Wednesday, July 18, 2012

A Splish Splash Couples Baby Shower

Baby showers can be tricky. Couples baby showers can be a bit trickier.

Adoption couples baby showers for twins are on a whole other level.

Insert me. :)

I think it's fun to face a challenge and I was ready to face it for these friends!!

Let's start back at the beginning. About two months ago as my to-be cohost and I sat down over lunch to discuss the details of the shower, we spent a good time Googling.  

Did you know that twins shower supplies are crazy expensive? Well, at least they seemed that way to me! Soooo many adorable items, but we just couldn't pull that off and being frugal as our honoree is I knew she'd totally flip if she heard we spent all that money on stuff that would be thrown out. Yeah, so not happening.

My cohost and I spent some time browsing websites for theme ideas - but we found that there aren't a lot of themes that don't say "Welcome little one" or "Baby" or "It's a Boy", etc. As we stumbled upon a splish splash/bath theme, I had a sudden epiphany!

I had totally forgotten about an absolute keeper of an item on Pinterest. When I repinned it, I thought it was super cute and something I might like to try someday. It ended up being put into action much sooner than I'd anticipated.

From our friends' visit back in May to see the boys for the first time and to go to court to finalize the adoption, I'd found out that the twins really loved bath time. Hence the epiphany....

So I showed this ducky baby shower punch to my cohost and she was super excited about it too! So immediately we decided to run with the bath time theme and it turned out perfectly! Add on the benefits that for a couples shower, we didn't want anything too girly or weird that would make the guys feel uncomfortable, so the ducky/bath theme was the ideal solution.

My friend Danielle & I hosted the shower back on June 12th for our coworker Don and his wife Sara after work in our company's lunchroom. It was also the first couples shower either of us had thrown, but it turned out really well and we were happy! Don & Sara loved it and were really blessed by it, and that was such a joy!

Here's how the punch looked for me:


Perhaps not quite as cool looking as the Pinterest one with the cool blue bowl, but this worked just the same. We also changed it up a little since I couldn't find the Kool-aid the recipe recommended, so we tried it with the Mixed Berry Kool-aid and it was super yummy {coming from someone who generally doesn't like punch or pineapple unless it's fresh} and I was really happy with the surprising way it turned out!!

I can't take full credit for the punch, Danielle was a great help getting this together at the last minute! We didn't want to make it too early because we feared the bubbles would go away. They didn't go away until people started drinking from it, and it still looked really cool!


We found super cute Splish Splash themed decorations at Party City.


I really enjoyed putting together these favors! The tins are from Hobby Lobby, the stickers are from the themed supplies we got at Party City, and the ribbon was from Michael's. Oh, and the yummy peanut M & Ms inside were from Jewel. I was so happy with the adorable way they turned out!



The decorations became a bit of a mission. I wanted it to still have a shower/festive feel but again something that wouldn't make the guys totally cringe. We make guys go with us to wedding receptions and what not so I know it's fine, but I wanted to be sensitive to making it too over the top. Plus, they're adopting boys.

So I found these fake yellow flowers that look super real and cute little vases at Michael's. The little yellow duckies are also from there. Then I worked with our design department to print out a bunch of pictures from when they went to Ethiopia for court and to meet the boys, so that it could feel that much more special and people could see the boys with their parents.


Here are a bunch of the pictures laid out on my desk as I was organizing them whenever Don was in a meeting so he wouldn't accidentally see them, so that they'd both be surprised by the personal touches. I worked with his team that day to figure out his meeting schedule and when I could run things down to the lunchroom without him seeing. Mwahahahaha. :) The design team printed them, put them on foamcore, and placed pop-ups behind them. It worked out super well and gave the shower a more intimate feel!


Danielle made these amazingggg homemade cupcakes that were to die for.


Here is the entryway with 11x17 blow-ups of family pics on foamcore, taped to the walls. I'd hoped to have them on both sides of the doorway but I forgot about a bulletin board on the other side that got in the way. Oh well, this still worked nicely.


The lunchroom all spiffied up.


The incredible, yummy food.


It seemed like everyone had a really nice time together and things went very smoothly!



We have an amazing, funny, sweet group of coworkers and their families!




We all got to listen to Don & Sara share their incredible adoption story of these twin boys {which we've had the privilege of hearing before but it was still great to hear, and watch everyone else's reactions!}. Watch their incredible story come together in this amazing video. No really, go watch it now. I've watched it so many times it's ridiculous, and Tim's family got really into watching it this past weekend too!

Seriously it's been such a blessing to be a part of the process and we couldn't be happier for them that they are soooo close to finally bringing those boys home after such a long, two-year process!


Our president graciously gave a devotional that was such a blessing.


They were abundantly showered with gifts, including these adorable first fishing tackle boxes -- too cute for the avid fisherman's kids!





Cohost & I with our president's wife -- we just love her and are so thankful for her!!



Awwww :) love these girls!



Mwahahaha -- made the guys stand together. Hilarious. You can see they are thrilled. Whatevs.


The main gang -- Don & Sara, cohost Danielle, and me. What a fun group! We are so thankful for them all and appreciate the friendships we've found in these couples. We cannot wait to meet Jacob & Josiah once they come home! Please be praying that will be very, very soon!


Read more about Don & Sara's adoption journey on their blog 7500 Miles.


4 comments:

Liz Mays said...

How exciting for them! You put so much thought and care into planning that party. You're a sweetheart. I love that you really tried not to make it too girly on behalf of the male contingent. :)

don and sara said...

Thanks, Rochelle! It was a GREAT shower, and so thoughtful of you and Danielle to work on it for us! Can't wait for you to meet the boys!

Christina T said...

Wow, you did a great job! So creative!

I like how Pinterest inspired you too :)

Rachel Jones said...

Ahhh, loved loved this shower - you did such a great job!! Everything was SO cute - loved the punch, had like 3 cups :) and loved the favors and all the flowers and the food. Everything was perfect!
Thanks for all you did - meant so much to D&S and was so special to be there and be a part of it and meet more crossway co-workers. You have such a gift of generosity and are blessed with coordinating great events and making the details just perfect!