I hosted the shower with my sister-in-law Lindsay and Daddy-to-be's sister Caity, and when we first started mulling over our thoughts about the food, decor, feel of the party, we were a bit stuck. Does anyone else associate baby showers with spring and summer like I do? It seems silly since, well, babies are born every freaking day. However, it's ingrained in my psyche: baby parties happen when the grass is breaking ground, the flowers are opening their faces and the birds are chirping Disney tunes.
Since baby-to-be is a girl, we wanted to think pink, but were associating autumn parties with fallen leaves, pine cones and pumpkins, which left us wondering how we were going to incorporate these different elements in a cohesive way.
You've probably already guessed the answer: platinum gold spray paint. It may be the answer to world peace.
We thought soft gold fall accents tied in with pink could create a palette that not only fit the theme, but the season as well. We had the girls over at Walnut Paperie do the invitations, and while I'd love to post them to show you how sweetly they turned out, putting my in-law's address for all to see on the Internet might get me excommunicated from the family. After some soul searching, I figured that was more important than sharing them... apologies!
Once we'd figured out the theme and colors, it was time to tackle the menu. Autumn is such a fabulous time to eat to your heart's content and we wanted to provide our guests with a plethora of delicious bites. Here's the menu we came up with (the links to the recipes are below it):
| Red Pepper Walnut Dip, Lasagna Cupcakes, Kale and Pecorino Crostini, Savory Palmiers, Vanilla Caramels, Brown Butter Fudge Brownies, Vanilla Marshmallows |
Not to toot our own horns, but the food was a serious hit (most of it was easily prepared ahead of time) and the afternoon was simply lovely. It turns out I'm horrible at documenting events like this when I'm hosting, so you'll have to make do with what I was able to snap!
 |
| Prosciutto-wrapped Dates stuffed w/Gruyere and goat cheese. |
 |
| Savory Palmiers. |
 |
| The dessert bar and a little sampling of the pink/golden decor. |
 |
| Vanilla Caramels w/Smoked Sea Salt... YUM. |
 |
| A photo garland of the parents-to-be as babies themselves adds a sweet touch. |
 |
| Our savory table setting. |
 |
| I know they're used so much these days, but poms really add a special touch! |
 |
| What can I say, sugar and spice and everything nice! |
One last thing: I wanted to bring up the subject of games. I know some people hate them at bridal and baby showers, but I for one am a pro-game girl. Why? Usually these gatherings bring together a random hodge podge of people close to the lady who's being honored and I happen to think they make for great ice breakers. Ever been to a shower where you don't know many people and you end up standing around awkwardly drinking one too many glasses of champagne? No? Maybe I'm just awkward. Having said that, I should mention that the plethora of disgusting games available for baby showers is mindblowing.
Let's keep it classy, people.
For Baby Girl Brewer's shower, we had three different "activities." The first was the opportunity to write the new baby a note. We bought cute cards from Paper Source, provided some pens and guidance, and let our guests go to town. We put them in a box so that Mommy-to-be could save them once her bundle had grown and could read them herself, providing an awesome keepsake for the future.
The second involved buying a bunch of random baby products, wrapping each one and creating a poem that utilized the name of each product. As you read the poem aloud, the guest of honor unwraps each product as its name is mentioned in the poem. It's entertaining and functional, as you end up providing the parents-to-be with items they would usually not be gifted.
Finally, my favorite of the day (whose inspiration was found on the Paper Source blog) was "Daddy Knows Best." We asked the baby daddy 15 questions secretly, then created a quiz template for the guests to fill out. Mommy-to-be answers all of them to the best of her ability and whichever guest gets the most right wins. In case there's a tie, all guests also guess how many Mama will get right too.
The shower came and went faster than you can say, "It's January and this shower happened in November... yeah, we got that," and with Baby Girl Brewer due in a matter of weeks, it seems the whole pregnancy flew by too (her parents-to-be might disagree with me on this point)!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: we can't wait to meet you little one! See you sooooon.
