Barbie Baby Shower

My sister, Merilee, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last Monday, January 5. Magdelaina Grace joined our family at 12:20 am and we could not be happier! Merilee and her husband, Mike, are thrilled to welcome their first child and she is absolutely perfect in every single way. It is a feeling like no other when I hold this little girl. I have held other people's babies before, obviously, but this is my sister's baby and it's like being on another planet. 

Merilee knew she was having a girl, so when my mom and I were planning her baby shower, we knew we would be working within that realm. My sister has always loved Barbies, so we decided to throw her a vintage Barbie baby shower. And since this is the theme Merilee ended up doing in Laina's room, it worked out perfectly!

My mom was nervous with this theme because she didn't know how we would pull it off. It's not like you can head into Target and find vintage Barbie plates and cups and banners. After a very productive Pinterest search, I told her that the main thing would be to focus on the colors and the rest would just be accents. The cake also played a big part in setting the theme. 

We had the shower at the Presbyterian Church fellowship hall in Broadalbin. This is the church where Merilee and Mike got married, so it felt very fitting to have it there. Pastor Linda is so accommodating and helpful, and it feels very homey. Also, it's just plain beautiful! This made it much easier to decorate and put less pressure on us, because we knew that the room could stand on its own; even if we didn't put up a single decoration, it still would have been beautiful. 

One of the biggest factors of any shower is the food. We decided on appetizers and desserts because those are Merilee's two favorite parts of any meal. (Mine, too - especially the desserts!) My mom, her best friend Rose, and I did the majority of the food (my Aunt Linda and Aunt Jeannie also brought a dish). We originally had a much bigger menu, but decided to simplify it after we started really going through each item. We found that, the more we simplified, the more the event started to come together. Simplifying the menu also allowed us to focus on the other elements, like the decorations and the centerpieces. 

Our appetizers were very basic: sausage and cheese wontons, sausage balls, buffalo chicken dip, spinach dip, crackers and cheese, grape salad, veggies and dip. We wanted things that were delicious and fun, but not too filling. Must save room for dessert!! 

Our desserts were also pretty basic, and we didn't make everything ourselves. We took a page from Ina Garten's book and purchased several things, then gussied them up a little bit. We made the Never Fail Fudge, Outrageous Brownies, and pumpkin dip with ginger snaps. We purchased butter cookies that we then dipped in pink melting chocolate, the assorted fancy cookies, and Haribo raspberries (Merilee's favorite candy in the world). 

The cake was one of Merilee's favorite parts. We spent $100 on both cakes, but it was her one big request: an awesome cake. Kandy, our baker, was so amazing. It was her idea to make two cakes - one small one, just for Merilee, made with chocolate cake and peanut butter frosting, and the large cake. We were so thrilled with how they both turned out. 

As far as decorations, we really focused on using consistent colors (white, pink, and black) and accents (framed pictures, monograms, Barbie silhouette) to help set the theme. 

We came up with our centerpieces the day before. We realized when we were decorating that we had completely forgotten to plan for that. Fortunately, I had brought along a box of Mason jars and my mom had a box full of gorgeous dried hydrangeas that Rose gave her, as well as some fake rosebuds, so we improvised! 

Another element that helped add to the decor were the paper flowers I made. I am absolutely in LOVE with these! I have used them at all of my children's birthday parties, and I wanted to use them here as well. They are so inexpensive and easy to make, and if you're willing to devote a few hours to making them, they add such a great color and interest. I just make mine while Shawn and I are watching TV at night after my children have gone to sleep. 

My mom and I were both nervous, hoping that we could pull this off, but the shower went off without a hitch and Merilee had a great time (which was what really mattered to us). A beautiful day celebrating a beautiful mom-to-be! 

Me, my sister Merilee, and our best friend, Janelle (who traveled from Philadelphia to be there!)