So Melissa decided it would be awesome if we threw both of them a surprise, double baby shower. What I didn't anticipate is that most people had no idea what a baby shower is! In yet another culturally interesting situation, I discovered Germany and England don't have baby showers. They don't buy presents for the new mothers, bring finger foods, play silly games or share advice. Not at all. So us few North Americans had to explain what a baby shower was and get everyone (secretly) excited about it.
Today was the day! We had a teacher work day and in a moment of genius someone decided to invite Emma to Vickie's baby shower and Vickie thought she was invited to Emma's baby shower. When both of them walked through the door of the staff room, they had no idea the party was actually for both of them and the look of shock on their faces was priceless.
We played some really fun games (none of the stupid ones I seem to have always experienced) including one where we had to put on name tags with names we chose for ourselves. Others had to call us by our "new names" or we could steal their name tags. You would get points for how many name tags you collected throughout the party. It was super fun and funny to call colleagues, "Sugar", "Candi", "Sandy", "Bette Midler", or "Jody". I went for the safe "Bridget" but lost my namesake half way through the party when recalling a story and using someone's real name.
Coolest gifts given were the Spa baby tubs(the ones that look like buckets but are awesome), handmade play blankets, giant fluffy sheep blankets and diaper cakes (diapers rolled and arranged like cake layers).
We were there for almost 2 and 1/2 hours (realize this took place after a day of work), but a good time was had by all and the moms-to-be were excited about everything. I think the funniest thing for me was realizing how much baby showers are a cultural phenomenon in the US and Canada. It's a way of how our culture shares information, gives advice and prepares a mother. It's such a part of our culture that to not throw a friend or colleague a baby shower would seem rude or inconsiderate. I never considered that my cultural norm was someone else's oddity. I don't have children, have barely babysat small infants, but realized due to attending so many baby showers, I knew a lot more about baby products and necessities than I thought.
In any case, I wish the Baileys and the Schaldemans all the best as they prepare for their precious children. Can't wait to see the little cuties!
No comments:
Post a Comment