There are Dr Seuss party invitations readily available or you could download your favorite images from his books and send them off with a funny rhyme or two. Ask each guest to bring a Dr. Seuss book as a gift for the newborn. Stick to the black and white theme for the Cat in the Hat baby shower but add punches of color like bright lime green or candy apple red.
For decorations, go a little off-kilter. Have black and white and colored balloons all over but use colorful ribbons instead of string. Following the book “Great Day for Up,” make a giant kite and hang it in one corner, with more ribbons criss-crossing from it and acting like streamers in the room.
For each table, have a goldfish bowl as a centerpiece with either one or two fish (One Fish, Two Fish). Fill the bottoms with clear glass marbles. Make fish cutouts from orange card and scatter them on the table like confetti. Cover the table with dotted red and white fabric and use black and white tableware.
Have another goofy tablecloth for the buffet table and fashion a “lamp” from thick wire and an old lampshade to highlight the pink and blue punch you'll be serving (label them Pink Yink Ink Drink and True Blue Who Goo) with ice cubes that have gummy fish frozen into them.
For the food, you must have Green Eggs and Ham (scrambled eggs with basil pesto and ham slices served on a platter) with garlic bread, a cheese tree made from a styrofoam tree shape and covered with cheese cubes (Fox in Socks) and a sundae bar for “schlopps” with a cherry on top (The Thinks You Can Think)!
A Cat in the Hat Cake is a must! Either make a cake that looks like his stovepipe hat or a strawberry pink one with white frosting topping and marshmallow decorations that is a little lopsided, just like in the book. Serve it on a big white plate and surround it with mini-marshmallows.
Play some silly Cat in the Hat baby shower games. How many things can you balance on your head like the Cat in the Hat? Stack as many plastic plates, cups, and glasses on your partner's head and see! The team with the most things on the head is the winner.
You could also host a hat decorating activity. Have a collection of hats (either adult or kid size) and as many things as you think you'll need to decorate – ribbons, artificial flowers, shiny pins, fabric pens, etc. and then judge who created the best hat design like the “Five Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.” Give the winners small bags of goldfish (One Fish, Two Fish).
As favors, send everyone home with funny socks and peppermint foot
lotion (The Foot Book) and a seedling in a pot (The Lorax).