#SeattleBaby Blogger Event at Northgate Mall

Were you following along on Twitter and Facebook a few weeks ago as I hosted the #SeattleBaby shower for new and expecting mom bloggers in the Seattle area?  I was so grateful so many local bloggers turned out at the event to welcome all the new little babies and thrilled that so many of you helped tweet and retweet during the party. 

Kerri from The Maven of Social Media {picture snapped by Cristi from Motherhood Unadorned} was my guest of honor and she went home with some really cool new gadgets and gifts just in time to welcome baby #3.  She got a Summer Infant Baby Touch 2 monitor that I’m super jealous of, a Britax Chaperone car seat, a Blue Celery organic baby carrier, an Philips Avent breast pump, a custom gold and silver mama’s necklace, and a tote full of items I picked up during my #SeattleBaby shopping spree at the Northgate Mall to welcome her little one.  

Of course, all the other bloggers couldn’t leave empty-handed, so they went home with swag galore as well.  And, by swag I mean armloads full of stuff that required multiple trips to the car.  Pictured below are only some of the bloggers and a portion of the swag.  True story.

A big thank you is in order for all the awesome baby companies who sent stuff for the event and helped me fill up swag bags and offered prizes.  Thanks to them and what Kerri and I like to call our “swag store”, we were able to put together 22 prizes for guests that included a Beaba bib’espresso, a Maclaren stroller {with accessories!}, Munchkin diaper pails, wooden HABA rattles, Bumkins bibs, baby and mama sets from Granola’s Natural Market in Mill Creek, Gymboree prize packs, Infantino toys and diaper clutch, Summer Infant diaper bag and accessories, Zutano gift sets, Goodness Knows snack squares, and many more.

But, a special thank you goes out to Northgate Mall in Seattle, WA.  What many of you following along on Twitter didn’t know about the event is that up until a few days before the 26th, we didn’t have a venue.  Well, technically we did, but when we found out it was going to completely deplete my bank account with catering and whatnot, I realized it wasn’t really a viable option… and thus we were venue-less not even a week before the event.

After I had a mini stress/freak out, I sent an email to the place where I always go when I’m stressed… the mall.  Specifically, I was seeing if the Northgate Mall would allow 10 Seattle bloggers to take up residence in their North wing by the children’s play area.  As it turns out, it was an awesome place for the party because it was a nice central location for all the bloggers who were coming from different directions and it had everything we needed to make it a great party – a comfortable place to sit and chat, eat, and tweet!

To show my thanks to the Simon mall, I went on a baby shopping spree for Kerri and found some really wonderful Gymboree and Crazy 8 onesies, hats, and socks {that didn’t say Daddy’s Little Slugger}, Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag clips from Nordstrom, some ABC cards from Papyrus, a handprint kit from Hallmark, and some Robeez shoes from Macy’s.

Kerri and I are hoping to make the #SeattleBaby a yearly thing, so if you’re in the area and would like to get involved, feel free to send me an email.  Also, if you’re a company who would like to make sure Seattle bloggers are talking about you, we’d love to hear from you and invite you to contact either Kerri or I for more details!