As you may have seen in our post last Friday, I've volunteered to host a baby shower at our home this coming weekend. Well, in true Old Town Home fashion, I may have underestimated the time and detail needed to successfully pull off this project. In an effort to get back on track, the co-host and I set out this past weekend on an all-day shopping excursion to pick up the necessary party supplies and decor needed for next weekend's bash. The most surprising aspect of our trip? Discovering just how many hideous baby-themed supplies are out there for the picking, just lurking and waiting for someone with questionable taste to come along and snatch them up. We're talking armies of ugly and scary infant replicas. But let me back up to fill you in on how my guest room came to resemble a grocery and craft store explosion, along with a cat dragged in.

We started the morning with a strategy session over coffee, hashing out the final details of our menu, as well as finalizing dessert and favor options. Given we both love to cook and bake, this element of the party is really low stress and is something I'm quite looking forward to. One item in particular that I'm eagerly anticipating is a new Pinterest recipe for a hot appetizer using wonton wrappers. Wonton wrappers are a product I've always wanted to try, and this shower is the perfect excuse.

After finalizing the menu and finishing our coffee, we hopped in the car and started our long trek down Route 1 South, to a heavily congested, strip mall lined stretch that provided options for all of our shopping needs. We began the journey in the local Target, picking up various ingredients and supplies for menu items. We were hoping to strike gold in the decor department -- specifically looking for toddler sized rain boots to play off our rain shower theme -- but luck wasn't on our side. Must not be that "toddler Wellies" time of year, they're just not in season yet I guess.

Next up we hit Hancock Fabrics in search of a turquoise fabric that could work as a buffet runner. Sadly, nothing here fit the bill either. But as we paused with exasperation, I remembered that I have yards of burlap fabric in our hall closet, left over from December when our home was featured on the designer tour of homes. Perfect! Although not turquoise, the burlap, when overlayed on a crisp white tablecloth, will add a layer of texture and dimension to make the buffet more interesting.

With the fabric choices made for us, we headed over to The Party Store, and this was where the true horrors made themselves known. I suppose I went into this leg of the trip thinking we'd find cute napkins, fun accessories, or general inspiration for the party. Boy was I wrong. There was nearly an entire aisle devoted to all things baby, and what I discovered made me recoil in fear. 

There they sat, shelf after shelf of them. Scary. Ugly. Babies! Not surprisingly, they were on clearance, so we bought 65 of them. I kid, I kid!

Need a closer look? Here, I will satisfy your curiosities. 

That's right. Someone had clearly gotten these little monsters wet, because they were multiplying. Let's hope no one feeds them after midnight, lest we see one with a mohawk running around in the aisles of this store any day now. 

We quickly moved on, only to discover additional tacky decor and questionable items. Baby-themed garters anyone? Umm, I think not.

To add insult to injury, we passed through the wedding/bachelorette party aisle on our way to the door, pausing only from shock at one item in particular. Yep, it's a bridal baseball cap, complete with double veil. I've never felt sexier than donning this bedazzled beauty, which could likely double as a beekeeper costume. My husband is a lucky man, and I'm sure he now knows it to be true. Time to move on.

I don't want to say we were feeling dejected at this point, because we were having a fair amount of fun, but our shopping list wasn't getting any shorter. We soldiered on, and our next stop landed us at Michael's craft store. It was here we hit pay dirt. Grosgrain ribbon, craft paint, floral foam, favor bags, candy sticks, and a totally unexpected find, papier-mâché toddler sized wellies! While not functional, they'll be a perfect addition to really drive our theme home.

Not only did we check most of our remaining items off the list, but we were inspired by what we found, and came up with several new ideas for party decor. My co-host said it best. "There's nothing in this shopping cart that screams baby!" 

As strange as that may sound, to us that means that we're throwing a chic and elegant affair, reflective of our mom-to-be. And while we're celebrating the arrival of her little one, that doesn't mean that we had to resort to scary plastic babies to pull off this party. 

All in all I'd call it a successful baby shower planning day. Combined with several supplies I had already purchased, I feel like we're in really great shape for next weekend. For instance, I have most of my cupcake supplies on hand.

I have a really cute idea in mind for displaying our homemade favors. (I'll be sure to share the details as this project unfolds.)

Now I have these great decorative wellies, which are sure to be an adorable addition to the back yard buffet once I'm done with them.

And let's not forget the other assorted decorative touches we'll be sprinkling throughout the party to surely make the theme come to life.

Now's the time in the party planning process that I'm super excited. I feel like the logistics are well underway, but I know a lot of work is looming, and we don't have much time to get it all squared away.

What do you think of the ideas and supplies we've cobbled together thus far? Are we on track of has our train left the rails? Perhaps I should go back and buy up all of those horrendous plastic babies and all the baseball caps with veils I can find? If you have any ideas that are staring me right in the face but I'm not thinking of, be sure to let me know.