The Peter Rabbit Picnic I threw for my dear friend, Emily and Baby C was a blast! I absolutely LOVE doing things like this and especially for a friend! I thought it went great...and Peter Rabbit himself showing up while I was setting up was a sign that all systems were a go. Can you spot him in the picture below? You remember the precious invitations I made awhile back for the Peter Rabbit Picnic? This is what set the tone for the whole party. Soft, inviting, and laid back. And it of course had to be a Garden Party! I knew no other place was perfect for this specific event than my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Bruce's house. She is a Master Gardener and he is one heck of a helpful husband. I could not have done it without either of you. I am so blessed to have such helpful, loving, and talented family members! I also got a free place to stay! Yippeeee! For the entrance I made a magnetic chalkboard sign from a yard sale treasure I found (My uncle who's an engineer hung it for me), my Aunt Brenda put hydrangeas in a distressed ladder back chair, we had a 30-year old set of The Peter Rabbit Series, and a white tree with everyone's name tags hanging from it. It was a wonderful place for pictures! Once you made your way into "Mr. McGregor's Garden, you were greeted by beautiful green, lush gardens, a waterfall, and even a helpful directional board I made from an old swing door my uncle was about to throw away! Can you believe it!? The food, dessert, and beverage table was probably one of my most fun things to set up! I think I fell quickly in love with the cupcake table. The cupcakes were vanilla cake, vanilla frosting, with donut holes on top. :o) I was going to use blue cotton candy....but I'll save you the fiasco of a story and just let you know that I ended up going with donut holes. I think it turned out great though! And I was so excited to find the ladder and picket fence boxes in my Aunt's basement. The wooden circular cake stand I found at a yard sale! The Peter Rabbit doll is Baby C's...Emily was sweet to let me borrow! The sign says "Cottontail Cupcakes." The food table.... It was actually "revamped" halfway through the shower. Once most of the fruit kabobs were eaten I made a fruit kabob station in blue fruit cardboard bins with skewers to let people make their own! It was a great way to redress the table during the party in a quick way. After the fact, I wish I would have backed the frame with a red checkered table cloth as well to tie all the tables together. However, I was doing the frame at the very last minute! It was supposed to be my photo-booth frame, but I instead decided the natural garden look was better for this party. Fruit Kabobs, Cheese, and Veggie Pots The beverage table was another one of my favorite places. Emily's mom brought up the adorable wheel-barrows and mason jars for us to use! I love the way the display worked out for them! I made "Peter's Punch" from Blue Hawaiin Punch and of course had sweet tea and water. The water was dispensed from the watering cans...of course! On the lower garden lawn we had a photo-booth set up in the swing. I made baby props for the guests to use. I had a bottle, pacifier, beanie, bib, and of course a cotton tail and bunny ears for the Peter Rabbit enthusiasts! Emily and Ali being babies :o) Katie, Emily, and I (No props) In the upper garden I set up a "Wishing Well" for Baby C. I got the idea of wishes for baby off Pinterest, but didn't like the idea of just doing a sheet. I made five separate to-go boxes labeled with five wishes: Love, Live, Laugh, Play, and Grow. I then made slips of paper for each wish that guests wrote their wishes on for each category. They put them in the to-go box and Emily got to take them home at the end of the day! Besides the "Wishing Well" for Baby C, I had two other activities. One was the game, "Who's Water Will Break First?" and the other was a sweet sentimental activity that I called " Message in a Diaper: My Diaper Changing Days." For "Who's Water Will Break First" I froze enough mini plastic babies in ice cube trays. (Boil the water first to make clear ice cubes). I felt terribly morbid pouring boiling water over these babies and then sticking them in the freezer, by the way. Once all the guests have arrived you give everyone an ice cube to put into their drink. Who's ever ice cube melts the first and baby is totally exposed to the drink AKA "Who's Water Breaks First" is the winner! For "A Message in a Diaper: My Diaper Changing Days" you give each guest a blank card with a hole punched in the top left corner and an empty diaper. On the front of the card they write their name and on the back they write a message that they would like Emily to read when she's changing a diaper. It could be sweet, funny, or inappropriate. When they are done, they put the card into their empty diaper, close it, and put it in a stack of diapers. I bought a pack of 50 diapers so about half had messages, half did not. So Emily has a special stack of diapers that she may find a message in. Hopefully all the messages will be encouraging to her, maybe make her laugh, or give her that courage to carry on even on the hardest days of motherhood. I made a cover and gave her a clip ring so she could bind all of the messages together as she collected them. This was my alternative to a diaper cake. Emily opened gifts out on the breezy screen porch. She got some of the cutest gifts! Including a beautiful handmade blanket from her mother in law! I don't have pictures from her opening gifts because they're on her camera, but here is a picture of the "Mr. McGregor's Mix" that was on the porch for guests to munch on as they watched Emily open gifts. The mix is something her father made special for the shower. It's native to Jacksonville and a special touch from home. The Peter Rabbit doll in this picture was Emily's husband's when he was little. Ahh....love the sentimental feeling of this whole table. Daddy and Hubby's love in one place. I was very pleased with how everything turned out, but more pleased to see what wonderful friends and family Emily has to surround herself with. It was so great to see her again this weekend and shower her with my love! Em and Taylor I don't support anything about this gift. GO NOLES! Em and her Mommy! Em and Kat Cheesing in the photobooth He's going to be a lil golfer like his daddy! me and Em! Love her! and one more... Everyone brought children's books instead of cards. This was by far the best! A hand-me-down with John's picture. :o) Em and Ali! This baby is set on children's books! Baby C got a ton of great ones to read! Katie, Em, and Ali What a fabulous way to spend a Saturday....hanging in the garden, sipping Peter's Punch from a mason jar, and taking photo-booth pictures with old friends with a fabulous looking baby bump! Happy Sunday! Stacie P.S. If you're interested in me helping you plan, coordinate, or design an event (especially for children), please let me know! I don't do weddings- but can hook you up with a FABULOUS wedding planner! :o) I'm definitely sticking to the more casual affairs.