Surprise Baby Shower - Honouring a Legend

Last weekend, my sister and I had the opportunity to surprise a new momma-to-be. I love planning surprises (for other people - hate them for myself) and our guest was shocked, surprised and honoured that we would throw a baby shower for her. We secretly had her husband in on the surprise and he dropped her off at our secret location for an evening of sweet treats, candid conversation and memorable moments. 

Almost 15 years ago, Stacey came to my high school as a teacher and volunteered to coach the volleyball team. Every year since, she has given up her time and energy and coached the senior girls volleyball team at Pacific Academy. I can't even begin to count the number of young ladies she has mentored, encouraged and challenged over the years. 

She is now expecting her first child, a little boy, and when my sister and I found out the news we immediately began scheming on how we could celebrate and honour her! We invited any girl who had played on Stacey's volleyball teams from the past 15 years to come join in on surprising her. Some girls had moved away and wished they could attend but we had an amazing turn out and Stacey appreciated all of the people who showed up to honour her in this special way. 

Paper and Parties helped us put some beautiful finishing touches on our decor with an "Oh Boy" cake topper and some various shades of blue confetti to bring a pop of colour to our white tables.

In so many of our pictures everyone was congregating around The Popcorn Bar! Sersiously it is the best popcorn we have ever had. The White Chocolate and Milk Chocolate were our personal favourites and it is the best snack idea for any party or celebration. 

We incorporated a lot of DIY projects into our shower including floral garland balloons, a hand-made scripture print, candy skewers, water-colour S painting, yarn wall hanging, photo fence and this epic donut wall. The donut wall was a showstopper as our guests were all drawn to it immediately as they walked in!

We love personalizing events to suit the theme, so we had a mini volleyball that all of the guests could sign as a memory for Stacey and her little boy on the way. 

We had gorgeous wood forks and bamboo plates from Greenmunch so our guests could load up their plates with yummy sweats and treats. 

Hello colour! 

Don't mind us...we will just be camping out in front of the chocolate dipped strawberries all night!

Another personal touch was our floral water-colour S that we made as the new baby boy's last initial is S.

One of my favourite ideas for baby showers is to ask everyone to bring a book for the baby in lieu of a greeting card. We were able to start off Stacey's baby boy with a wonderful collection of classic, new and heartwarming stories. The little red wagon from Radio Flyer was the perfect bookshelf and pop of colour that we needed. 

All these girls stayed chatting, laughing and catching up with each other's lives until dusk, capping off such a joyous evening celebrating this beautiful mama.

Thank you Stacey, for your fifteen years of pouring into many young girls lives. Your encouragement and your willingness to help us see the potential in ourselves and push us to accomplish goals has had a lasting impact on many. Your little boy is incredibly blessed to have you as a mom as we know you will pour your love and affection into him as you have for so many of us. It was a pleasure honouring you on this beautiful evening.