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!

A "Garden Party" Themed Baby Shower

"Baby fever" is the only thing I can call this phenomenon, but I swear, everyone I know is expecting, or just had a baby! At our church, there were (at least) 5 of us pregnant at the same time - with all of us due only weeks apart.  It was crazy!

One of the lovely side-effects of all of this new life is the ability to celebrate with baby showers!

Baby showers are a mostly American tradition, but ladies all over are starting to do them more and more.

I was very touched when a group of my friends from our church here in Ljubljana hosted a baby shower for Jocelyn and I.  It was so nice to feel loved and supported, especially since we had recently moved here.

When one of the sweet mamas who threw the baby shower for us found out she was pregnant, I knew that I wanted to return the favor.  This particular mama isn't in love with the color pink - but is expecting a girl, so I knew I needed to find a tasteful way to make it feminine.  We settled on a "Garden Party" theme, and it turned out just lovely.

For center pieces, we bought potted flowers, and put them in terra-cotta pots.  I loved how naturally beautiful it looked!  I was able to then use them as door prizes at the end - perfect!

This was the "activity" table.  We had a guestbook, where each guest left a thumb print and their name on a bare tree.  Then, I had clothespins out, to play the "baby" game (where you can't say the word baby), and little cards to fill out with "prayers for baby".  I punched holes in the corner, and then had a ring to string them on.

For food, we had cucumber sandwiches, sugar cookies, melon and blueberry "flowers" (melon, cut with a cookie cutter into flowers, then placed on a kebab stick, with a blueberry on top), breadsticks, and Danish lagkage - the recipe for which you can find here.

We also had a really fun gardening station - I bought some dirt, five different seed packets, terra-cotta pots, and also the kind you can plant all in one - the ladies then to planted some seeds to take home; the perfect party favor!

For dishes, I actually used these beautiful dishes my mom recently gave me - they were hers, but she didn't use them, and graciously passed them on.  They're not my style for everyday dishes, but are perfect for something like this.  I also used my great-grandmother's silver, which I adore.  I put the cutlery in a terra-cotta pot, to continue with the theme.  I used garden markers to label the food, and drinks.

I set up a welcome table, with a bucket for cards.  I also set out the board book, The Secret Garden, but sadly didn't get a picture of it.

And of course, a "throne' for the mama-to-be.  I love our apartment, but was especially thankful for the open floor plan.  We flipped the couch around, pulled the benches out from around the dinner table, and changed up the sofa chairs, and it worked out great!

Everyone seemed to have a lovely time, the food all turned out delicious, and I was thrilled with how it all looked!

Danish Lagkage - Light and Airy Berry Cake

I have shared a Danish lagkage recipe on my blog before, but the pictures weren't great, and my baking skills have grown exponentially since then, so I thought it was high time to share it again! :)

My husband lived in Denmark for a year before we met.  Once of his favorite things from when he lived there were the birthday cakes - lagkage - which literally translates to layer cake.

He loved it, because it was airy, light, not too sweet and of course tasty.

I've only ever made it for him, but I was hosting a baby shower a week ago, and it just felt like the perfect addition!

Tools:

- Stand or hand-held mixer (for stand mixer, it really helps to have two compatible mixing bowls)  I'm going to write my recipe for a stand mixer, because that's what I have. :)  

- whisk attachment

- paddle attachment 

- 9 inch round spring cake pan

- parchment paper

- covered cake stand, or other means to store it airtight

- non-stick spray

- ladle

Ingredients:

Cakes (makes 3 layers):

6 eggs - separated (if you're not sure how to do that, here's a great, quick tutorial)

4 1/2 tablespoons cold water

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

*by the way, 1/2 tablespoon is 1 1/2 teaspoons

It really helps me to measure out everything beforehand.

Filling:

Homemade whipped cream (2 tbs sugar for every 1 cup of heavy whipping cream - I used about 3 cups of cream)

4 cups of fresh fruit (I used berries, but you could use any "soft" fruit

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 °F/ 218 °C (400 °F/ 204 °C for convection oven.)

2. Beat the egg yolks.

3. Pour beaten egg yolks, water, vanilla extract and sugar into mixing bowl.  Secure in stand mixer base.  Connect paddle attachment.  Mix for 2 minutes.

4. In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients - flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. 

5. Turn mixer to a low-medium speed, and slowly add flour mixture.

6. Pour egg whites into second mixer-compatible bowl, fasten whisk attachment - and whisk until it forms stiff peaks.

7. Fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture, until completely combined.

8. Grease and flour cake pan.  Ladle out about 2 and a half "ladle's worth" (yes, that's an exact measurement, lol) of batter into the cake pan.  Shake, and hit side of pan until it distributes evenly in pan.

9. Place in oven, and bake for 8-10 minutes - until golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  If you find that it's getting brown on top, but not cooked through, place a piece if aluminum foil over the top.

10. Allow cake to cool some, then turn out onto baking sheet to completely cool.  Repeat twice.

Bonus tip: make sure you grease AND flour your pan.  Here is the difference between just greasing, and doing both.

 

11.  If making for that day, continue by making filling.  If making for the next day (it's great for that, by the way), place parchment paper between each layer, and store in an airtight container, to be assembled the next day.

Filling, and assembly:

1. Wash and pat dry your fruit.  I used raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. I cut the strawberries into slices.

2.  Using a whisk attachment, whip together cream and sugar, until peaks form.  Don't over whip, or it'll fall, and become unusable.  Sadly, I made that mistake with my first batch.  I read that using cold instruments (bowl and whisk), it works even better.

3. Start to assemble cake on the plate you plan to serve it on.  Start with a layer of cake, then add a generous amount of whipped cream (placing it it the middle of the cake, and working it out towards the edge).  Place some fruit on top of the whipped cream.  I made some fruit "stick out" a bit to give it a rustic look.  Leave the majority of the fruit for the top.

4.  Continue until you reach the top.  Mix together remaining fruit and carefully spoon onto the top.  Store in fridge or on cold balcony - lol, until ready to serve.  If there's any left over, keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days. The cake and fruit will get mushier, of course, the longer it sits, and it won't be as good.  But the next day it should still be pretty tasty.

And here is the final, beautiful result!

Tips and ideas:

1. I LOVE this batter!  It behaves beautifully - pulls away from the side of the pan, and stays flat on top, so there's no need to level it out for layering.  It is also light and delicious!  One of my more discerning friends said that it was one of the best cakes she'd ever had!

2. You could "frost" the edges too, but for this cake, I really prefer the "naked cake" look.  (Hilary Duff's wedding cake was the first naked cake I'd ever seen, and I've loved the look ever since!)

3. You can use anything you like between the layers - Nutella, jam, chocolate whipped cream! I initially was planning on making a raspberry whipped cream, but it fell, and I didn't have enough raspberries to make it again - which actually worked out, because I way preferred the crisp white cream look.

4. Get creative with the fruit!  You could do peaches, mango, papayas, blackberries... just make sure they're soft.

5. Powdered sugar or drizzled honey on top would be great, too!

And, so... let them eat cake!