There's no more romantic time than when the leaves are starting to turn color and the air starts to become crisp and chilly. It's autumn!
This definitely isn't a dull season at all. There are certain things that you can do to ensure that everyone will know autumn was your inspiration for a beautifully earthy baby shower.
First, invite the friends over with fall-themed invitations. These are simple enough to purchase but you could also make your own, which are definitely affordable and just as sweet. Use card stock made of handmade paper embedded with leaves and flowers in autumn colors of yellow, orange, and red or with leaf skeletons as decorations. Add a personal wording on the invitations and decorate the front with either leaf skeletons, leaf stamps, or pressed leaves.
Decorations are easy when you think “Harvest Home.” Apart from the colored leaves which you can find in abundance all around you, you can also make use of all the pumpkins, squashes, and other gourds which are glutting the market at this time. Colored ears of corn, curlicued sticks, and fruit like apples, pears, and persimmons are simple enough to pile up in carved wooden bowls or woven baskets in the centers of the tables. Set off with large, cream-colored or white pillar candles, it's truly a soothing and beautiful look.
And what is a baby shower without great food? Be as simple as the season and serve a buffet of cheeses and breads and fruit, warm dips such as cheesy artichoke with bread sticks, and a warm pasta dish to fill everybody up. A really earthy choice such as sun-dried tomatoes with black olives and capers dusted with fresh Parmesan cheese will not be refused.
Spicy hot apple cider would be a perfect beverage for this, although you could serve some soda for those guests who would prefer it. Pie would be perfect for a dessert. Apple, pecan, or pumpkin? If the choice is too difficult, there's nothing wrong with serving more than one kind.
Let the activities center around the season as well. Why not have a game that involves guessing spices? Since ground spices just about look alike, the only way to tell the difference is by smell. Cover the labels of spice jars with pretty autumn-colored paper. Make sure that the names can't be seen and number each spice jar. Keep a cheat sheet so you don't forget!
Give each guest a piece of paper that has corresponding numbers on it and have them sniff the spices and write down their names. The guest who gets the most guesses right should win a prize – possibly some recipe cards or maybe a spice-scented candle.
Your favors should echo the season as well. Why not use those miniature
pumpkins in your décor? When prettied up with a bow at the
stem, they become a pretty favor to take home. Some other ideas
could be pecan tarts, leaf-shaped sugar cookies decorated with tinted
royal icing, or little tins of spiced tea (Earl Gray is a wonderful
autumn-inspired blend) or tisanes (cinnamon-apple tea is wonderful
on a cold afternoon).