A Little Birdie Baby Shower

Canadian mother of three Jennifer LaForge lives in Holland with her family. A busy stay-at-home mum, Jennifer recently launched her long-time dream business –Events by Pink Elephants and Lemonade. When her friend Jessica was pregnant with her first child, Jennifer threw her a ‘little bird' themed party, perfect for pampering a nesting mum-to-be.

A fan of all things vintage, Jennifer already had decorative birds and cages, which formed the foundation of her theme. The colour scheme proved more of a challenge as the gender of Jessica’s baby was a secret, but a palate of soft yellows, blues and pinks with a pop of lime green and fuchsia covered all bases delightfully.

Jennifer also makes fabric bunting, tassel garlands and confetti garlands alongside her party planning business and customised garlands were the first thing she made for her friend’s baby shower.

Other party decorations were sourced both locally and from the other side of the world via Jennifer’s network of fellow party planners (and the help of Facebook); bespoke water bottle labels were designed in Australia; handmade little birdie finger puppets were given to guests to take home as favours; and Jessica, the guest-of-honour, was given a special gift – a personalised bracelet with the promise of an initial charm to come once the baby name announcement has been made!

Jennifer worked hard to get all the food matching the colour scheme. Again she out-sourced to her network of clever party professionals, sending them photos of the colour scheme to inspire their creative flair. A selection of cookies arrived that could also be described as works of art, along with a dairy-free cake to suit the guest of honour, stylishly adorned with polka dots and bird silhouettes. Once the cake and cookies were arranged, Jennifer simply added pretty jars and vases fillled with sweets in matching shades.

We asked Jennifer for her favourite aspect of the little bird theme. “I am a sucker for vintage and I loved the elements that we added to the décor, such as the teal tricycle and the typewriter. We had the guests fill in ‘Chirps of Advice’ for the mum-to-be and left them beside the typewriter. That was a hit with everyone”. And the highlight of the party itself? “Present opening and eating the cake; what’s a party without fabulous gifts and cake?” Jennifer replies. Some things are the same everywhere in the world then.

Stockist details:
• Tassel garlands, confetti garlands, custom made bunting, facebook.com/PinkElephantsandLemondade
• Water bottle labels, facebook.com/SmartPartyPlanning
• Crocheted bird finger puppets, missneriss.com
• Cookies by Smooches, facebook.com/smoocheskoekjes
• Cake by Kitchey, facebook.com/Kitcheybakes

Ideas for coordinating your very own avian-inspired celebration

1 Pretty Birdies mini garland $20.99, pixiepartysupplies.co.nz 
2 Love Birds cookie cutters $7.99 for two, pixiepartysupplies.co.nz 
3 Decorative bird nest (large) $9.90, dotsnspots.co.nz
4 Tassel garland kit $23.90, dotsnspots.co.nz 
5 Hipp bird invitations $25.95, pixiepartysupplies.co.nz

6 Single Bird cake plate $33.50, sweetpeaparties.co.nz
7 Blue Retro Birdcage (large) $119.99, mightyape.co.nz

8 Peace Bird Sticky Labels (10 pack) $4, felt.co.nz/shop/mixing_ink
9 Mother Bird Nestling necklace $109.95, notsocks.co.nz
10 Love in the Afternoon paper lunch plates $9.50 for 12, pixiepartysupplies.co.nz