This past weekend I was honored to co-host my college bestie’s baby shower! This was the first baby shower I’ve ever planned and I was so thankful to have a co-host to help plan and share the expenses. When we started the planning process, our initial thought was to host the shower in SF, however, cost prevented us from doing so. Unfortunately food and beverage minimums for private rooms at restaurants and event spaces to rent were way out of our budget. We ended up hosting the shower in the mama-to-be’s apartment complex event space, which to be honest worked out for the better! We were able to put the funds that otherwise would of gone to the food and bev minimum to the decor.

Once the event space was secured, we set out to find a theme and of course turned to our trusty pal, Pinterest. Upon perusing, we quickly realized that we * had * to do a safari themed baby shower as there was so much cute inspo! Once the theme was finalized, we quickly ordered invitations (these are the ones we went with.) To be quite frank, I think all special events such as wedding and baby showers require a paper invitation. Yes, I know e-vites are so much easier and more convenient but paper invites are more formal and special. And it’s something the guest of honor can keep and put in her baby book and/or wedding scrapbook of memories.

For decor, we decided to mainly use balloons as the highlight and then accent with gold animal figurines and greenery to bring the safari theme to life! Luckily my co-host is all kinds of crafty and knew how to make these balloon garlands! Once she showed me how, it really is the easiest thing to do, although very time consuming. We spent all day Saturday prepping these garlands! All you need to create the balloon garlands is (1) an electric air balloon pump (2) decorating strip to thread the balloons into (3) balloons in whatever colors to match your theme! The key to creating balloon garlands/arches is to use a variety of different sizes of balloons. However, we used only small balloons for the table centerpiece.

Since our baby shower was at 11:30am we wanted to offer a light lunch for our guests and Mendocino Farms was the perfect answer for our catering needs. We ordered a variety of sandwiches and sides. In addition to the main course, we knew we wanted a fun dessert bar! We DIY’d our donut display board by buying peg board from Home Depot (and spray painting it gold) and used wooden dowels to hang the donuts. Additionally, we ordered yummy "Bundtinis” from Nothing Bundt Cakes and cute safari themed onesie cookies from Etsy. And of course, no shower is complete without the drink station! We offered mimosas with a variety of juices, wine, and a mocktail for the mama-to-be! I made this mocktail and it was so refreshing and delicious!

The guest of honor is a big fan of games, so we knew that fun little activities needed to be included for her shower. We ordered two different games from Etsy: “Who Knows Mommy Best” and '“Baby Shower Bingo.” Additionally, we created our own game by asking the soon-to-be grandparents random questions of things the soon-to-be parents did or said as children and guests had to guess who it was.

I had so much fun planning this shower and it was so special to shower one of my best friends with all the love! I’ve linked a lot of the shower decorations below, along with a recommended timeline, in case you’re wanting to plan your own safari themed baby shower!

xx Blair

Recommended Planning Timeline:

8 Weeks in Advance

Secure venue
Finalize guest list
Order invitations
Set a budget
Decide theme
Get gift registry details from mom-to-be

6 Weeks in Advance:

Mail invitations
Research catering
Research decor

4 Weeks in Advance:

Purchase decor
Finalize catering menu (don’t forget dessert and drinks!)
Finalize rentals (table, chairs, etc should you need)
Order baby shower games

2 Weeks in Advance:

Follow up with guests that have not RSVPd
Confirm head count with catering
Print out any signage/games
Confirm serving supplies (trays for food, utensils, plates, etc). If ordering anything custom, make sure to place orders at least 4 weeks in advance.

Week of:

Shop for last minute grocery needs (ice, garnishes, mixers etc)
Clean party space
Purchase flowers if ordering arrangements, otherwise if you’re making your own, buy the day before shower.

Day before: