Family Baby Shower

When I friend of mine told me about the baby shower held for her grandson, a shower where both men and women were invited, I thought, Of course! No reason at all why the daddy shouldn’t be there–and how fun to have the guys! One of those simple and revolutionary ideas you wonder you never thought of yourself.

Inspired, Mom and I planned a small family shower for my two sisters who are expecting–a surprise shower. Mom invited the married sisters with their families for Sunday lunch, and then, without the knowledge of the two families expecting babies, we planned the shower. Elizabeth took care of the decorations, Mom made the refreshments, and I planned the games.

The table:

The cake:

The happy mamas to be:

After lunch, the gifts were opened.

Then we played games. First, a game of draw the baby. The only twist: you had to draw with the paper on top of your head, and bring your pen down to your lap between every step. The result was babies with heads, eyes, and limbs all over the page.

Here are the three finalists:

And the winner:

Next we played a baby food taste-and-guess game, at which the guys seemed queasy. Jennie’s husband, Jeff, said the green beans tasted like puke, and Benny, one of my brothers, said he felt like throwing up. Eight-year-old MacKenzie was grossed out, too.

We had a bottle-drinking race:

Then we bobbed for baby toys and pacifiers (like bobbing for apples).

Finally, we did a super mommy relay. In this game the “super mommy” must simultaneously cradle a baby, talk on the phone, and hang an item of baby clothing on the line. A definite builder of parenting skills.

What fun! I would recommend a family baby shower, or a larger mixed group shower, to anyone.