To celebrate the nearing arrival of the littlest Linder, my husband and I hosted a mid-day bash at Honey’s Winery & Bar in Brooklyn. The party’s theme: A Baby is Brewing. We live in Manhattan and had a lot of guests driving in from Philly, NJ, and Long Island — so we decided to make everyone trek it to Brooklyn. The venue had hosted the Alexander Wang “unofficial” after party following Wang’s logistically challenging Spring 2018 runway show on the dead-end Scott Avenue in Bushwick. Our guests faired much better.

For the first six months of my pregnancy, I continued living my life as a carefree childless woman—-going for drinks with co-workers, maintaining my religious observance of Sunday brunch with friends, all while under the guise of being on some cleanse/extending my Dry January as a personal challenge. All a ruse to maintain my social life sans alcohol, because, like many Manhattanites (people in general?), my social life revolves around meeting friends at the seemingly endless options of watering holes in the city.

Our nearest and dearest friends and family can each be placed on a spectrum between currently-childless & don’t-want-kids. With that in mind, we wanted to ensure we hosted a celebration that matches the typical revelry our friends have come to expect from us; not one that was bound in tradition and ceremony. Open-bar, beer pong, good food, and great company—just know this was no four-hour gift unwrapping session!