It’s Shower Season.

As a woman in her early 30’s with 20+ very close girl friends, I’ve been doing a lot of “showering” lately. Whether it’s a baby or bridal shower, it seems like every other weekend is dedicated to celebrating a friend. While I do wish we did this more for other accomplishments that don’t involve getting married and having kids, it’s always fun to get together and enjoy these milestones. 

This past weekend I was able to host my best friend’s baby shower and I wanted to compile a list of links, details and tips in case any of you are hosting a shower, party or event any time soon. I’m breaking it down in terms of timeline and how I planned so I hope this makes sense for your brain like it does mine! Hosting a big event especially for the first time can feel so overwhelming so I hope this helps.

1+ Month Out:

1. Set a location, set the vibe, and send invites. Once you have the venue, registry (if applicable), and know what your guest of honor wants and doesn’t want, send out the invites! I used a custom invite I bought from Hauste (I used Feeling Floral) and sent it out with a text from Paperless Post.
2. Break out the measuring tape and order rentals. Measure your space to see how many and what size tables you need and where they are going to go. Once you know the rentals you need, get a few prices from local vendors. I ordered tables, table cloths, chairs, plates, water goblets, forks, and umbrellas from Parlani Party Rentals in LA. I didn’t get napkins because I found these on clearance at Pottery Barn and they were way cuter than any rentals I found!
3. Find a caterer. I prefer to do something casual like sandwiches/wraps and salad for day time events. It’s always more affordable, easy and crowd pleasing. Make sure to get vegetarian and gluten free options if needed! I made a charcuterie spread to accompany the other food, but it wasn’t 100% necessary. We catered from Ggiata and it was delicious (chicken caesar wraps and arancini were the hits). I did call to confirm the order the day before and thank god I did because they didn’t have it despite me getting a confirmation email. So always double check the day before!!!

The Week Before:

1. Send reminders. I sent out a reminder to all guests about the event 6 days prior!
2. Amazon/online orders. Make sure you order everything you’re going to need the week before just in case things take a little longer to ship or if something breaks en route to you. You can shop all of my hosting essentials here.
3. Make lists. Make your grocery list, list out what you need to get done, and set reminders to follow up with vendors. This helps make sure you don’t forget anything and clears up mental space so you can focus on executing the day before and day of.

The Day Before:

1. Grocery shop. Get all your drinks, food (if making), and anything you will need for your event. Making a list is an absolute must!
2. Arrange your flowers. We did all the flowers ourselves so we made all the arrangements the night before. Definitely not something you want to be doing the day of your party. 
3. Prep, prep, prep! Do everything you possibly can the night before. This way you’re not stressed the day of the event and can relax and enjoy as much as possible. This includes: washing and cutting fruits and veggies, getting out serving platters/coolers/party stuff in storage that you will be using, and doing anything else that will set you up for success the day of.
4. Clean. Having a spotless house before a party is kind of pointless because it gets dirty within 5 minutes, but cleaning the bathrooms, tidying up, and putting things away off your kitchen counters makes a world of a difference. 

The Day Of:

1. Set the table. This can be done the morning of and should always be the first thing you do. Don’t do it the night before because dirt/dust/bugs can get on the plates. Not good. 
2. Set up the bar. Add ice 30 minutes before guests arrive. Make it easy for people to serve themselves so you don’t have to go through the trouble of making everyone drinks.
3. Play music. Nothing sets the vibe like some background music. I’ve been loving the Summer 2024 playlist on Spotify. 
4. Assemble charcuterie if making and set out the food. You should assemble the charcuterie an hour before the event starts. Don’t set any food outside until the event begins, especially if it’s hot out!
5. Pour yourself a drink and enjoy! Don’t forget to have fun at your party!

Other Details:

I wanted to include some little details I added to the day that made a big difference. There was a subtle clementine/orange theme going on, but she really just wanted a chic outdoor lunch vibe. 

1. Quickshot Coffee Cart: While I did have some alcohol available, I wanted there to be a fun memorable detail that the mom-to-be could enjoy as well. Highly recommend using them if you’re in LA! They went above and beyond and were so amazing!
2. Subtle clementine ties: We set out some oranges and clementines for decor and I got cute orange embroidered cocktail napkins from Etsy to tie it all together. The exact ones I bought are sold out, but these are similar. 
3. Fly Fans: Honorable mention for the fly fans. If you’re hosting an outdoor event these are a must to keep flies off food!
4. No signage or games. This is what the guest of honor requested and I wanted to include it as a reminder that sometimes less is more! Of course if you’ve always wanted to have fun games at your baby shower, DO IT! But you can also create the exact day you want and don’t feel the need to include things you aren’t thrilled about. 

Tips:

1. Get some help! No one cares if you did it all on your own and a lot of people are more than happy to help out. Take them up on it! Whether you need someone to help with dessert, splitting some costs, or clean up, it can really help take a load off you. We also hired a server/cleaner to help before, during, and after the event and it was the best $200 I’ve ever spent.
2. Can’t say it enough: PREP! Make lists, get everything you can done before the event starts and you’ll be able to enjoy your event stress free (ok maybe not stress free but less stress). 
3. Enjoy yourself. Even if you’re a bit stressed, try your best to relax and have fun. It’s fine to try to keep things tidy, but try to refrain from cleaning up the event until the event is over and the guests leave. It can make people feel uncomfy. Hopefully that helped my fellow hosts! Let me know if I missed anything.