The whole purpose of my weekend was a two hour event on Saturday afternoon. My twin sister’s baby shower. Let me say, anytime that I am in charge of an even with food involved–it stresses me out big time. I’m not sure why. It might have been my rather disastrous Hunger Banquet at RA training Junior Year–which was an event without food. But I get stressed when food is involved.
A Baby Shower involves food. It also involves (in no particular order) counting RSVPs. Organizing invitation sending. Remembering to send all the invitations (eek.) Reading lots of stuff about hosting a baby shower. Remember the stuff I read.
I went into a panic when I stopped off at the venue early in the day. I was told by Bill, the manager on duty, “We’ll set up the salad bar for the food platters. You can put the cake and the presents there too.”
The cake. THE CAKE? Nobody told me there was supposed to be a cake. Shit. Do I go get a cake? What if there are only cakes for birthdays and thanksgiving? I remembered so many other details, how could I forget the cake?
My dad offered this advice, “If they don’t like it, let them eat cake.” “Dad,” I yelped, “there isn’t a cake!” “I know, that’s why I was joking with you.” “I can’t joke at a time like this, there IS NO CAKE!”
My mom said that nobody would be catty about there being no cake. I wasn’t so sure. Not that my sister’s friends are catty, quite the contrary. What if the Single Sister from the City doesn’t know basic etiquette. If I can’t remember the cake, what else would I have forgotten? Other than the diaper cake. Which was featured in an episode of Sex and the City.
I forgot the real cake and the diaper cake.
Then there is the hostess fear, “What if nobody shows up?” I start counting and recounting the RSVPs in my head. But since I know very few of the people, it is hard for me to make a real count. This is the fear that everyone has when hosting a party. But usually I don’t have a guest of honor (other than a new apartment and my apartment won’t be upset if people don’t show.) Eeek.
No cake, no diaper cake, no guests. Just me and my sister and 20 bags of baseball related candy and two pounds of cheese.
That of course wasn’t the case. Just about everyone who said they were coming came. And those that didn’t called to apologize before the shower. Everyone we were expecting was present. Whew. The food was not a disaster and in the end, I don’t think anyone realized they were leaving without some butter cream frosting in their belly.
It was wonderful to see my sister showered with love by her friends. She (and her husband and baby) recieved lots of wonderful things. Many in blue (cause we are damn sure it’s aboy) but also lots of safe greens and yellow (just in case something fishy happens.)
The best moment was when Glenn (a lovely 3 year old boy) helped unwrap the present his parents gave her. He was very meticulous and got every bit of tape and wrapping paper off of that box. Lots of things made everyone ooh and aah and laugh. The funniest card was one showing a new mom singing “The Love Shack” as a lullaby–cause who in their 20s knows any lullabies?
My dad and my brother-in-law hid during most of the shower on the other side of the bar, but came over for the gift opening and sat in the back. I think they both wanted to be there, but the sheer amount of estrogen was overwhelming. Also–they might have had to guess how much a pack of 50 newborn pampers cost. Leave the games to the girls, right?
Overall–thumbs up. I don’t know how many more showers I want to volunteer to host, but it was a lot of fun. She can
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