My baby sister had a baby! I still cannot believe it. In June, my mom and I threw her a Friends-themed baby shower car parade. We set up an outdoor Central Perk so she could lounge and watch her friends and family drive by.
We’re in the middle of a pandemic. As we were planning, we knew we needed to be flexible. States were just about to reopen, but we knew we couldn’t take any chances especially with a pregnant woman. While a video call was the easy option, an outdoor car parade seemed like it would be a lot more fun.
But it wasn’t going to be just a car parade, we were going to set the scene. My sister (and the rest of my family, Fatima included) is a huge Friends fan. We attempted to recreate Central Perk in my aunt’s front yard, orange couch included!
How’s that baby shower car parade doin’?
Growing up, we’d watch Friends all the time. Especially when we were at our lake house. When we couldn’t take the boat out due to the weather, Friends would be our rainy day cure. Can you believe we own the whole series on DVDs? When it left Netflix, we all went in on digital copies so we could watch it anywhere! And who’d thought I’d marry someone who’s equally a big fan?
Our Central Perk was an easier setup than I anticipated. My mom purchased orange fabric to dress an outdoor couch, we gathered up all of our Central Perk mugs, bought muffins and cookies, brewed coffee, found a Hugsey, and pulled it all together. It was all really cute.
As cars drove by, they’d stop, honk, let balloons go, drop off gifts, and shout ‘congratulations’. We’d hand them a gift bag and the next round of cars would repeat. The gift bags were filled: Phoebe’s “Nestle Toulous” chocolate chip cookies, picture frame cupcakes from a local bakery, coffee grounds, and DIY masks my mom made from Friends-themed fabric. I even scored some purple and yellow gift bags from a Party City with curbside pickup!
Even though we couldn’t plan a ‘normal’ party, the baby shower car parade was a success. We laughed, stood six feet apart, and made sure my sister felt celebrated. Could we BE any more creative?
