Whales are In

This weekend, I attended my third nautical-themed baby party in the past 4 months, and yesterday, I received an invitation to a fourth in September. My colleague is also starting to plan her son’s Sharknado-themed second birthday party. Who knew the ocean was so popular?! But the great thing is, each party has surprised me with a new, creative way to make sea creatures out of food. 

Let’s begin with party #1. This was a first birthday party for a friend’s daughter, which I actually thought was really unique, considering that the other three sailing guests of honor were boys. Plus, navy and pink go wonderfully together. The mom had been planning this event for about 6 months, so it was pretty amazing. My personal favorite detail was a display of single-serving blue Jello "fish bowls." She also provided water bottles labeled “Sea Water” and sent pretty adorable invitations. We left with gold fish favors and a smile.

Party #2 celebrated a friend’s son’s first birthday and equally blew me away. The mom wrapped silverware in napkins tied with Life Savers and string, and she made the cutest croissant tuna-salad sandwiches into crabs with toothpick googly eyes. She completed her display with a variety of homemade sea creature cookies and a glass jar full of gumball “sea pearls.” I actually didn't see any ocean repeats from party #1, which I appreciated – it’s always more fun to see new ideas! The one thing both birthday parties did have wasn't related to the theme, but it was one of the best ideas ever: a banner with one photo from each month of the baby’s life. As a guest, this was so much fun to admire and see how the baby grew and changed over one year. I recommend doing this at every first birthday party!

The whale cookies were so good I couldn't wait until after the picture to take a bite!

My mother-in-law hosted party #3, a baby shower for Mr. O&O’s sweet cousin, which meant I got to help! MIL O&O asked me to bring deviled eggs, and because I knew it was sailing themed, I took it upon myself to oceanize them by adding cheese sails to make “boats.” I was feeling pretty good about myself, until I got there and I saw that A. MIL O&O had already purchased paper sails for my boats (which looked a lot better than my cheese ones) and B. Mr. O&O’s other cousin (who happens to be a new mom) had carved an entire watermelon into the shape of a whale, filled it with fruit, and had also made sea creature lollipops out of chocolate. Deviled eggs boats didn't seem so crafty after all.

I even piped the filling!

Now, if watermelon whales and chocolate sharks weren't enough, this same cousin also hit it out of the ball park with her present. One of the cute touches this shower invitation included was a request for guests to bring a “whale of a tale” so baby Bennett could arrive into the world with full bookshelves. My go-to baby shower present is always books, so this was easy for me. I love giving classic baby lit books, which are frequently on Groupon, and they usually go over well with the crowd. Well, Watermelon Whale cousin took this book request to a new level. Among other things, she presented the expecting mom with the three following books:

•  A custom book that incorporated personal details — such as the baby’s name, his aunts and uncles names, and his home town — into the story itself

• A memory book with places for Mom to jot down quick observations about baby each day for 5 years

• A homemade baby’s-first-year scrapbook with pages themed for each month already decorated and ready for Mom to insert pictures as she takes them
  

I have never seen a better baby shower present. I am definitely stealing this idea for the next shower I attend, nautical or not! But now that I have my present idea, what on earth am I going to wear to my next sailing shower? I am running out of ocean dresses!

Party #1

Party #3

Ahoy,
     Victoria