In This Post: Where to find cute, practical baby shower favors along with how I felt about my much younger sister becoming pregnant before me, and how I dealt with my emotions. A huge thank you to Kate Aspen for being a part of this special day and sending over these lovely items.
Feelings in two directions
Baby snuggles, first smiles, and itty bitty clothes are the best, right? I agree. But, unless you’ve decided kids aren’t for you, there’s nothing that can prepare you for the mix of emotions that comes when you find out your younger sister (8 years younger to be exact) is pregnant. Of course, most of me was excited, like SO SO SO EXCITED, because babies are so sweet to have around and if it makes her happy, I am happy for her! But, part of me felt (and occasionally still feels) inadequate. It’s a very weird cocktail of feelings that there’s no blueprint on how to handle.
I do know, however, that my feelings are my problem and mine to deal with, not hers.
While I know my feelings are valid, it’s not fair to bring down the joy of my sister’s pregnancy just because I have mixed emotions. Which is why I knew from the start that these were emotions I was going to need to process and handle – there could not be any bottling up or pushing them down (because that never ends with anything but an explosion, right?).
Plus, I don’t want to miss out on the joy a new baby brings and I want to be able to take part in that with the rest of my family!
There’s more stuff on my personal life and feelings throughout my Sunday Edits.
The question I kept asking myself
Every time my feelings start to take me down, I hear them, validate them, and tell myself that it is completely okay to feel anything I need to feel, but then I ask myself, “okay, now what about this can you let yourself be excited about?”.
From the very beginning, I was ecstatic to plan her baby shower. I visualized an epic candy table, practical favors (because no one wants to go home with something they are never going to use), and an adorable under the sea theme (my sister loves animals and her fish tanks are her pride and joy).
I also know I’ll enjoy taking photos of this journey – capturing the shower, my sister’s baby belly, the day at the hospital, her newborn days (especially the tiny fingers and tiny toes!). I love photography and giving people a piece of a moment to look back on, so it means even more to have the opportunity to do that for my own family.
I’m proud of myself for finding a way to take myself from “this makes my heart kind of hurt” to “I’m determined to find joy in this” and shifting my focus onto what I could get excited about helped with that process SO much.
Where to find the cutest baby shower favors
One of my favorite things about the shower was picking out the favors! As fun as planning the actual shower was, I think what guests go home with is so important because it’s something they will see later and remember the milestone that was celebrated! Favors don’t need to be expensive or fancy, just thoughtful and, in my opinion, practical. Immediately, I thought of Kate Aspen for keepsakes because they have a ton of cute, affordable options for not just baby showers but also favors for birthdays, weddings, bridal showers, and other celebrations, too.
Originally, I was thinking mason jars that people could fill up at the candy table and then reuse and repurpose at home. But, once I saw these tumbler cups, that was it! We even customized them with, “I’m done adulting let’s be mermaids”. How cute (and relatable) is that?! They came well packaged in individual boxes and we could not have been happier with the quality of the cups. They were such a hit among our guests!
The Kate Aspen team was kind enough to send over these Sea Shell Trinket Dishes as decor on the candy table, which would have made great favors as well! Also from their Seaside Escape Collection were the Gold Whale Place Card Holders and Hanging Blue Jar With Fairy Lights that are pictured. It’s so helpful how they have the website organized by each adorable theme because it gave me so much inspiration for the event as a whole! Other noteworthy favorites are the Cheery & Chic, Tutu Cute, Enchanted Party, and Little Peanut collections.
Kate Aspen has wine glasses, bottle openers, mugs, luggage tags, candles, coasters, and so much more to choose from! If you have a celebration coming up that you need favors or decor for, browse around the Kate Aspen website a bit. You won’t be disappointed at the options!
