An Autumn-Themed Baby Shower

Later this winter, Jeremy and I will become an aunt and uncle for the eighth time, as we welcome a brand new baby boy into the family! We’re so excited for his sister and her growing family, and we celebrated by bringing both sides of baby’s family together for a shower last weekend!

I’m not sure I can express just how much I was looking forward to hosting an autumn-themed baby shower. This is my absolute favorite season and all summer long I was gathering up ideas that I hoped the everyone would love. Jeremy’s sister made things even easier for me – in terms of choosing a theme and finding everything I needed for it – by choosing a very fall-inspired palette when it comes to her vision for the baby’s nursery and wardrobe.

I wanted to share some photos of the special day, tips for planning, and links to items I used that you may find helpful if you’re planning a fall gathering (specifically a shower of some kind) in the near future!

Decorations & Cozy Vibes

Decorating was by far the easiest part of this celebration for me, and the area I spent the least time fretting over. As with all seasons, I try to keep décor simple, and gather up as much as I can from the great outdoors, which also helps when it’s time to swap out seasonal decorations, since I don’t have loads to store away! So, all I really had to do was plan to have a few more of these items on-hand than usual.

For decorations, I rounded up/stocked up on the following:

• Pumpkins, gourds, and squash in all sizes and colors (I prefer real ones, but there are some great faux options)
• Straw/wheat stalks
• Bales of hay
• Fall flowers
• Acorns
• Small sticks and leaves
• A few craft pumpkins (for the cake and gift table)
• This “Little Pumpkin” banner
• Mason jars
• Raffia
• Twine
• Neutral baskets
• Neutral card stock – in browns, creams, whites, and blacks

While I had a great majority of this on-hand, I was able to get some amazing deals on the rest by frequenting craft stores, local pumpkin patches, and by foraging in nature.

The main accent for the baby’s nursery is buffalo check, so I also made sure to have pops of that throughout – using a piece of fabric as a table cover, and using plates, straws, and baskets with that pattern on it as well.

I made all of the signage and labels by hand, using either stickers or this label maker to keep things consistent throughout the house.

I also tried to make it extra cozy and welcoming in our home by streaming a playlist that included several of Jeremy’s sister’s favorite songs and artists, turning on lamps and fairy lights in the main rooms, lighting a few candles, clearing out our main coat closet so everyone had plenty of room to ditch their coats and bags, and making sure our place was extra clean the day of the party. It really is the little things! 🙂

Food & Drinks

Food is one of my favorite things to plan for when it come to parties, and there was no shortage of it here!

We had a big spread of both savory and sweet options – including our go-to spinach and artichoke dip, rolls, fruits, veggies, and chips, as well as plenty of cake, cupcakes (pumpkin with cream cheese frosting and chocolate with peanut butter frosting), pies, s’mores pops, and more.

I’m not sure I’ll ever throw a party again without a build-your-own trail mix bar. I decided to put one together again this year after it went over so well at the baby shower I hosted last year. It was just as much of a hit this year, for both the kids and the adults!

I’m all about fall flavors, so I made sure to incorporate as much as I could into our food and drinks – pumpkin spice, apple, cinnamon, caramel, and so on.

We made a couple of infused waters with fall in mind (cranberry orange and cinnamon peach) and also had apple cider, apple juice, wine, and some apple and pumpkin ciders and beers for our guests.

Favors & Prizes

I love treating party guests and, aside from allowing them to make their own bag of trail mix to-go, had some Bath & Body hand soaps for the adults and a treat bag filled with glow sticks, candy, and some small Halloween toys for the kids.

If you’re thinking about gifting Bath & Body favors for guests, make sure you’re signed up to their mailing list so you can stay in-the-know about deals they have for buying multiple items, or getting a hefty percentage off!

I found these adorable leaf thank you tags for the favors and tied them on with a strand of raffia.

We also played a few games that I put together prizes for. There were two big gift baskets (for the diaper raffle) – a “cozy autumn day” basket and a Halloween-themed basket. In addition, there were a couple of bottles of wine, boxes of chocolate, candles, and Komets hockey tickets up for grabs!

While not a favor or a prize, I thought I should mention the cutest invitations I found for the party – they came with sturdy envelopes and diaper raffle cards, too! You can find them here.

Games (Free Downloads!)

I’m not usually a big party game person, so I tried to put together a few games that were really low-pressure (guests didn’t have to sweat embarrassing themselves or getting too silly)!

Each guest was encouraged in their invitations to bring along a package of diapers to be entered into a diaper raffle, and I had baby’s big sister do the honors of drawing the winners.

Guests were asked to guess how many pieces of pumpkin candy were in a giant baby bottle, and then passed around a pumpkin to guess its weight in pounds and ounces (spoiler: it was 16 lbs. 1 oz.)!

The paper games were where we had the most fun. I created a simple template in Adobe Illustrator, using images via Freepik, then used that template to create three different games:

• Baby Trivia – Multiple choice questions about babies and pregnancy.
  Download Game | Answer Key
• Let’s ROCKabye, Baby – I played a song with the word “baby” in the title or lyrics, and players had to guess the name of the song and/or artist.
  Download Game
• Baby Babble – Players had to unscramble some jumbled-up words that related to baby care.
  Download Game | Answer Key

If you’re interested in using these games, I’ve provided links to the full page printables above. If you want to package them up exactly like I did – as smaller prints with some thick card stock that makes them easier to hold and write on – then you can use the links below.

Baby Trivia | Let’s ROCKabye, Baby | Baby Babble

After printing, cutting, and packaging the games, I cut 12×12” sheets of card stock/scrapbooking paper in half, laid the paper games on top, folded over the top part of the card stock, and stapled it all together!

