A new baby is a delight the world over. Surrounded by family and friends, new parents revel in the attention, love and support. Imagine, then, giving birth in a foreign land, away from such a vital support network, fraught with language and cultural barriers, not to mention well-meaning but overbearing ayis.
An increasing number of expat women experience this situation right here in Beijing – a place where things are not only done differently, but where the traditions and ways of one’s homeland are lost.
Throwing a Baby Shower for Mum not only welcomes a new Beijing baby in style, it offers Mum support, friendship and perhaps a small taste of her homeland. It’s something she’ll never forget.
Prep
First, decide on a venue. Talk to the new Mum about who to invite and if she’d like to include games. Next, speak to the guest of honour about who she’d like you to invite. Find out if she has a wish list of presents – if she’s willing, you can include this with the invitations or keep it on hand to refer to if guests ask for gift ideas.
Invitations
An adorable diaper card is so easy. Make a triangle with both sides measuring 20cm (7.5 inches). Fold each end in towards the middle, then hand-write the party details in the space created in the middle, or print them onto paper and glue inside. Push a small safety pin through the front of the card, then secure the card with a dot of double-sided tape.
Alternatively, make a paper doll invitation. Score and concertina-fold a 15 x 30cm (6 x 12 inch) piece of cardstock into three panels. Draw and cut a simple doll shape from the cardstock, then decorate the front with clothes cut from patterned wrapping paper or a simple bow. Unfold the invitation to write details inside.
Theme
Next, decide on a theme, starting with the colour.
- Colour. A well-chosen color is often all it takes to tie everything together. If Mum is willing to spill the beans on the gender of her little bean, pink or blue always works. For something a bit different, consider spring green or crisp white, more modern takes that are baby-sweet and gender-non-specific.
- Alphabet. Print large letters on A4 sheets and tack them onto the walls. Spell out “baby” on a wall, window or over the food table. Pipe random letters onto cupcakes and cookies with icing.
- Animal. If fluffy ducks aren’t your thing, consider the Chinese horoscope: Will baby be a little piggy or a wee mouse? For a baby born in the year of the pig, offer pigs-in-a-blanket and top the table with porcelain swine – let your imagination run wild.
- Chinese. Go crazy with a host of red lanterns, vases of bamboo, placemats featuring intricate paper cutting, and a party banner made of hongbao hung along a length of string. Use red napkins and serve jiaozi and spring rolls, green tea and fresh hawthorn juice.
- Pet Name. Another fun idea is to run with the pet name that Mum already calls baby. Pumpkin? Bean? Bug? All offer cute possibilities.
- Books. If she’s not a first-time mum and has no need for new baby items, why not throw a book-themed shower? Each guest can bring a copy of their favorite children’s book as a gift.
Decorations- If your invitations are paper dolls, make a paper doll chain in your theme color.
- Drape swathes of organza fabric around the room.
- Paper chains are incredibly simple and surprisingly stylish.
- Buy flowers in bulk and divide them into small cups, dotted across the room.
The Cake
Cupcakes are delightful and easy; bake them yourself using cake mix, pile them high with store-bought frosting, and stack them on a pedestal plate. Top with little flags made from colored paper and toothpicks.
If time is short or baking is not your thing, drop by your local bakery and ask for an undecorated cake: Request one with either smooth white icing or white chocolate shavings, and you’ll have a great base upon which you can add your personal touches. For a baby girl, top with fresh or fake flowers. For a boy, a little wooden toy is adorable.
Or, top your cake with a delightful peapod made from fondant icing tinted with food coloring. To make peas, roll fondant into balls and use a blunt, pointed object to make eyes and a mouth. Mold the pod by pressing together two flat pieces of icing. To give your peapod a curl, roll out a small ball of icing on a flat surface until it resembles a thin snake, then wrap it around a pencil. When it’s dry, carefully remove it and assemble on top of the cake.
Games
- Chinese Baby Grab. When a Chinese child turns one, some parents perform a ritual called “zhua zhou” or “one-year-old grab.” Parents place several items in front of their child and whatever the baby reaches for first dictates her future career. Items can include a pen (writer), book (scientist), toy (creative type), coins (banker), ball (athlete or astronomer), leaf (biologist), paintbrush (artist), and so on. For a twist on the zhua zhou tradition, lay the appropriate items on a tray and blindfold Mum. Have her grab an item and reveal her baby’s future occupation!
