When my friend Alex found out she was pregnant, my mother (who is very close friends with Alex’s mom) and two of their friends, Mary Claire Welch and Marilee Russell, asked me to co-host a baby shower with them in Dallas.
Since Alex lives in New York City and I live here, neither of us had much to do with the planning, but offered our help however we could. By the time I landed in Dallas on Friday evening, the invitations had been sent and RSVPs tallied; petit fours ordered; plants purchased; a very vintage bassinet found and decorated; location held; and menu planned.
All I had to do was bring a couple presents from New Orleans, help keep conversation flowing, make certain Alex was as comfortable as possible and be there for whatever last-minute things needed doing.
The invitation was created by our friend Roger Gragg, and featured a French stork (known by his beret and striped shirt), with the statement: Oui, bébé! The invitation was also printed onto a piece of canvas as a gift.
Mary Claire and my mother, Ann Packard, had designed simple but lush centerpieces, each with a pot of ivy set in moss with one white orchid in a pot also set in moss. Versions of those arrangements, this time with lavender orchids, were placed on the side tables around the room.
The Lakewood Country Club served as location as well as caterer, providing a variety of finger sandwiches (the salmon was my favorite); a selection of cheese and crackers; hot and iced teas; coffee; and, my favorite, peach fuzzes in both alcoholic and non versions. The petit fours were brought by Mary Claire and featured the baby’s last initial, “Z,” on the top of each.
The presents were placed in and around the pièce de résistance: a 17th century French bassinet. It was decorated with white and baby blue tulle and rhinestones, along with a baby dragon at the top holding a card that contained the hostesses gift: a picture of the stroller/car seat that Alex wanted that had been shipped straight to NYC.
Alex gave a quick speech after she opened her gifts that had us all smiling and in tears at once.
The event lasted almost three hours, with an extra hour for set up, and everyone was having such a great time that most traveled with us back to my parents’ house for a bit before we all went to dinner.
It was an exhausting and fulfilling afternoon, and I am so grateful to have been a part of it.
The room as it was. Ann finishing a side table.
