Is there anything better than pink in a variety of shades mixed with dark chocolate (and I DO mean the kind you eat as well as the color...) to celebrate a baby girl? I know, I know... It is a color scheme that has been used over and over for showers and weddings - but hey, it works - and quite beautifully I might add! Why mess with a classic, right?
My friend really liked the colors AND she has a sweet spot for dark dark chocolate (nice because it worked so well with the color scheme). So what is a girl supposed to do when her friend expresses such desires? Why, throw her a baby "sprinkle" she hopes her friend would be proud of!!!
I held a brunch for her and several friends and family. The handmade invitations had the underlying theme of "a blossom of love from the Father above". Thus, I had roses and rose petals scattered all over the place - including the walk up to the door where guests were met with a pretty pink feathered boa and welcome sign. I also interspersed ribbons in the pink and chocolate theme with blossoms on them in different places.
Once inside, guests were invited to fill out a name tag, write in a handmade advice book for the baby, as well as sign the guest "book" which was the mat surrounding a maternity photograph of the mother. Then the guests could help themselves to a "Momosa" - non-alcoholic version of Mimosa (basically just orange juice and ginger ale mixed together, and I added a drop of pink or red food coloring to add some intensity and "rosiness" to the color). I also had "Baby Soft" Sangria (non-alcoholic) and a water bar (with slices of lemon and cucumber) available.
Games (My friend is a game fanatic so I knew we had to have some):
Baby Scrabble - paper scrabble boards for each guest made up of the baby's name. Guests were then given envelopes of paper tiles and given time to come up with words associated with baby, pregnancy, etc. Highest score wins!
Who Has the Best Ducky? (my friend has a soft spot for rubber ducks...) - basically a game of luck. I would ask questions like: who was born on their exact due date, who weighed 10 pounds or more at birth, etc. and the women who fell into those categories would get an opportunity to fish around a small tub of rubber ducks. I had predetermined which duck would be the "best" duck each time so that no one duck would be the "best" in a row. Then if they picked the right duck - they received a prize. This was an ongoing game throughout the shower - we would just stop and I would ask some questions and the ladies would take turns picking out a duck and hope to win a prize.
Candy Bar Game - Thanks to http://simplycreativeinsanity.blogspot.com/ I learned of this game. If you visit her blog, she can tell you more about it! :)
The baby "sprinkle" brunch menu:
Petite four cheese and cheese/broccoli quiches
Breakfast parfait (layers of granola and yogurt and whipped cream)
Apricot and mustard glazed sausages (find it on epicurious.com)
Cranberry apple chicken salad on top of homemade honey walnut bread
Fruit stems (think fruit kabobs)
Dark triple chocolate cake (find it on epicurious.com under "triple chocolate celebration cake") - this also doubled as my Charm Cake (more on what that is later in the week).
Baby "sprinkle" decor:
In addition to those items and pictures shown above, I had vases of roses in pink and slightly orange pink shades. I added some pink food coloring to the water for a "rosy" touch.
A slide show was playing in the background showcasing maternity pictures of the mommy-to-be taken by a local photographer.
A fun "blackboard" hung over the fireplace and on it was written in pink chalk the quote:
"Little girls are precious gifts wrapped in love serene. Their dresses tied with sashes and futures tied with dreams."
Prizes for games were located on the mantel and tied with chocolate or pink ribbon or located in a pink gift bag nearby.
What does a girl do when she does not have any nifty little card holders to showcase labels of food - and little or no time to make some? Why she buys foldable placecards of course! Mine had a pink border with flowers and I added a chocolate bow after I had run them through the printer. Voila! Cute labels for food that did not cost me a fortune - I think I got them for a dollar on sale!
And for the grand finale: In honor of my dark-chocolate-loving-friend, I had a dark chocolate treats bar set up where the women could choose from such eye-opening delights as dark chocolate truffles, dark chocolate coconut clusters, dark chocolate walnut truffles, etc. - you get the picture - it was YUMMY!!! But isn't dark chocolate always? Once they chose their treats, they could place them in a cute little pink box and tie it up with pink ribbon - or they could just eat it right there... Honestly now, what would you have done? :)
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