Easily one of the best moments of my life was when my sister-in-law let it slip that she and my brother were expecting a baby! I knew immediately I wanted to throw her a shower, but after a quick glance at our wedding schedule and trying to figure out logistics of where (we’re in Tennessee, she’s in Oregon, Mom’s in Florida!), it was abundantly clear that a traditional shower wasn’t possible.

Our family and close friends are scattered across the country- Alaska, California, Florida, and Tennessee, and I wanted to find a fun way to include everyone we love. That’s how my idea of a baby shower in a box was born! It was a true labor of love and I’m thrilled with the feedback I’ve received! So, if this is something you think you’d want to do someday, here’s how I put it together:

Charlie and Kristin met when he was an airline pilot and she his flight attendant, and both sides of baby Quinn’s family are packed full with pilots. Between our families’ love of aviation and the fact that these boxes were sent across the country, I thought an atlas-themed shower was quite appropriate. :)

I started off by separating a few pounds of M&Ms by color (the OCD side of me couldn’t have it any other way)! I also bought a few maps of Oregon, Quinn’s birth state, online and using Mod Podge, covered $1 Ikea frames. I was so happy with how these turned out and hope to make some for myself soon!

Each recipient got a little box with a plain white onesie, three paint colors, and a paint brush.

Along with the onesie and paint, everyone received an invitation, photo frame, box of M&Ms, and a mailing label for Kristin (so she’d know their box was part of the shower!). Thanks to my buddy Lorie for helping me find a cute way to word my “invitation.” I know a lot of family members had already sent a gift to Quinn, so I also decided to include two bookplates, encouraging them to send their favorite childhood books to grow Quinn’s library.

(Editor’s note: We totally yanked Hipmunk’s adorable chipmunk for this! Also, names and addresses blanked out because, well, because.) 

The onesie box all wrapped. :)

The shower in a box really was a hit and I felt so happy to be able to include key friends and family who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to attend a shower. Kristin and Charlie are still getting random boxes in the mail, which makes my heart happy! Hopefully this can help anyone out there not in the same state as their best friend or sister moms-to-be!