USVI-On-Line

I am looking for some help on planning the menu for a baby shower on Feb 16th. (Yikes - not too far away - I need to get with it!) It will be small - 8-10 people. I will do a few simple appetizers and a sit down lunch. I don't want something too fussy, and will have a green salad and fruit salad as 2 of the side dishes. No mayo dishes as some of the guests don't eat it at all. I would appreciate any ideas or pointers to a website with "small party planning ideas".

I looked at ideas online for decorating cookies for a baby shower. There are some really cute ideas out there, although some of them would take way too long to decorate. I am thinking about making some small gingerbread men and decorating them in a baby boy motif.

Thanks!

What about a couple of different types of soup and some homemade easy breads? You can make everything in advance and just reheat at mealtime. If you are doing appetizers and salads too people might not be starving for a huge meal especially if it is a lunch. Not sure what the weather is like where you are, but it has been really cold here and so I would do a chowder (either clam, corn, or chicken) and a vegetable based soup myself, something hearty like minestrone with pesto or pasta fagioli.

What about quiche to go with a green or fruit salad? Maybe a meat based one and a veggie based one.
I did 4 quiches for a larger sized graduation brunch and they were a huge hit.

Just helped with my second baby shower and along with a fruit and green salad we had croissants with chicken salad and those warm ham sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls ( http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-ham- ... andwiches/). They were very easy and a big hit. We made it simple and ordered a cake. White sangria and lemonade were the beverages. Make it simple for yourself so you can enjoy!

Thanks so much for the ideas. It really helped get me going to plan the menu. Its cold and snowy here in the Virginia suburbs of D.C. so I decided some soup would be a good idea. I want to be able to make some of the food ahead of time, since I am not so good with timing of multiple hot dishes. I almost went the quiche route because I had some fantastic quiche at a friend's house last weekend, but I need the oven for other things. So my menu is:

- Wedding soup with meatballs

- Spanikopita (thanks to Trader Joes frozen small size - tried them ahead of time to make sure good and they are actually delicious). They take 20 minutes in the oven, so I will bake them at the last minute.

- Mac and cheese - a "must have" dish for my nieces (3 and 5yo)

- Salad - a bowl of mixed lettuce with carrots, red and yellow peppers and radishes. I will have a platter with "fun" toppings - Greek olives, marinated artichoke hearts, pepperoncini, feta cheese, etc. I have some picky guests coming, so this will allow everyone to make their salad the way they like it.

- Dessert - berry fruit salad, cut out sugar cookies - teddy bears decorated with blue and white - its a boy and they like those colors) and brownies (made by SIL)

Now if it will just STOP with the snow and ice so everyone can get here safely on Sunday! We have a foot of snow and now its sleeting and raining, with more snow coming tonight.

Looks like a great menu. How did the shower go? Was the weather a factor in the attendance?

The shower went well, and it was a warm family time. Thanks for asking. We had 14 inches of snow, and my nephew had 2 feet, but everyone was able to get here safely. My dear hubby shoveled snow, and mashed it down with his Jeep to make enough parking spots at the house The food turned out well and it was nice that I could make some of it ahead of time.

My only "complaint" of sorts is about my little nieces whom I love dearly. They are cute as can be, and had us laughing with their antics. But they are pretty wild and loud, so it was hard to converse at times. They also put their grubby little hands all over the decorated cookies remaining on the tray. I don't like kids handling food like that, but not everyone teaches their kids the same manners. What can I say...its family and we love them. And yes, I sent the rest of the cookies home with them