Baby Showers

I am not writing about a baby shower for me but I figured since we are going to have a baby shower for a co-worker tomorrow, I will write a bit about what baby showers are like here in Peru. I think I might have touched on it this past year because Marco and I went to a baby shower of a promo of his but I don't remember. (I should really tag my posts. That might be a good weekend activity)

I don't know when baby showers arrived to Peru but the fact that they are called baby showers and not something else gives reason to thinking they are relatively new to Peru. My husband tells me that he has always known them to take place since he became an adult and started going to them. I personally think that it is a fun tradition and a great way to congratulate mom and dad and celebrate the coming of a new child.

I have been to three baby showers since coming to Peru. The first one was in Cusco for a co-worker at Qantu. It was very simple and just co-workers. We had a cake and we all bought her gifts. She opened them in front of us and we chatted for a bit.

The next one was here in Lima at a promo's apartment. When we got there they had a guy dressed in a clown outfit and the dad was blindfolded guessing what the presents were. He also had a large diaper and bib on. It was pretty funny and I will have no qualms whatsoever, when and if the time comes, watching Marco be dressed up and guessing what presents we receive. After the presents were opened the clown put on an hora loca CD and passed out whistles and balloons. We had to dance around in a circle for a good 10 minutes. That part was awkward. I felt kind of ridiculous because it wasn't like we were at a dance club and there were no children around (except for two girls around 9 or 10 years old). I could have done without that. During all of this we were served drinks and food by caterers or people hired to pass out food. We danced and we chatted. It was a good time overall. I did feel a bit of us versus them with the husbands and wives. All the ladies sat together and made jokes and the guys responded. It is definitely a different dynamic than what I am used to with my male and female friends that all know each other and have a friendly relationship. It's not that females and males aren't friendly, it is that one does not have a personal relationship with the promos of one's husband. I am sure there are exceptions but for the most part it would be considered very weird. I will write about gender norms in another post. I digress. The one thing I don't like about the baby showers here is that the decorations are all styrofoam giant babies and moons. I could do without those.

The third baby shower that I went to was for one of the girls in Coro Arpegio. It was a blast! We played games like guess the baby food and wrap each other up in toilet paper diapers and race. (I was very good at the baby food guess the flavor game by the way.) We gave her tons and tons of diapers which are the most needed thing the first few years and the most economically burdening (other than formula if breast feeding isn't an option). It was a great atmosphere and super fun!

I have yet to go to a baby shower in the States but from what I have heard and pictures I have seen they seem to be pretty similar in fashion.

So tomorrow we have a baby shower at work. I made spritz cookies. I have been making them a lot lately. They are the perfect treat for gatherings. I found quinoa flour as well which makes them that much yummier.

Happy Monday everyone!

**Update: The baby shower was short and sweet and everyone aaawed after every gift. I liked that the majority of the gifts were not pink. There was an orange onesie with the Life is Good logo on it and a blue and white dress and a super cute lion bib. Also the spritz cookies I made were a huge success!