While pastel lavender is more little-girly and associated with Easter eggs, dark purple is a really sexy, slinky color and that's what this purple baby shower is aiming for. Create or purchase invitations that have this feel. If you're up to it, weave satin ribbons in different widths and shades of purple into a mat for the front of your invitation. Add some tiny purple fabric flowers or purple rhinestones if you like. Cut out a card “frame” to cover the edges and write or print out the details in purple ink.
All the decorations should be in purple, of course, but use at least three different shades to add variety. Or, make some pearlescent or metallic. Balloons are the easiest way to scream “Party!” and streamers make a close second. Cover as much of the ceiling as you can in purple Japanese paper lanterns and change the light bulbs purple, too.
Cover the tables in a light purple tablecloth and have tall cylindrical vases filled with purple glass stones or marbles and purple-tinted water. Float a few heads of hydrangeas or purple asters with floating purple candles. Surround the vases with white river rocks. Use white dishes to serve the food and napkins in various shades of purple for every place setting.
Throw a lavender tablecloth over the buffet table, too. Echo the table centerpieces with more cylindrical vases but have some holding the flowers above the water and others with the flowers anchored under the purple water with clear glass pebbles. Arranged in a variety of heights, this centerpiece is as easy as it is eye-catching.
Of course, serve purple food at the purple baby shower. Start the meal with a light purple cabbage slaw paired with savory blueberry muffins. Follow with a chilled purple potato vicchysoisse and a light pasta tossed with beet-infused purple pasta. As a beverage, serve Purple Rain Champagne. Lightly tint an opened bottle of sparkling white wine or sparkling non-alcoholic white grape juice with three drops of blue food coloring and four drops of red. Twirl the bottle slowly to tint all the liquid purple.
Not having a cake is definitely verboten. A great replacement for a large, tiered cake are little cupcakes covered with purple-tinted frosting and accented with white and lavender sugar flowers.
You should have games at your purple baby shower. One fun game is a bubble-blowing contest using purple bubble gum. Give a prize to the winner – say a purple toothbrush? You could also have a trivia game that has only answers that contain the word “purple.”
For favors, a sachet of lavender heads and a box of lavender rose
petal soaps packed into a lavender Chinese take-out box and tied
up with a purple ribbons is just perfect. It's enough to give anyone
a purple cow!