Sweet Baby Shower

Today I hosted a Sweets themed baby shower for my sister-in-law with one of her best friends (we also hosted her bridal shower together).  I had way too much fun planning for the event and tried to keep the food both interesting and easy.  And yes, the shower was on a Wednesday evening.  I've attended a few wedding and baby showers on weeknights.  I think it is a great way to ensure guest attendance during busy months and a nice change to busy weekends.

Nothing says sweets like chocolate!  Here I'm finishing the mini brownie bites dessert.

Each mini brownie is coated in a chocolate ganache.  A quick but elegant looking dessert... you can make the brownies from a box mix and bake in mini cupcake tins.  Or if you're tight on time, buy premade mini brownies. I much prefer Metropolitan Market's mini brownies to any other brand.  Create a ganache by combining and slowly heating/melting 8oz semi-sweet chocolate, 1 cup heavy cream, 2 Tbsp light corn syrup and 2 tsp vanilla.  Dip each brownie in the ganache and set down to firm.  Top with a piece of fruit, a single nut, jelly bean, sprinkles, M&M, edible flowers. The possibilities are endless.

I made a carseat cover for Tonya in her favorite color combo, grey and yellow.  This may be a bit more feminine (they don't know sex of baby), but I couldn't resist this fabric due to the colors! 

The brownies ready to go...

A gumball filled vase topped with a tissue paper puff (from Tonya's wedding!), and a menu for the Macaroni & Cheese bar toppings.  Guests could top their M&C with chopped green onions, blue cheese, crumbled bacon, or tomato. 

Lollipops, candy bowls, lemonade and personalized straws for each guest. 

I love personalized straws to avoid people losing their glasses.

Nothings much cuter than swirled lollipops!

The buffet almost ready for guests.  In addition to M&C we had fruit salad, green salad, greek salad.  And for dessert we had mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, brownie bites, and homemade kettle korn. 

My favorite part of the party were the take home gifts.  I made mini mixed fruit pies for each guest to take home.  The fabric topping each pie coordinated with the candy colors and table cloth from buffet table. 

We didn't want to play any games, so we opted for optional guest activities.  Because the baby's sex is unknown, we had a poster for guests to guess the sex, weight, and birthday of baby as well as a place to write down wishes or baby name ideas.  

Me with my sister in law and Alexis the co-host (who is due with her 3rd boy in August!) 

*tip - you don't need to invest in fancy tablecloths.  I will typically use yards of fabric in fun patterns or even a denim.  Because our dining table is over 100" long, most attractive tablecloths cost $150+.  And that drives me crazy, especially if red wine or an oily dish is spilled on to the cloth and gets stained.  But, I can buy 4 yards of fabric for around $30.