How To Host A Zoom Baby Shower

Although life in parts of the world is starting to go back to normal, there are many of us who are still dealing with strict lockdown measures which make getting together for something like a baby shower near impossible.

That is the situation I found myself in this month.

My dear friend is expecting her first baby. Although she lives here in Europe, she is from Canada, and had always really looked forward to having a baby shower of her own. As we began planning for the festivities, the lockdown measures started to change weekly, and we found ourselves up against the date, but under restrictions that would not allow public gatherings. Additionally, my mama friend is naturally trying to stay healthy leading up to her due date, and so we were trying to avoid any unnecessary risks before her big day.

So, rather reluctantly at first, we switched gears, and decided to make it a "Zoom Baby Shower".

I wasn't sure that we could pull it off, but it ended up being incredibly successful, so I though that I would share with you some of the things that I did, in the hopes that if you find yourself in a similar situation, that you will be able to create your own fun, and make the sweet mama-to-be feel special and loved.

1. Scheduling a Zoom Meeting

The first thing you are going to need to do, is decide on a date and time for your Zoom call. If you don't already have one, create a free Zoom account, and follow their very easy steps to create a meeting. Once you've done that, you can send the link to any invitees. You could create an e-invite, or an invitation PDF and send the link along with it.

2. Party in a Box

One of the main components of the Zoom Baby Shower was something I called "party in a box". Basically, the idea was, that the box would contain everything the person would need to have a party at home. You (or mama-to-be) can choose a theme, and go crazy!

Mine included:

1 paper plate

1 napkin

1 balloon

1 themed cookie

1 white onesie cookie

1 edible marker

1 cakesicle

Other ideas:

stickers, BINGO cards, "mommy or daddy" questionnaire, candy, juice box, etc. 

I made elephant cookies following the recipe steps I used for my llama cake, as well as onesie ones. For the onesies, I only iced them in white, so that every one could then "design" a onesie with the marker I included in the box. It made for a fun activity we could all do "together" on Zoom.

For the cakesicles I made two 9-inch cake layers using this chocolate cupcake recipe. I love it, because it tastes almost like a brownie! 

I also saved about 2 tbsp buttercream frosting from the last time I decorated a cake. I found some cakesicle moulds on Amazon, watched a lot of tutorials on Youtube, and set to work. Leave a comment below, if you'd like to see a more in-depth tutorial for the cakesicle! That might be a fun follow-up post!

I baked and prepped everything ahead of time, kept them in the freezer, then packaged everything in boxes the day before the party, and my friend and her husband delivered them to her friends the day before the party. We asked them to keep their boxes in the fridge to avoid anything getting melted and ruined.

I made personalized labels for each box, tied them with some yarn, and added a tassel that matched the garland (see further down) I made, to really make it feel like the party came to them.

When mama-to-be delivered the cookies, the guests also gave her any gifts or cards that they had for her to open at the party.

3. "Setting the Scene"

This is my friend's first baby, so I really wanted her to get the full baby shower experience. The wall that we normally have our TV on is a great dark gray color and gets good light, so it's where I decided to set up some sort of backdrop. 

My backdrop included:

1 ballon arch

1 tassel garland (tassels are super easy to make, and are fun and whimsical)

2 elephant pull toys (the company sent on damaged one and sent a replacement, but didn't require me to send the chipped one back, so I used them both as decor)

gift section

2 chairs

some flowers (I decided to go with potted calla lilies, because my friend also just moved, so they are a great housewarming gift, too)

desserts

computer

Other ideas:

banner, poster, maternity photos, a screen with a slideshow going, etc.

4. How to actually HOST the Zoom Baby Shower

Think about who your guests are, and try to tailor the meeting towards them. Here are some examples of what I tried to think about and be mindful of.

- For this baby shower, I had people calling in from 3 different countries, and the attendees were of different nationalities/traditions. So, I couldn't do things like "the baby name game", or "the price is right", or something like "describe your favorite children's book".

- Not everyone knows one another.

- Not everyone speaks the same language. (I asked one sweet friend to please be gracious enough to translate for people. This inevitably made things a little longer, but made it so everyone felt a part of things.)

- We have about an hour.

