A Chinese Baby Shower (& Piñata)

A baby shower in China?  For most people here, that is a new phenomenon so if you're planning on throwing a party, realize that it might be the first they've one they've ever been to.  Always one to venture into the world of the new and unknown, my wife wanted to throw a baby shower for all our friends that are pregnant this year, which turns out to be five. Because this year is the year of the pig, a very lucky animal in the eyes of most Chinese, many people want to get married or have a baby during this time. So, naturally, we threw a party for them.

Most of the Chinese could not understand why you would throw a party before the baby is born, but since it is an American "tradition" they were more than happy to go along. Tiff did a wonderful job getting together games, prizes, food, and even a piñata! As party favors Tiff gave home-made flowers and small home-made bags to some of the ladies - it was quite the crafty party!  While most people in America give gifts to the mom during the baby shower, we are going to wait until after the baby is born, as is custom here in China.

The funny part was trying to make a piñata...oh you would have laughed if you could have seen us! Our first attempt at gluing the newspaper to the balloon was halted when the it suddenly popped, causing Tiff to scream and scaring the all the loose cat fur off of Romeo. Once we were able to clean ourselves of all the water/flour paste that had sprayed on our clothes and in our hair when the balloon burst, we began again, this time much more successfully. So, as you see here, we added some pink construction paper to form our pig, filled it with good Chinese candy and then beat it to death. Too much fun.

What's more fun is watching them try to hit the pinata.  Definitely a new and exciting experience for all of these women!