Planning out the menu is an essential step to having a successful baby shower. Having a good menu with food and beverages is sure to make your guests feel comfortable and have a great time. Here are 5 things to think about when planning your baby shower menu.
1- Plan for an afternoon baby shower.
If you want to have a lighter menu with finger foods then the best time for the baby shower would be at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. If the baby shower is held at noon or night time then the guests expect hot dishes to be made. Sit down meals are great but they require a lot more work when you have many people. When you do a more casual meal, you can use disposable plates and utensils and people can just sit anywhere. The other added benefit is that everyone simply feels more comfortable when the environment of the shower isn’t so formal.
2- Tie the food into the theme.
Baby showers are a great event to get creative when menu planning. You can plan to make desserts and finger foods that match the theme of the party. For example; if you have a pink theme you can make pink strawberry treats such as strawberry cupcakes, pink iced donuts, pink jell-o, pink lemonade and even strawberry milkshakes. Another option is setting up a pink ice cream station with strawberry and vanilla ice cream. Have various pink toppings such as wafers, jelly beans, pink and white marshmallows, pink smarties and sugar coated pink hearts. You can do the same thing with other colors too. For a green theme use pistachio, for blue theme use blueberry and so forth.
3- Have enough food.
No one likes to go to a party and go home hungry so have enough food for everyone. Call the guests a week before the shower and see how many confirm that they are coming. Then plan for about 20 more than actually confirmed. It’s better to have too much food than to not have enough. You can always send food home with the guests or even freeze leftovers.
4- Have a variety of beverages.
People like to be able to choose what they want so give them options. Sodas, juices, teas, hot chocolate and coffee should be prepared. Some guests might be diabetic so be sure to have diet sodas and juices without sugar for them to add sweetener. Have a table with the drinks, cups and an ice bucket so that people can easily access them. An often overlooked beverage is water. Many people simply don’t like sodas or juices so prepare some water jugs beforehand.
5- Avoid certain foods.
Certain foods are best to be avoided. The last thing anyone wants is to have sick guests after a party. Raw fish is a very dangerous food. Mayonnaise can only be used if it is kept cold. Since the food usually sits for hours before and during the shower, the best thing to do is to simply not use mayonnaise in any of the foods. Peanuts and shrimp are known to give allergies so it’s best to not use those either. Since pregnant women can’t drink it would be better etiquette not to have alcohol at the party either.
Eren Mckay is a work at home mom to 3 boys. She loves to share creative baby shower ideas and themes. She has created resources like these ladybug baby shower ideas to help others when party planning.
I like the idea of having the baby shower late afternoon. Finger foods are a great way to give guests a light meal without having to go through a lot of trouble. This is also a great way to work in your baby shower favors, such as using a favor box filled with a themed sweet treat.