Parent's to Bee Co-ed Baby Shower

Two of our dear friends are expecting their first ba-bee (get ready for all the bee puns) this October and it was so much fun creating this shower to celebrate them becoming parents!

Thankfully our state and county regulations (thanks COVID) enabled us to have this backyard party complete with bee masks a make your own kabob bar. Because what outdoor get together is ever complete without firing up the grill?

Since we're on the topic of kabobs, here's how I created the make your own kabob bar. I bought these kabob sticks from Amazon (of course, love me some prime). To keep track of who's is who, I cut about a 1 inch by 3 inch piece of foil and wrapped around the ends and placed a sharpie near by so people could mark their initials on their kabob. My husband was the grill master for the evening and the kabob bar was a big hit! I unfortunately didn't take a picture with all of the food displayed, things got a bit crazy once guests arrived. For the bar I had green, yellow and orange bell peppers, red onions, shrimp, beef, and chicken for the choosing, all pre cut.

A baby shower isn't complete without a few activities and games to entertain. The first activity I created was "Guess the Baby Food." I chose 5 jars of baby food and had guests give their best shot at guessing the combinations. To keep things as sanitary as possible, I bought these super cute mini wooden spoons and had the guests get a clean spoon with each taste. Of course prizes were at stake, but we'll get to that later (blog post to come).

Another activity was the Diaper Decorating station. Anyone can get involved in this activity with an encouraging note, funny saying, or work of art. Parents to bee will love looking back at the creativity of their family and friends and bring some fun to those late night diaper changes.

Also, I cannot wait to see their sweet bab-bee in those little bee shoes. When I saw them on Amazon I just could not resist. They're linked here and have so many other styles to choose from.

I wanted a way for the parents to remember this special celebration, and also something they could share with their little one some day, so I had guests take their polaroid picture for the guest book. Using a yellow ink pad, the guests could stamp their thumb print into the book next to their picture and create their unique bee to decorate along with a message the the parents.

I found this budget friendly blank book on amazon that worked great for a keepsake guest book.

Funny side note: My mom actually bought this polaroid camera for our wedding. It was for guests to use at our photo booth, but day of no one could figure out how to get it to work so I had a lot of film left over to use. Glad I could find another use for it!

I created this balloon arch for a backdrop for the photos. Its actually not as hard to make as it looks! The most difficult and time consuming part is blowing up all the balloons. Make sure to air them up at different sizes for variety. I recommend not using helium. Helium balloons have a mind of their own, but with just good ol' hot air you can more easily maintain the arch. All you need is balloons, fishing line, and a large eyed needle. With the fishing line, thread your needle and carefully thread through the ties of the balloons. Once done, hang your arch in desired location. At this point you can start rearranging the balloons to get your desired look. I added some tissue paper pom poms that I got from the dollar tree and tied them onto my fishing line for a few black accents.

No party is complete without dessert! I am so thankful for help from friends that helped make this dessert table looks oh so delicious. Ellen at Wild Rose Baking made the most adorable bee cookies for the celebration and my sweet friend Marina made the cupcakes.

I helped decorate her delicious cupcakes with these Wilton Bumblee Decorations and my own DIY candy honeycombs.

To make your own DIY candy honeycombs all you need is almond bark, bubble wrap, cookie sheet and non stick cooking spray. To prep, lay your bubble wrap onto the cookie sheet with bubble side facing up. Spray lightly with non stick spray. Heat up almond bark according to packaged directions and spread over bubble wrap. Refrigerate until hardened and completely cool. Gently flip cookie sheet over onto parchment paper and peel back the bubble wrap. Then you can break the almond bark into pieces for your DIY honeycombs!

It was so incredibly fun planning and prepping for this shower. I was ready to start planning another party immediately after! I felt such accomplishment seeing all my ideas I've had in my head for months come to life. Most of all I wanted to make our friends (The Parent's to Bee) feel special and loved with every detail. Having everything come together for a successful and beautiful display was so rewarding! I can't wait till the next opportunity to get creative!