Summer Enchantment.
My old Garden lanterns, yet another thing lost to the Santa Ana Winds. (R.I.P.)
A couple of weeks ago, a very good friend of mine asked me for some ideas on a baby shower she was throwing this August, on a very tight budget. She's holding it in her backyard underneath this gorgeous pergola that her husband built a few years back.
She wanted something that her guests would never forget.
A Summer baby shower, with the usual light blue and pink streamers sounded so boring. I wanted to shake things up a bit for them. Make it festive. So in turn I imagined what I would do if it was MY ideal party, an asian theme / tropical bash / a l� California.
I started with the pergola. To add more shade I suggested purchasing parasols (I'm so keen on these) to suspend from the pergola, so the painted side is hanging above the heads of the guests. (They could also double as game prizes/party favors.) I was thinking on the sides of the pergola she could buy some of those really colorful chinese accordion party lanterns , which also look really cool if you link a few together.
Invitations would be a total breeze, if she took the little round paper accordion lanterns, and attached a small dangling card at the end with all of the details. (I've seen them online somewhere in packs of 12 already assembled with envelopes too.)
This would be totally off her budget but some gerbera daisies would look lovely as a summer centerpiece. (And why not put some out that are planted in smallish pots...cheaper to go someplace like Target and get living plants, then those whose beauty has been cut off in its prime!)
Since she is planning baby themed games with her guests and having prizes...what a fun way to use those colorful chinese take-out boxes as wrapping.
The best part of the whole thing would be the colors. Hot pink, tangerine, yellows...cyan, lime green maybe. A total summer palette.
I began to imagine summer pineapple slices, and sweet teriyaki skewers on the bar-b-cue. Little drink parasols hanging off the sides of tropical flavored drinks. Maybe even some colorful frosted cupcakes with real edible flowers on top.
Undoubtedly though, I'm pretty sure she decided to go with Classic Pooh.
I know...I kinda went out on a limb anyway.