Gifts & Guestbook

While you certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to give a larger gift when you’re hosting a shower, you sometimes can’t help but want to be in on the gift-giving part of it!

As I was out and about in the months leading up to the shower, I kept an eye out for little items I could use to make a gift basket. I ended up with a few thrifted outfits, a stuffed dachshund (from cousin Rosie, of course), a book with baby’s name, and some odds and ends like shampoo, lotion, diapers, and so on. I also found a couple of pumpkin-themed books (this one and this one) that added to the décor, that the parents-to-be were able to take home and add to baby’s library.

I went back and forth on the guestbook for this party, initially thinking it’d be neat for everyone to sign a craft pumpkin that could be pulled out year after year. But we landed on a blank scrapbook that party-goers filled with polaroid photos and sweet notes to the baby that he can read many years from now! For those curious about the camera we used for the guestbook, we have this Instax mini and it’s proved to be a great asset to our parties (and travels) over the years!

Catering to the Kids

Knowing that lots of kids would be coming along for the party, I wanted to make sure there was plenty to do, to keep them occupied.

I was able to find several fun (and affordable) little craft kits at area craft shops and set up stations for them to make their own monster hats, monsters on sticks, and costumed cats and dogs.

We also set up a pumpkin painting station outside, with some googly eye stickers, Halloween stickers, and paint pens (to cut down on the mess). I found these paint pens and they worked SO well on the pumpkins – drying quickly and keeping hands and clothes clean! I would recommend giving pumpkins a good rinse in hot water, and allowing them to thoroughly dry, before they’re painted. This really helped everything stick.

On the opposite side of the trail mix bar, I had a cupcake decorating station, with some pre-frosted cupcakes and bowls of Halloween sprinkles the kids could top them with.

We’d also planned a scavenger hunt in the backyard leading up to the event, with all kinds of fall-themed items tucked away in the garden beds, behind trees, and so on, but unfortunately, a massive storm rolled through the night before, so we couldn’t set it up ahead of time – and the ground was a bit too wet the day of the shower to have the kids running all over! This would be so much fun though, if the weather holds for you!

Throughout the house and yard, we had things like card games, jump rope, a jack-o-lantern bean bag toss, and coloring books to keep the kids busy – and it (mostly) worked! 🙂

Money-Saving Tips

While I will admit that I went a little overboard and spent more than I anticipated on this shower, there were areas and ways in which I was able to save significant amounts of money. And plenty of lessons learned.

Some of my best tips for sticking to your party budget:

• Thoroughly plan out everything before starting to shop. I had a hundred ideas racing through my head when I knew I’d be hosting the shower and wanted so badly to do them all. But over the course of several weeks, I made list after list, narrowing down my ideas – and in turn, my shopping list – to a more reasonable amount. I always tell people that when it comes to hosting events, I feel like 75% of my time is spent planning, and the rest on actually putting it all together, and this helps tremendously when it comes to shopping. Make sure you have a clear and strong vision for what you’re going for, before you set foot in any store – this helped me continuously reign it back in when I started reaching for items that didn’t really fit my focus. Pinterest is a lifesaver for me when it comes to creating vision boards for events!
• Set a budget. This kind of goes without saying, but your best bet at saving money on a party like this is setting a budget ahead of time, and maybe even moving that set amount of money into a separate checking account or withdrawing that amount of cash so you can easily see what you’re working with.
• Ask others to pitch in. If you’re not fully comfortable covering the costs of the entire party, reach out to others and/or take them up on their offers to contribute funds, food, or decorations.
• Frequent thrift shops and craft stores. I visited nearby thrift shops and craft stores weekly in the weeks leading up to the party, which allowed me to get some great deals on décor and crafts for the kids. Most craft stores have really great coupons and sales on their mobile apps, websites, or in their weekly ads, so don’t go in without checking for those first!
• Take advantage of discounts. If you’re planning to pick up favors or prizes at a specialty shop, make sure you’re subscribed to the store’s mailing list, follow them on social media, etc. Keep on the lookout for sale weeks, discount codes, coupons, and other ways to save before paying full price.
• Reach out to those who may be able to get you a deal. I’m really fortunate to work with reps at various places around town for my job who often hook me up with gift cards around the holidays that I save for events like this – hence, how I was able to provide DeBrands chocolates and Komets tickets for the party. If you have friends or family who work at stores or have connections like this, don’t be afraid to ask if they might be able to help you get a discount or promotional items you can use!
• Use what you have and borrow if you can. Chances are, you already have some seasonal décor on hand as well as craft supplies (and maybe even several of the ingredients you’ll need for food)! Take stock of what you have before going crazy at the store, and reach out to friends and family who you think may have items you can borrow, too. My mom let me borrow a few decorative pieces, like the red wagon we used in the yard!
• Ask for help. Sometimes saving yourself time and stress is just as important as saving money. If you’re feeling like you don’t have the time to do it all yourself, then don’t! There are probably several people who are more than willing to offer their help, so don’t be afraid to take them up on it – whether it’s having them help with planning, set-up, clean up, food prep – anything at all! Jeremy was a HUGE help with this party, helping me to finish up some last-minute house projects, running errands for me here and there, and setting up with me the day-of. I couldn’t have pulled it together without him!

This party was such a blast to plan for and host, and though I’m relieved it went over so well, I’m honestly a little sad it’s already over. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day, and are so thankful to everyone who attended and helped to make it such a memorable celebration!

Are you planning a fall gathering soon – or are you dreaming of hosting one next year? I’d love to hear what kinds of autumn-themed goodness you’re dreaming up, and what your best party-planning tips are! Feel free to share in the comments!

xo, Aly