- Name the Baby. Give each guest three small slips of paper in pink, blue and white. Have them write a real baby name suggestion for each gender on the colored paper, and the craziest name they can think of on the white paper. Mum can read the blue and pink names out and try to guess who suggested each name. Stick the white slips into a hat and have Mum pick one – with the agreement that whatever she pulls out will be the baby’s middle name!
- Tummy Measure. You'll need a ball of string and a measuring tape. Measure Mum's belly in advance, then hand each guest a length of string. Ask Mum to stand in the center of the room and then have the party guests snip a length of string that they think is equal to the circumference of Mum's belly. Either measure the strings with the tape measure or let each guest try to wrap hers around Mum. The guest with the closest guess wins.
- Baby Betting. Mock up a page with columns listing the following: baby's name, gender, date of birth, time of birth, weight and length. Have each guest fill in her guesses and hand in the finished sheet (with her name) when she leaves. Mum can announce the person with the most correct guesses once baby is born.
Eats and Drinks
Think baby-small: tiny sandwiches with the crusts cut off, or, better still, cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Corn chips or crudités with ready-made dips are easy to make in advance. Simple savory egg tarts can be reheated in a slow oven as guests arrive. Offer a platter of freshly cut fruit with tiny wooden forks.
Serve bowls of candy and cookies in your theme color. Make our little pea cookies with green-tinted icing and piping gel; you can bake them yourself or buy plain round cookies to top with frosting.
In summer, serve clear soft drinks lightly tinted with food coloring, or fresh juice punch and champagne. For a winter baby shower, hot pots of tea and coffee, or hot chocolate sprinkled with marshmallows, are all perfect.
Prizes and Favours
Miniature boxes of chocolates, scented candles, little tubes of hand cream, or small silk scarves are all affordable prize ideas. Lolly bags are a sweet idea for favours, especially if you can find candy in the shower’s color scheme. If Mum is willing, another nice idea is to hand out little thank-you cards with a copy of the baby’s ultrasound printed on the front.
Where to Shop in Beijing
- Jenny Lou's, Friendship Store, April Gourmet for icing (confectioner’s) sugar, frosting, food coloring, sprinkles and candy
- Yashow (Yaxiu) or other local markets for balloons, streamers, colored paper and other decorations
- Kids Plus, and Tot to Teen at Pinnacle Plaza and Sanlitun Lu for party favors, balloons and other decorations
- Exquisite Bakery for cakes, frosting (including fondant icing), cake decorating and baking supplies, and food coloring
- Laitai Flower Market (upstairs) for organza at 3 kuai a meter, ribbon, cards, stickers, cellophane bags, printed wrapping paper, candles and trinkets for party favors
- Local markets, supermarkets, chain stores (like Wal-Mart and Carrefour) and Kuelox Stationery Co. for colored paper, cardstock and many other art supplies
- Local markets for stickers, colored paper, decorations and trinkets for favors
- Local cake shops and bakeries for undecorated cakes – try Bread Talk, Tasty Taste, Paris Baguette, Exquisite Bakery, Kempi Deli, CRC and other supermarkets
Recipes
Butter Cookies
250g (8.8 oz) softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2¼ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
Baking paper
Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Add vanilla and egg yolk, beat to combine, then add flour until a smooth dough forms. Roll out between two sheets of baking paper and refrigerate 30 minutes until firm. Cut with cookie cutters, place on lined baking sheets and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15 minutes until light golden. For chocolate chip cookies, mix one cup chocolate chips into the flour.
Simple Savory Egg Tarts
12 slices of bread, crusts removed
3 whole eggs
3 tablespoons milk or cream
½ an onion, finely chopped
24 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ cup grated cheese
Salt, pepper, dried herbs to taste
Roll each slice of bread with a rolling pin until almost flat. Cut a circle from each slice with a large cutter or cup and press each into a 12-hole greased muffin tray. Brush with olive oil and bake at 220°C (420°F) for about 10 minutes, until starting to brown. Remove from oven. Whisk eggs with milk or cream, then add onion, tomatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and herbs to taste. You can also add any other ingredients you desire, such as chopped ham or bacon. Fill the bread cups to the top with egg mixture. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
Photographs by Luna Zhang.
First published in beijingkids magazine and on the beijingkids website. Photographs by Luna Zhang.
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