Baby Shower Fun, Food and Games!

Hello friends!  This is one of those posts that isn't necessarily all about the food, but we will chat about that.  I like to share little tidbits, things that pertain to many of us at some point or another.  How many of you have thrown a baby shower, no matter how big or small?  Many times we have them catered, or at a location other than home but since this was her second baby shower, I decided to have it at home.  Intimate, family and friends, and just some informal fun.  I want to share what I did, to maybe help you with some ideas if you want to throw your own for someone you love!

Here we go!  Some back history.  Kayla is my daughter in law.  She and my son moved to the city we live in 2 years ago.  She had a large shower given by her mother when she gave birth to the twins 2.5 years ago but, thinking she was done after them, she got rid of everything when they outgrew it or no longer used it.  SURPRISE!!  "I am pregnant"!  New city, new friends, family, and nothing left for baby.  So I decided to throw a small but lovely shower.

Here nursery is gray, yellow and I added a hint of blue for the decor.  Chevron, and anchors decorated the table.  I used a plain old plastic tablecloth for the bottom, notice how I cut the edges so it looked scalloped?  Simple and easy things to just take inexpensive things up a notch.  I found a perfect piece of fabric in gray with anchors for the center, and added the whales to the cupcakes.  I alternated yellow and white chevron plates with light blue plates.  The sweet banner above was made by my sister.

I wanted to really personalize it and decided instead of serving a luncheon, or just traditional cake and nuts, etc....I would create a "Craving Station".  I would serve all of the foods Kayla has been craving during her pregnancy.  We have a close relationship so I was able to do all of this without asking her.  OK, let me back up....  Back east where we are from, showers are a surprise.  The bride, mommy to be, isn't supposed to know when it is happening.  I tried hard to keep it from her, but I am pretty sure she knew and just didn't tell me.  I did want to add some cupcakes to the mix, and some dipped Oreo's because, well I needed some sweet stuff! 

Here is what she had craved at different times:
Sauerkraut on hot dogs
pizza
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Jordan almonds
pickles

I could have easily just ordered that stuff up and tossed it on a platter and called it good, but, I wanted to fancy it all up if I could and was working on a bit of a budget. 

Sauerkraut and hot dogs, I baked in a casserole dish.  I cut the hot dogs in half, along with the buns, and made them more appetizer sized.
Pizza, I made fancier with this recipe, Pizza Crescents
Peanut Butter and Jelly, I turned into roll ups.  I cut the crust off of plain white bread.  Rolled the bread out and spread peanut butter and jelly on it, and rolled it up.  Something a little fancier than plain old sandwiches, I thought!
Jordan Almonds, just served in a bowl!
Cupcakes, I made and used my butter cream cheese frosting.  I met a lady at a vendor show recently who owns a baking company.  With the theme being anchors and whales, she made me some whale toppers for my cupcakes.  Are they not precious?!!  You can find her here, if you are in the Omaha area, make sure to like her FB page,  Sugar Spiced and Everything Iced and tell her you found her at Chefwannabe!

 Now for games that we played.  Well, I don't know if I would call them games.  OK, maybe one was, but one was just for her.  I had wanted to give her a nice set of jammies for the hospital and after.  So I decided to ask my son, her husband some questions about her pregnancy.  The day of the shower, I asked her to guess his answers, so she was going to get the prize, which was her pajamas.  So if that is a game, OK, that was the game one.  The second game was actually a twofer.  I filled a gray storage cube with random baby things.  Outfits, bath necessities, socks, baby wipes, bottle brush, orajel, diaper rash cream, etc.  I had Kayla carry the basket around the room, and asked everyone to notice what was in the basket and what Kayla had on.  After she went around the room once, I had her go into a different room, and her guests had to write down everything they remembered.  All of those items became my gift to her.  I had also decorated with some packages of diapers with big bows on them as a centerpiece on the coffee table and those were also part of my gift to her.  See how you this budgeting thing comes in?

Here is a not so great, but still a photo of the table.  I had a chalk board that simply said, "CRAVING STATION" on it.  Everyone seemed happy with the food, I personally thought it was genius.  Pizza, pickles, peanut butter and jelly, etc.........very fun and unexpected!

For drinks I simply served a blue raspberry lemonade and some cucumber water.

I hope you enjoyed how I threw my baby shower on a budget!  Anyone can do it.  OH WAIT, I forgot the whale shaped cheese crackers that I found, so I simply had to toss them in the mix as well!!

Here are a couple of maternity photos I wanted to share............. (yes, I took them)

I can't wait to be a Nonna again, number 4 for me!  I am so thankful Kayla got to celebrate this birth with her new friends here in Nebraska and her aunts and cousins who love her so much.

Now...............we wait.................

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