I want to kick off this post by saying that I threw this baby shower in July of 2018, the day after shooting a wedding. Things were dicey. Luckily, I had three of the mama-to-be, Jamie’s, friends helping out! They were really the keys to the success of the party.
Here’s how it went down—I was at Hobby Lobby a few days before the shower to pick up supplies. I grabbed a bunch of light pink and light blue paper, plastic cutlery, cups, plates, etc. and at the checkout counter I felt sick to my stomach. I left with bags full of regrets. (dramatic, but true) Sure, blue and pink is the classic “We don’t know the gender!” color, but I don’t love the combo and I was hosting. 🤦🏻♀️
I drove home, called my mom, walked into my house, and turned right back around to return it all at the Hobby Lobby that’s close to my home. I swapped all the cringe-worthy pastels for Coca-Cola red, which my gut said would be better for this soda-fountain-themed, ice cream social shower. Let me tell you, that was the correct choice!
The Look
I would’ve loved to host this party in an actual soda fountain or on my patio in the backyard, but I didn’t have the budget to rent out a venue and it was too hot in July to ask my very pregnant BFF and her friends to forgo the A/C inside to sweat in the backyard. That left me with my living room! I moved out the rug, recliner, and coffee table to make room for the most impactful part of the party—the antique soda fountain tables and chairs!
Centerpieces were big, beautiful white hydrangeas in tall sundae cups with maraschino cherries in the middle! They were so cute and got lots of sweet compliments. I also lightly inflated balloons to make the cute ice cream cones I ended up sticking on the backs of the chairs. Because it was such a tight space, they ended up working even better as photo props! Fine by me. 🙂
The Activities
The guest of honor has never been a fan of forcing guests that don’t know each other all that well to play games and I appreciate that about her! I honored that request and offered options that everyone could do on their own time and without the whole party watching.
We had everyone guess the date Baby Busby would arrive and its gender. Guests could do these as they wandered by. I also loaded up a basket with diapers for my favorite baby shower activity—late night diapers! If you haven’t seen my other baby shower post, you can find more info about this activity there.
The Food + Drink
My vision for this shower was to offer soda fountain favorites like root beer, cream soda, and classic ice cream sundaes! Luckily, my co-hostesses brought snack options to keep our guests happily munching until the ice cream was served. The party took place at 2:00 p.m. on a Sunday, so we were able to avoid serving a full meal and offered a sweet treat instead.
You can see below the glass bottles of root beer and cream soda that I went on a hunt to find. You can also see (at the beginning of the post) that our ice cream sundaes were served in antique glass sundae dishes! This was the best decision I made, I think. My mom hit antique stores hard for me and ended up finding a really pretty mix of dish styles—which I now own. 🤷🏻♀️
What I Would Have Done With More Time
A red- or black-and-white checkered tablecloth–ideally a fabric one–would have made our buffet table so much more polished. I tend to be anti-disposable tablecloths but I can’t deny that they get the job done and make cleanup a breeze! Collecting metal ice cream scoops would have been a fun touch, but this was pre-marriage so I only had one decent one. Thank goodness my co-hostesses had some! Lastly, I would have done a better job making a photo spot. I only had time to make one quick little banner, which bums me out in hindsight. Luckily, the mama-to-be loved it! So, all was well.
I love the idea of an ice cream social for a baby shower—especially a gender neutral one! The soda fountain theme was a fun twist on that idea and allowed me to include antique touches, which I love to do. What’s the best baby shower theme you’ve seen done? Bonus points if it’s a gender neutral one!