Jen Russum

One of my greatest joys in life is throwing showers for my friends. Brides and mamas... I love celebrating with you. And when a baby shower is for a friend who had a long journey to pregnancy the party is that much merrier. My friend, Holly, is expecting a "little mister" in May. (This is the phrase she used to reveal the gender to me via a hangman game... because I force people to surprise me instead of just telling me information outright!) She is busy planning a wilderness-themed nursery filled with wood-lawn animals, trees, teepees, and pops of navy and orange. We used Holly's nursery Pinterest board and the beautiful quilt she is sewing for her son as our inspiration for her "wild adventure" baby shower.


We hosted the shower at my mom's house because we were expecting a large crowd. There were over fifty women invited and nearly forty of them showed up. Holly is very loved, and for good reason. She is one of the sweetest souls I know.


On the invitations, we asked people to bring their favorite "adventure book" or "tall tale" to fill the baby's library. One of the hostesses made some adorable book plates, and we asked people to fill them out at the party and attach them to their books. For an activity/favor, we had a "build your own trail mix" station. Zianne has been munching on the leftover almonds, pretzels, craisins, and M&Ms for the past two weeks. Another hostess has this beautiful teepee, and we used it to hold the gifts as people arrived. We did a spread of food (veggie cups, mini quiche, muffins) in the midst of greenery and animal figurines, and a baker friend made amazing cupcakes in two different flavors: cookies 'n' cream and carrot cake.




The whole event went perfectly. It was so fun to celebrate Holly's greatest adventure yet. Thank you to my mom for letting us use her large, lovely home, to everyone who helped decorate and make food for the party, and to the Hobby Lobby clearance section for allowing me to indulge in my shower-hosting addiction while sticking to a budget!