- We have about 13 people attending.

Keeping those things in mind, this was the schedule I came up with:

5 minutes - Welcome everyone, explain the "party in a box"-es, invite them to open them up, and decorate their onesie cookies.

25 minutes - Introductions - I asked every lady to take turns introducing themselves, tell us how they know the mama-to-be, and one thing about her that tells them that she will be a wonderful mommy! 

10 minutes - "Help Mama" scavenger hunt. (I knew I didn't want our party to be game-heavy, what with the translation, and different cultures mingling. BUT I did want to engage our guests, and this game was perfect!) Explain to your guests, that the purpose of the game is to help our mama-to-be! In each round you will be describing an imaginary "emergency", then they'll need to go find the "thing" that mama needs. At the end of each round, the last ? people (we did 2) were out, and did not advance to the next round. The person who successfully helped mama with each emergency (i.e. made it back to their screen with the needed item in each round) wins!

These were our scenarios:

"Oh, no! Baby is hungry find him a bottle! It can be any kind of bottle!"

"Okay, now baby is cold, find him a blanket!"

"Baby is getting bored, quick, get him a toy!"

"We're on the move, find something to carry baby in!"

"Baby's skin is getting dry, lets get him some lotion!"

"Oops, baby has a blow out diaper, he needs a bath! Quick, find him some soap!"

It was AWESOME! Everyone got involved, they were super creative with their solutions, and it was a fun way to create a party atmosphere.

10-15 minutes - opening gifts (don't forget to have mama hold them up to the camera)

5 minutes - Close time together and pray over mama. (Of course, if you aren't religious, just skip that last part.)

This was my first time hosting a Zoom meeting at all, so I was a little anxious about how it would all go, but honestly, it could not have gone better! Everyone had a lovely time, my friend felt celebrated, and some very sweet memories were made!

Although a "Zoom Baby Shower" may not be ideal, for many of us these types of compromises are a reality, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun with it!

Toddler Fun, Week 7: Letter E, Number 7, Gray and Elephants

Elephants are awe-inspiring.  They burry and mourn their dead, touching one another is important, the calf/mother relationship is tender and long-lasting, they recognize themselves... they are amazing.  I've always really liked them, and I'm so glad Aidan does too!  So, here is our elephant week - I hope you enjoy it!

Week 7

Letter: E

Number: 7

Color: Gray

Animal: Elephant

Activities

1. Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

We have zoo memberships, so really, we spend as much time there as we can. We recently spent the morning there with some friends, and had a wonderful day! The elephants are really great, and you can look at them from out of a cave, which makes it that much more exciting for our little boy.

2. "Elephants Never Forget" Memory Matching Game

I downloaded an animal matching game here.  I printed them out, cut them out, then glued them to foam paper, cut those out, glued those to scrapbooking paper, cut them out again... and now it's a matching game.  At first, we matched them all.  Then, we started with small batches - 4, 6, etc.  We turned them all 2-at-a-time, and tried to remember where we'd seen that animal last.  I was surprised at how well he did!  I could also tell the moment his brain got too tired to focus anymore, haha.  He turned into a little monkey, climbing on the ottoman, making silly faces... you know the drill. 

3. "Safari" 

I made Aidan a safari Jeep out of a box.  He's been sitting in it to watch TV, been putting all his animals in it, pushing it around... it's been a hit! 


4. Bay & Bee

 We really love our Bay & Bee membership!  It's an indoor play space based on Montessori and Waldorf teaching methods.
This week, one of the days that we went, Aidan found a recycling truck, and an elephant, and some green "peanuts".  He reenacted a whole scene from 

Paw Patrol.  One where Rocky, the recycling pup dispenses peanuts to get the elephants to follow him.  I love how much he remembered it!!!  Also, that day they happened to have a local band come and sing, and he really enjoyed dancing!  The singer's name was Mere Woodard, and you can buy her album on iTunes.  She was REALLY great!






5. Letter E Recognizing 

 For this activity, I painted a paper towel role gray, punched two holes in it, through which I strung some string.  I tied it around Aidan's head to make a "trunk".  The game was, I'd tell him the name of the letter (E, R, or F), then he had to use the trunk to touch it.  I figured it would be a great gross-motor activity - and it WAS.  But he didn't like the trunk.  So it evolved into him jumping on the letter I said, which was just as great!

