To kick off your baby is brewing baby shower theme, send out invitations that will tell everyone exactly what you're planning. A postcard with a picture of a teacup and a teapot would be setting the stage very nicely. A wonderful way to send out the invites would be to print the baby shower details on a plain card and attach a teabag to the front with either a glue stick or some hot glue and write underneath, “A baby is brewing, why not join us for a cuppa?”
Set the ambiance for this baby shower by blanketing the room in comforting tones of coffee, tea, milk, and chocolate. Cover the chairs and tables with brown fabric in chocolate and cafe au lait tones. Set palms around the room to evoke a tea house mood and decorate the ceiling with Chinese paper lanterns in brown and cream. Scatter votive candles around the room to make the mood more relaxing.
Set the tables with brown fabric, too. Put a teapot in the middle of the table to act as a centerpiece before the tea party starts in earnest. It's nice to have different tea sets at each table to make it more unique and interesting. Scatter little cream and chocolate flower heads around the tea set and have votive candles on the tables as well. Set each place setting with white plates, white napkins, and real silver. Tuck in a brown flower into the napkin as little decoration.
As for the buffet table, swath it in brown cloth, too! Serve your food on white platters and scatter cream flowers around the table. For the centerpiece, have your baby shower cake elevated and placed right in the middle of the table.
Typical tea party food is great here. Serve a selection of little sandwiches like ham, chicken salad, and curried egg. You could also have some plain pastries like palmiers as a foil for the sweet beverages. Choose at least three sweet pastries to serve – one crunchy, one creamy, and one cake. For the crunchy, maybe a little cookie like an amaretti would be great. A creamy pastry could be a cream puff with chocolate sauce, and the baby shower cake would be the cake.
Serve an old favorite for your baby shower cake. Why not choose a pretty berry-topped cheesecake or a classic yellow cake filled and topped with fudge frosting and decorated with whole walnut halves? The tea party is time to reminisce about the past, not really time to try out new and exotic stuff.
As for the favors, why not give each guest their own tea cup and
a selection of gourmet tea and coffee bags along with a thank-you
note. Give them a little extension of a great afternoon!