There are no two things more important to a baby shower than food and games. The food is of course central to any celebration or gathering and is also another way to reinforce the theme of the baby shower while games keep the guests on their toes, whether it's a quiet thinking game or a more physical one.
Actually, no part of party planning gets more attention than the choice of which food to serve. Many people come to a baby shower expecting more of the same in the case of decorations, chit-chat, and games, but consider the food the highlight of the party.
The choice of the perfect food brings your chance to shine. Of course, the cake is a central point to the baby shower. Nothing brings it together like a well-designed and chosen cake. It should reflect the theme of the baby shower and has only one other consideration – it must be the mommy-to-be's favorite flavor. Never mind if most of the guests love chocolate, if the mommy-to-be loves strawberry or pineapple, then that is the flavor the cake must be.
Preferably, choose a light type of food to serve, ones that don't leave to much of a mess and are not that saucy or soupy. Foods that you could probably avoid serving are any type of skewered meat dipped in a think sauce or something juicy like stuffed mushrooms. Mexican food, unfortunately, usually comes in this category unless made in bite-size pieces. If one of these messy foods is requested by the mommy-to-be however, have lots of napkins on hand and some baby wipes to get rid of any untoward stains on clothing.
Games are an important and integral part of baby showers. While most guests dread them for their silliness or sometimes grossness, games are great for making the guests active participants in the baby shower. You could temper the games, of course, and make sure they're not inane! Being silly is usually ok, but making a person feel embarrassed is not.
Again, the mommy-to-be has to be involved in choosing the games somewhat. Some of the games that are suggested involve using her, such as those that guess how big she is around the middle – either in inches or using pieces of string or squares of tissue paper. Some pregnant women are very conscious of their size and would not enjoy that at all.
Of course, there is a baby shower game that combines these two important factors: the baby shower food game. It involves guessing the kind of baby food based on looks, smell and taste. There are about 10 different kinds of baby food served in little numbered dixie cups and put out on a tray. The more variety you have the better, so have a selection of fruits, vegetables, meats, and meat-veg combinations. The guests are given a piece of paper and a pencil and are asked to give their best guess on what type of baby food it is. The guest that has the most number of correct guesses is the winner.
A fun but messy food game involves one guest feeding the other. Have a shower curtain available to cover the guest that's to be fed! The guests pair off and one guest is to feed the other a usual type of baby food like vanilla custard. The only catch is that the spoon is rather small and they have to be really fast! The fastest pair wins the game, of course.