The e - Baby Shower!

Y’s hormones were playing havoc in her life. The baby was due in 1 month and she was having a nervous breakdown. To top it all, her husband N, had to go abroad for an urgent project and she was left at the mercy of the in-laws. Not that they were mean, they were NOT him!

When the going got tougher we decided to have an intervention. So, enter best friends P, R and Me. The problem – we were in 3 different countries and there was no way we could meet Y and cheer her up. P was in Bangalore meeting deadlines. R was in Germany for she had won a 50-day all-expense-paid Journalism workshop. And I was writing, cooking and partying in the Middle East. But we are best friends and we had to cheer up Y come what may.

I racked my brains, brainstormed over conference calls, browsed the Internet and came up with a mind-blowing idea that made me proud of myself! With technology playing our Messiah, we planned a surprise E-Baby Shower for the Mommy-to-be. 

We had to plan everything to the T so that it all comes together on the same date and if possible, same time. We had to find snap deals for we were looking for a great experience without making a hole in our pockets. The first things we ordered were Flowers and Cake. Y loves Yellow roses and they were not hard to find. We specified a particular time and date for delivery. The site was very kind to cater to all our demands.

Silly Badge!

We are quirky people and normal gifts are not our forte. We found this superb website with a MomBastic badge and ordered one immediately – again same date.

The gift couldn't be complete without a picture, card and a poem written by me! We decided to find a portal that can make a card with our picture and my poem as text. I had sent a picture Rakhi before from iTasveer and they were very prompt in their service. I browsed their website and we had our card ready to be printed and delivered – on the date of the Baby Shower.

We didn’t want to send any baby items for Y because, as Indians, we are superstitious and rarely buy stuff for the baby before its arrival. We didn’t want to hurt the Mother-in-law’s feelings and so decided to buy pink ribbons or leather shoes only after the baby was here.

The last item on our list was food. No party is complete without yummy grub. We planned to order a pizza online from Dominos. Yes, all of us ordered a similar pizza. Technology was really Godsend.

It was a Sunday. We asked N to take us all on video conference on Google+ hangout and then call Y. Y was already ecstatic since she had received the badge and the card early in the morning. Our mailbox was flooded with her thank you messages and how her day was made when she read the poem. 

We all ordered Pizza for delivery at 2 p.m. IST. With our laptops in front of us, we were ready to party! We told N to call her and let the ladies enjoy their day. He begged us quite a few times to let him be a part of it, but this was an all-girls party and men were strictly not allowed.

The Card

What followed was a laugh riot. When Y came online she couldn’t stop giggling. Her door bell rang and she received the Cake and Flowers. That set the tears rolling. I told you, hormones were already playing their role, and this was, quite literally, an icing on the cake. We sang our usual ‘Congratulations and Celebrations’ better than the contestants of Indian Idol. We couldn’t taste the cake, but that wasn’t important. Y was happy, immensely happy.

The Flowers

And when the pizza was delivered she was shocked. Of all the things, she couldn’t have even dreamed that we will order food. We laughed and laughed, till the baby was rolling inside Y's tummy!

That day took us back to our school days. It was my 16th birthday. The table was full from the 16 gifts, flowers, cards and a Chocolate Truffle cake. We had ordered our usual Pizza, Noodles and Chilli Paneer at our favorite joint.  We spoke about boys, blushed and giggled till to no end. Only now, we were talking about husbands, babies and careers. But the people and the laughter was exactly the same.

Thanks to Technology and Online Shopping, we could recreate our teenage years even though we were miles apart. I’ve bought gadgets, clothes and other gift items from the Internet, but no experience can replace the joy we saw on Y’s face that day.

This post is a part of the contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Snapdeal.com

P.S.  I forgot to paste the contest code (mentioned above), hence the update!