An American Baby Shower For A German Baby

First Fall project completed and what a beautiful day it was!! This past weekend I threw an American style baby shower for a friend of mine. But first, a little background into how life happens when you have a German baby!

So we all know that in the US when a a girlfriend is preggers, we throw her a fantastic party a couple months before the birth. All the women in her family come, along with all the friends she’s had to avoid because she can’t go out drinking with them anymore. The party is held at someone’s house or restaurant with food galore and presents stacked high. Games are played and everyone ooohs and ahhhs over all the sweet little baby decorations. The mom-to-be is treated like a princess and she gets EVERYTHING she could possibly need for her bundle of love on the way. Cribs, carriages, diapers, toys, clothes, breast feeding equipment, blankets, etc. The list goes on.

And then there is Germany…..

Mom-to-be buys everything herself. Mom gives birth. All friends and family swarm over to the house with little gifts for the baby and visit as the new mom and baby are trying to get a hold of this new life they have together. The mom, exhausted and in desperate need of a nap makes coffee and cake for all the masses who visit.

So….let’s discuss. WHICH country does it better?…..it’s obvious. And there is no arguing about this. Even the German ladies here agreed that this is a tradition they have interest in starting! It’s really all about the one last fun hoorah for the new mom before her life changes with a new baby!

This was exactly what I wanted for my dear friend. I threw her a bash to remember! We invited family and friends for an intimate gathering. Each person brought a gift and brought along either a cake or snack food! It was perfect! I made the very popular “bowle” which is what we know as punch! The ladies love to mix champagne with it so I left it alcohol free and people could add what they wanted!

And although the food was somewhat simple…of course, the Germans do know how to make a mean cake! So yums…just sooo soooo sooooo yums!

And the snacks were great as well! I made little ricotta cheese filled tarts which were super easy thanks to this recipe I found on Pinterest.

And another woman made these fun finger foods. I had printed out little signs that said “It’s a Girl” and pictures of a baby rattle on them, which I found a free printable for here.

We played the ever popular, “Name That Baby Food.” Which were REALLY horrible by the way…ha! I just sectioned off 6 parts on a paper plate, everyone put a spoonful of baby food in the corresponding number place and went to town! The faces they made were hysterical..I mean REALLY funny.

And of course we played the game, “How Big is Mommy’s Belly.” This was fun to see too! And of course the Grandma-to-be was SPOT on.

Then after all the games, we did the PRESENTS!!!! My favorite! So, I should mention that in Germany there is a superstition about bringing a present to the mom-to-be BEFORE the baby is born. They believe that if you bring a gift before the baby is born, that the baby will be born with problems or something bad will happen. They were good sports about it and looked past this just for this “American” baby shower which was really very nice of them.

And a little guest, Leonie, helped as best as she could. She LOVED opening all the presents! At the end of this wonderful afternoon we said goodbye and said that the baby can come now. All is done and now we are just waiting!

It really was a wonderful day and I’m so glad that I could share a piece of my home and culture with them. And mostly, that they were so open minded about it and accepting. What a gift!

Any ideas what she is having?!?! 🙂

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

Dress Like A German – Female Edition

Let me start by saying this is just an observation of the small southern area Im living in. This is not true for all of Germany but I’ve been here almost 3 years and have seen a pattern with the style of women here. Hate to break it to you all but they don’t walk around in drindls and lederhosen all day, unfortuantely. Here’s a few things that I found was culturally different from the women in the States!

1. Short hair don’t care
Truthfully, NOT a fan of this short hair look here. There are SOOOOO many girls, young and old, with this short hair. Most of the time, I can’t tell who is a boy or a girl from behind, sometimes from the front. But even my Italian hairstylist hates it! She says in Italy all the girls have long beautiful hair and here she prefers the clients with long hair…meaning, she won’t ever cut my hair even if I asked! lol. What a gem for being honest!

2. Blingy Teeth
Man, how I wish I was kidding about this. I think girls in the states wear these things too but I never saw this until I moved here. A diamond on your tooth?! Who sat around and said..oh, let me just bedazzle my tooth. Every time I see a girl with one I keep wanting to tell her that she’s got something in her teeth.

3. Scarf I say!
Scarves are great, I even have a collection of them. The difference is, I wear mine in fall, winter, and mayyyybe spring if its still cold. The girls here…they have a different idea about them. They LOVE to wear them all year round. They will wear a tank top with a scarf in 90 degree heat! I’ve even seen some girls in the clubs wearing them!!! HA! The Germans also have a very serious medical regimen. If you start feeling a sore throat coming on…you immediately start wearing a scarf. You commit to that baby and you wear that thing day and night…even while sleeping! However, I cant figure out how to wrap my scarf and these girls got it down to a science!

4. Mrs. Poopy Pants
I hate to say that these are so popular here. Looks more like an adult diaper with legs. Need I say anything more?

5. Point That Somewhere else
When I was younger…say, 18 years old or so, I went through a phase where I would go get my nails done. And I’m not talking about your typical manicure. This was with the whole process that filed my nails down to tiny slivers and at the end I had beautiful long very fake looking nails and then I realized how trashy it made me look but that was also back in 2002 or so. Here it seems almost EVERYONE gets this done.

6. Looking through Glass
When you think of Europeans what do you think of? Thin, fashionable (in some countries), scarves, v-neck t-shirts on men, cool shoes, and chic glasses in strange shaped frames. Am I close? Well, the glasses thing in Germany is for real. So many people wear glasses and I think most of them prefer to wear these over contacts. For example, many women wear glasses in the clubs (where I would choose to wear contacts usually), and many even wear them on their wedding day (which is an absolute
NEVER in my book). We think of glasses as “four eyes” and almost something negative but here it seems they think its fashionable and a part of their face. I don’t wear glasses at all so what do I know!

8. Now I’m Blinged Out
From blinging out your teeth to your nails…fret not my pet, there are more things to be blinged!!! Hair for instance!! I see this a lot when it’s a special event ie. wedding, anniversary, birthday celebration. Lots of ladies go to get their hair did and come out with an extra sparkle. These are the Bling strands. It’s available in the US, I’ve just never seen anyone do such things. Sparkle and Shine, Mädels, sparkle and shine!

Have you seen people in your country wearing any of these? Would you consider trying some of these Southern German fashions out?!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo