Delightful Décor and Food Displays for Baby Showers

Nothing is quite as exciting as welcoming a new baby into the world! Before the little one arrives, friends and family members often shower the mom and dad with gifts. But a baby shower is not only about making sure mom and dad are equipped with all the items they’ll need as new parents, it’s a special celebration! If you are hosting or helping throw a baby shower this spring, here is some fantastic inspiration for making this occasion extra special!

Hostess With The Mostess has tons of cute ideas for decoration that you couldn’t find at your typical party store. We love this baby shower décor with its trendy chevron stripes and adorable elephants in a pretty turquoise color scheme. The tiered baskets would also be a great way to serve snacks like gourmet nuts and mints.

Photo via Hostess with the Mostess

Photo via Hostess with the Mostess

Instead of baby elephants, you can incorporate small birdies and make it a “Welcome to the Nest” baby shower! Here are some wonderful ideas for invitations and décor for this whimsical theme.

Photo via Simply Sweet Celebrations

Will the gender of the baby be a surprise? Take a look at this boy-girl baby shower with a gorgeous teal and red theme, from the decorations down to the food.

Photo via Kara’s Party Ideas

Here’s an idea for a creative food display for a baby shower that we absolutely love – a baby carriage fruit tray!

Photo via Fussy Monkey Business

For heartier snacks, we like the idea of placing gourmet sausage, cheese, crackers, and condiments in a way where guests can build their own hors d’oeuvres. Don’t forget to add a few garnishes, too!

Photo via On to Baby

Hickory Farms gourmet baskets and towers are great for easy entertaining. They also make wonderful gifts for new moms and dads or thoughtful thank-you presents for hostesses.

What are your favorite ideas for adorable baby shower decorations and food displays? Share your ideas with us in the comment section below.

How to Keep a Surprise Birthday Party a Surprise

Photo via Thomas/Flickr

Who doesn’t love surprises? If you’ve been lucky enough to have one thrown in your honor, then you know that a surprise party is one of the most exciting gifts you can receive on your birthday! Not only do they make you feel special, but they let you really enjoy your birthday celebration because all the planning and coordinating is done for you! If you’re thinking about hosting a surprise birthday party for a friend or loved one, we have some tips and ideas to make the process go as smoothly as possible.

The Guest List

Photo via Alison Allen & Nicole Ripplinger/Flickr

This one is easiest when the guest of honor is a kid. Parents undoubtedly know their children’s closest friends. If your honoree is an adult or even a teen, putting together the guest list can be a little bit trickier. Remember, you have to coordinate all the guests’ arrival without the birthday boy or girl finding out! A great way to keep the number of invitations manageable is to decide early on if you want to host a family or friend-focused event. Most folks have a few close friends who also count as family, but otherwise try to stick to your decision and invite one or the other. Or, if you’re ambitious and have enough space, invite the whole gang!

Location, Location, Location

using a taxi to arrive at a surprise party

Photo via Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We can’t say it enough. A surprise party is all about… well… the surprise, and nothing will give you away quicker than a street full of parked cars. Once you have your guest list, pick a party location that will comfortably hold everyone and will also allow guests to arrive discretely. If you’re hosting the party in a home, consider asking neighbors a few streets down if they would allow guests to park along their curb. Or, if the party will be at a restaurant or public space, research large parking areas nearby that are within walking distance. If you live in a larger city, public transportation might also have you covered on this one.

The Cover Story

Photo via Teerapun/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

All your efforts will hinge on a convincing cover story. Obviously, the perfect idea will vary based on the personality of your guest of honor. Some advice that will be helpful in most situations though is to keep it as simple as possible. But, if you’re worried that your honoree will be wise to the tried-and-true method of “going out for a quiet dinner” you can try the more advanced double surprise – inviting relatives or close friends of the guest of honor that don’t live in town, and then hiding them in a separate room for the initial surprise. A few minutes later, bring those guests out for the second surprise! We don’t recommend this for first-time surprise party throwers!

Less is More

Trust us, even the most organized people will have their hands full the day of the actual surprise party. Between late guests and trying to keep everyone quiet, you don’t need to be worried about preparing food. Check out our gourmet gift baskets. They have something everyone will enjoy snacking on. Think about ordering an extra for guests to nibble on while you wait for the birthday boy or girl to show!

We hope these tips help make your surprise party planning a success. For those of you who’ve thrown or attended a surprise party before, share your best cover stories on our Facebook wall! We may just surprise the person with the best story with one of our favorite specialty food gifts for their next get-together.

Organizing a Progressive Dinner Party

Dinner parties are a fun way to gather with family, friends, and neighbors, but it also involves a lot of work for the host. A progressive dinner party is a great option that allows everyone to show off their culinary skills and share the hosting responsibilities.

Progressive dinner parties usually work best with a smaller group of people and with people who live in the same neighborhood or within a few minutes of each other. Once you’ve determined who will be participating, it’s time to figure out who will be the hosts for the evening and what they will serve.

Photo via My Insanity

Most dinner parties involve four courses, but you can add more or take some away as needed. Courses can include appetizers and drinks, soup and salad, a main course, a cheese or vegetable course, and after-dinner desserts and drinks.

Once you’ve decided how many courses will be served, it’s time for the hosts to gather and plan a menu and a schedule of events. Will you stick to dishes that follow a certain theme, or will your group allow for creative freedom, with each host offering a different type of cuisine?

One important point to remember as your group plans the progressive dinner is that you’ll want to select dishes that can be prepared mostly in advance and that require minimal heating time. For example, the host in charge of serving appetizers can offer a spread of gourmet sausage, cheeses, crackers, and nuts. It’s easy to prepare and quick to restock, which means you can spend more time socializing with your guests.

For hosts serving soup and salad, a crockpot soup recipe is your best friend! Start cooking your soup earlier in the day, and then turn the heat down before you head out. The soup will be warm and ready to eat when guests arrive at your house.

Photo via Healthy Snack Recipes

And since you’ll be moving from one home to the next, it’s also important to create a schedule and stick to it. Give your guests plenty of time to arrive at the first home, or tell them to arrive within a certain time frame, and list the time of arrival for each house on the invitations. Be sure to progress to each house at the times listed. This is out of courtesy for the next host, as well as allowing for the next course to be served in a timely manner.

Do you have any tips, recipes, or ideas to share for progressive dinner parties? Please leave a comment to share with us!