also, I hosted both events following the births of my children so they served as an opportunity for loved ones to meet my little ones for the first time as well. Below are some of the similarities and differences I noticed with planning these 2 events.

Guest list:
My son’s shower was during the winter and a global pandemic which turned out to be an advantage for me financially. Everything had to be done on a smaller scale in terms of party size so I kept the guest list very intimate. The guest list consisted of about 25 of my closest friends and family. Whereas, my daughter was born in 2023, the year the mask mandates were lifted and she was a summer baby. I was able to accommodate a much larger guest list for her event. I invited about 40 people to my daughter’s sprinkle.

Food:
I wanted to offer a hot yet affordable meal during my son’s shower so I had a ‘create your own pasta’ station with salad and breadsticks from one of my favorite Italian food chains. In addition, I had plenty of treats for everyone. I saved money by ordering cupcakes from a local grocery store’s bakery and moving them into individual cupcake boxes. Also, I made the chocolate covered treats which included covered Oreos, rice crispy treats, and pretzels. On the contrary, for my daughter sprinkle, which is a smaller scale version of a shower for baby #2, I did not offer food at all. I hired an ice cream truck to serve ice cream and water ice only.

Invitations and poster:
For both events I used a combination of the free version of Paperless Post to communicate details to my guest and Canva to design customized invitation flyers. My son’s invitation was more playful and airy. Whereas, my daughter’s invitation was a bit more elegant in terms of design. Ironically, my son’s actual shower was more elegant than my daughter’s playful sprinkle. It is fair to say, the invitations were not indicative of the type of events they each had. Also, I created enlarged posters for both events using the printing service at Staples to welcome my guest to the event. I spent more money on my son’s poster because I used a higher quality poster paper. For daughter’s sprinkle, I got smarter and used a lesser quality poster paper but invested in a poster frame for $8 to elevate the look for less money.

Decor:
For my son’s shower, we had a ballon arch, a backdrop, and a table scape for each table. For my daughter’s sprinkle we had a ballon arch and a small but unique set up for her gifts. My daughter’s sprinkle was outdoors so we took advantage of the ground real estate by providing lawn blankets to guest rather than renting tables and chairs so no table scape needed. However, my son’s shower was indoors and though the tables and chairs were provided, I was responsible for elevating the space by decorating the tables with table cloth, dry flower arrangements, and candles. By far, the decor for my son’s event cost me more than my daughter sprinkle which was much more simple.

Venue:
My son’s shower was held at a local historic hotel’s banquet hall. I paid a fee for renting the hall but I did save money by using outside catering and I was lucky to find a venue that allowed that option. My daughter’s sprinkle was on the lawn of a local church and cost me nothing. I did make a voluntary small donation to the church for their generosity.

Favors:
I am a big fan of practical favors that guest can actual use. For my son’s shower I provided themed chapsticks in addition to the treats and cupcakes. For my daughter’s sprinkle I provided themed writing pens.

Games:
For my son’s shower I wanted to play games that were different than the typical baby shower games I have played in the past but still baby/mom centric. I landed on the following games:
◦ The price is right with items I had actually purchased or received for my son using the app menti.com. I asked guest to login to menti using their phones and guess the price of an item listed without going over. Winners of this game won an e.l.f facial mask and face roller.
◦ Left/Right game which was played by sharing my actual birth story and incorporating the words ‘left’ and ‘right’ in the story. My guest were ask to pass around a pencil to their left or right. The last person holding the pencil at the end of my story won the table’s flower arrangement.
◦ A classic game of who knows mom best. I printed small pieces of papers with a series of questions about me. The person who got the most answers correct won an e.l.f facial mask and face roller.

Also, I had an icebreaker using menti which was a baby photo of a celebrity mother (Michelle Obama) and my guest had to guess which celebrity it was with only a few hints.

For my daughter’s sprinkle, I did not have organized games but I did purchase a 4 foot connect four set, a limbo set, twister, double dutch rope, as well as a small slide for guest to enjoy at their own leisure.