baby shower is a grand occasion for your new-coming baby or new-born baby. And what better way to welcome than to throw a grand party?
Party means you must have baby shower ideas full in mind and implement them.
31 Food recipes, fun baby shower ideas for decoration, and themes that mothers will love!
Make Candy Bars
Pour some colorful candies into a glass jar wearing old-school labels Print onto card stock and cut out the labels. Then use an X Acto knife to create slits and slide a ribbon through the slits for hanging.
Decorate with Flower Blooms
Bright centerpieces in varied shades of pink make a bold statement: It’s a girl! A few budget-friendly blooms that come in shades of pink include lisianthus, carnations, and ranunculus. Hosting a shower for baby boy? Try casual arrangements of bluebonnets, hydrangeas, or blue sweet peas.
Host an Outdoor Picnic Shower
If the weather’s nice, consider a backyard picnic decorated with paper lanterns. Green and blue dominate the color palette for an outdoor “boy” baby shower.
Set Out Food Buffet-Style
Sure, flat platters and trays will serve food, but they certainly won’t display it. For a festive food spread, entertaining expert Amy Atlas ups the visual drama by varying heights, like the footed compote and cake stand at left.
Throw a Party on Your Back Porch
Keep the decor simple with fabric banners in playful colors and bouquets of flowers handpicked from the garden.
Make Creative Centerpieces
Give cake stands get a new purpose by placing colored floral domes on them. To make this centerpiece, cut the bottom of a foam ball, so it sits flat. Then soak it in water for 30 minutes before inserting the flowers.
Create a Cute Buffet Backdrop
These adorable paper polka-dot garlands are the perfect backdrop behind a buffet table. Or, hang them from the ceiling as streamers!
Make Your Own Vases
Floral foam and glass marbles aren’t the only ways to hold flowers aloft. Instead, a bunch of vintage milk bottles gives this arrangement—featured in Decorating with Flowers by Paula Pryke—its structure. Simply line up nine same-size vessels in three rows of three. Then wrap gardener’s twine around the grouping twice and tie the ends. Finish the blooming display by placing two to three stems in each container.
Use Natural Embellishments
Fresh outdoor elements and mismatched silverware lend casual elegance to a “blue” table setting.
Offer a Minty Refreshment
Flavored with fresh mint and lime juice, this refreshing iced tea is well-suited to accompany almost any type of food.
Make Easy But Tasty Treats
Crowd-pleasing, tangy smoked salmon toasts go well with champagne cocktails, brunch, or as the first course to a sit-down shower luncheon.
Serve Fun Finger Sandwiches
For a savory dish, kick sandwich fillings up a notch by serving chicken salad with mango chutney; radishes with butter and sea salt; pear and blue cheese; and an easy-to-eat BLT salad.
Use Dessert as Decoration
Flaky coconut cake makes a beautiful centerpiece on the buffet table. Handwritten name cards at each dish take the guesswork out of picking your favorite dessert.
Plan a Menu Accordingly
Since a shower can be held at any time of the day, consider serving brunch. Make sure dishes are light, so guests save room for dessert!
Serve Traditional Desserts
Passed-down recipes, like Nanny’s carrot cake, give the mom-to-be a strong sense of tradition as she starts her new family.
Use Vintage Cake Stands
For couples who want to be surprised if it’s a boy or a girl, opt for yellow-and-white decor. Dress up classic lemon desserts by placing them on scallop-edged cake stands.
Serve Color-Appropriate Drinks
Looking for a drink to serve at a shower for a baby boy? These blueberry mojitos will certainly get the job done. (Make a batch sans rum for the mom-to-be to enjoy.)
Make Ornate Cupcakes
Forgo a traditional cake for cupcakes embellished with intricate paper cuffs and colored frosting. This treat will be especially popular with any young children attending the shower with their moms.
Bake a Pink Cake
If you know your friend is expecting a little girl, try this sweet dessert for a pink treat.
For a quicker and almost-homemade strawberry cake, let white cake mix stand in for a cake made from scratch. Reduce the liquid called for in the mix by 1/3 cup and add 1 cup strawberry preserves and 1/8 teaspoon red food coloring. Bake the two 9-inch layers according to package instructions. Shorten the process (and cleanup) even more by using store-bought whipped cream. Top with strawberries and 1/4 cup preserves.
Serve Something Pink and Sweet
Turn premade pound cake into petits fours to celebrate the upcoming arrival of a baby girl. “People will swear these are from a fancy bakery,” says entertaining expert Amy Atlas of this tempting shortcut. To follow her lead: Use a serrated knife to cut the crust off a pound cake, then slice the cake into one-inch squares. Place them on a cooling rack with parchment paper underneath, pour icing over the squares, and let set for an hour. Atlas’s 60-second icing recipe? Mix four tablespoons of water to two cups of sifted confectioner’s sugar. Tint the mixture by stirring in a bit of gel food-coloring.
Make Ice Cream Sandwiches
For expectant mothers who are staying in the dark about their baby’s gender, make a treat that can be both blue and pink. Use crisp, store-bought wafers and fill them with strawberry and blueberry ice cream to whip up delicious sandwiches in a jiffy.
Supply Fruity Drinks
Slice up fresh apples and add it to a jar of martini mix for a drink that looks as special as it tastes.
To make this drink, mix: 2 cups vodka, 1 cup apple schnapps, 1 cup orange liqueur, and 1 cup fresh lime juice; chill. Right before serving stir in 3 cups ice, strain, and pour into glasses. Don’t forget to make a non-alcoholic version for the mother-to-be!
Sip Pretty
No matter what you’re drinking, adding striped paper straws to simple glass bottles will ensure that your guests reach for another.
Make DIY Centerpieces
These pretty pastel tissue paper pompoms in varying sizes make the perfect baby shower centerpieces.
Let Them Eat Cake
Put a personal stamp on store-bought treats with tiny “It’s a Boy” or “It’s a Girl” flags. To craft each banner, cut a small strip of card stock, trimming one end into an inverted arrow. Then use alphabet stamps to spell out the message, and glue the banner to a toothpick. The final step: Planting the flags in pretty cupcakes, each displayed on a mini cake pedestal.
Dish Out “Blue” Ice Cream
Is your friend expecting a baby boy? Try this fruity ice cream with fresh huckleberries or blueberries for a blue dessert.
Keep it Simple
Fill store-bought tartlet shells with fresh conserves for an easy-to-make party dessert your guests will love.
Use a Peter Rabbit Theme
Give your shower an easy theme by centering it around a character from one of the mother-to-be’s favorite children’s books, like Peter Rabbit.
Use a Madeline Theme
Another great source of inspiration for a book-themed shower? The children’s book character Madeline.
Amp Up the Flavor
Try finishing these party-perfect cakes with toppings such as fresh berries and cream, ice cream and warm fruit preserves, butterscotch and grated orange zest, or just a simple sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Give Thanks
As a tribute to the “nesting” new mother, hand out favors of boxes filled with candy.