Snacks

1. Elephant Waffles

For this breakfast, I used a waffle, a banana, a black berry, an apple slice, and candy eyes.  Aidan ate everything but the waffle, haha!  He's such a fruit-lover!

2. Elephants on Parade

For this tasty treat, I used half a banana, pretzel, kiwi, pineapple and animal crackers.  I went through 3 little bags of animal crackers looking for elephants, and could only find two, so I added a giraffe.  Then we read A Surprise for Giraffe and Elephant.





3. Horton Hears a Who Snack

For this snack, I used apple slices, kiwi, fruit leather and a mini white chocolate chip.  I cut the apple slices to look like a trunk, the fruit leather into circles, and then little cuts in it.  Arranged it all on the plate, and there you have it!






4. Elephant Sandwich

I found some adorable sandwich cutters on amazon, and couldn't help myself.  I made Aidan's favorite turkey and cheese sandwich, used the sandwich cutter, used black olives for eyes, and a banana and kiwi for the tree and grass.  Aidan was a big fan!

Crafts

1. E is for Elephant

Every week, we've been making a letter craft, to help Aidan remember the letter. Eventually we will have the whole alphabet, which will be great!  For this one, I cut out a gray "E", an ear, a trunk, two tusks and nails.  Then we assembled it all, and voila!  I think this one specifically turned out super-duper cute!






2. Elmer "Stained Glass"

I think I enjoyed this craft more than Aidan.  I took a ziplock, and cut it along the seems.  They I took the half that didn't have anything on it.  I put that on the book cover, and traced Elmer onto it, using a sharpie.  Then, I cut some tissue paper into squares.  I brushed some white school glue on it, and then we placed the squares all over Elmer.  Aidan didn't love how the glue felt on his fingers, lol.  One the glue dried, I cut out "Elmer", and taped him to the window.


3. Tinga Tinga Coloring Pages

I found some cute coloring pages featuring the Tinga Tinga characters!

Books and Media

We Read:

1. Elmer by David McKee

This is a classic.  This book is a great one to talk about how God made each of us special, and with unique giftings.  It's about an elephant, who unlike his friends is not gray, but rather multi-colored.  He colors himself gray, so he can fit in, but ends up finding out that his color and humor is what his friends love about him.

2. Richard Scarry's Polite Elephant 

Thi is a great book for practicing and teaching manners.  It's a little dated, but being polite is not going out of style at our house, so it's a good read for a little boy!

3. A Surprise for Giraffe and Elephant by Paul Gude

I found this book at our library, and it looked like fun!  It's good at teaching how to be a good friend, and we've been working on sharing, so it's great for that!

4. Little Elephant's Song by Wolfram Hanel

This is a sweet story about an elephant growing up, and finding his voice.  The illustrations are very sweet, and it's an enjoyable story!






5. Babar on Paradise Island by Laurent de Brunhoff

I've seen many of the Babar cartoons as a kid, and they are sweet stories about an anthropomorphic elephant family written by French author, Laurent de Brunhoff.  In the last few years he and his wife moved to Key West.  When we were there, we found this book, and I thought it was sweet.  It's not the greatest of his books, but I enjoyed it, and the Key West references were fun for us.

We Watched:

1. Tinga Tinga Tales

We found this show on Netflix.  It's based on African (Tanzanian and Kenyan) folk tales about how different animals received their distinctive characteristics.  The very first episode is about how elephants got their trunks.  The animation is inspired by traditional TingaTinga art.  I wasn't sure how well it would keep Aidan's attention, but he really enjoyed it!

2. The Jungle Book - The 1967 version.  It has Indian elephants in it, so it was great to talk about the similarities and differences between them and their African cousin.

3. Wild Kratts, Season 1 Episode 17, "Elephant in the Room" 

4. The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, Season 1 Episode 27, "Be Cool/Elephant Walk"

5. Horton Hears a Who (1970) - I love a classic Dr. Seuss movie!  Again, I was surprised at how well it held Aidan's attention!  Also, I love the phrase "A person's a person, no matter how small."

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