This take on Minted was made by undefined from , a member of Minted's community of independent artists.
"Vintage tea party" baby shower invitation
You’re throwing a baby shower. It’s gonna be a big deal. You've picked out a theme, bought decorations, invited the perfect list of guests. But baby shower food is a whole task unto itself. If you’re looking for baby shower treats or meal planning ideas, read on for a few tips & tricks.
This seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised! Many moms-to-be have a list of foods that they don’t even want to look at, and this list can change throughout pregnancy. And in general, you always want to avoid strong odors or acquired tastes when party-planning. So even if you think you know how Mom’s been eating, things can change, and it never hurts to check in. Especially since you may already be checking with guests about food allergies. And on the flipside, if your guest of honor is craving certain foods, make sure you can provide her with those.
Depending on your space, you may include a moment for a sit-down meal, in which case you may want to create a custom-designed paper menu for your guests. If you’re serving a buffet, you may want to include a little card to set beside each dish instead. Design your own to be as simple or as fancy as you like. You can use the cards to give simple ingredient listings, or make them a little punn-ier to tie into your party theme.
And there’s always the potluck option, too. Sometimes a good old-fashioned potluck is the right answer. Baby shower food ideas can be a lot to take on all by yourself, especially if you’re planning everything else.
As everyone who’s ever been to one knows, baby showers can get a little chaotic. So if you do decide to take the potluck route, you’ll want to make sure that it stays organized. One way to do this is by going ahead and creating the menu yourself, then including some kind of sign-up sheet. You could try to do this as part of the paper invitation, but that could get messy if multiple guests want to bring the same items. Since most events include some sort of website, this would be the place to direct guests. They can sign up for which dishes they’d like to bring exactly the same way they’d use a gift registry.
No, we’re not suggesting that you serve sweet-potato puree, biscuits, or milkshakes (although, hey, do you).
Actually, as Full House fans will tell you, this is a classic maneuver from the classic 90s television playbook. In order to tell Jesse she’s pregnant, Becky prepares a meal that’s entirely composed of baby corn, baby shrimp, baby back ribs, etc.
One thing to note: it’s cute and entertaining, but makes for a rather bizarre menu. (Readers: if you have ideas for ingredients to round this out into something not-weird, we’d love to hear about them in the comments.)
Some ideas:
A baby shower is a great excuse for one thing above all, and that thing is cake. Er, joy. We mean joy. But still, cake is way up there.
While this might not be the time to try something wild from Pinterest for the very first time (after all, nobody wants to end up on a #nailedit blog), it’s a great occasion to have a little bit of fun with dessert. As always, turn to the internet first. You can find lots of cute baby shower cake designs that are surprisingly DIY-friendly. (This might be a good time to call in That Friend Who’s Always Baking Stuff - unless that friend is you). Or if the DIY life seems like biting off more than you can chew for this particular occasion, you can always call in a professional - just pull some inspiration to get you started and then work with a local bakery of your choice.
Cupcake bars were all the rage a few years ago, and guess what - they’re still delicious. So if you want one, make it happen. Cupcakes are popular with party planners for a reason: they’re endlessly versatile. Decorate individual cupcakes to go with your theme, frost them all together into one super-cake in any shape you like, or do a DIY frosting bar with lots of cool toppings.
These days a lot of people avoid sugary desserts, and millennials in particular are drinking less alcohol than previous generations. Also, it’s always nice to provide an easy way to make sure mom-to-be isn’t not-drinking alone, you know what we mean?
As stated above, you’ve gotta have a cake because cake is fun and awesome. But a parfait bar featuring fresh fruit, honey, and greek yogurt is super-simple and will be much appreciated by the health-conscious guests among you. Or if it’s a summer shower, try making some lavender lemonade popsicles or some other healthy alternatives to dessert.
If you can get someone on blender duty, a smoothie bar is a killer option, for several reasons. First, yes, it’s a healthy and endlessly-customizable alternative to both cocktails AND cake. Second, if you want to make it a cocktail, you can.
Overall, the key to creating the perfect baby shower menu is flexibility and planning - just like everything else.
We uncover design genius through ongoing design competitions. At Minted, all that matters is good design. Designers submit, and the Minted community votes to tell us what to sell.