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Elegant LuncheonAlthough there has been a definite shift towards couple showers, there are still a large number of showers that are strictly for women only. And why not since, traditionally, baby showers have been a women’s only event and as many will say, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” Well, there is certainly nothing broken about having an Elegant Luncheon for a baby shower. Every woman loves a chance to dress nicely, go to a fancy place, and enjoy the laughter and company of other women. An Elegant Luncheon is great way to unwind and enjoy the arrival of a new baby in a purely feminine manner.
Flowers, flowers and more flowers. Actually, to be completely honest, I would host an Elegant Luncheon at a venue like an elegant tea room or a fancy restaurant. It can be done in a home, but you will want to make sure everyone has enough sitting plus it should be a served meal rather than a brunch. If you can hire a caterer, I would strongly suggest it so that you don’t have to worry about the mess or preparation time. If you are going with an elegant lunch in a nice tea room or other venue, you can still add your own little touches to the decorations. As I mentioned earlier, have flowers at the table. Place small hand-sized bouquets tied with ribbon in the center of each place setting. This will decorate your table and provide each guest with a little gift as soon as they sit down. If you have a seating plan, add the place card to the bouquet as a little tag that hangs from the ribbon. On the table itself, have a few arrangements and then take the primary color that you are using and run ribbon down the center of the table, wrapping it around the arrangements in a whimsical yet elegant design. With the arrangements themselves, you should keep them low so people can converse across the table without being blinded by the flowers. Each guest should be able to see across the table without anything obscuring her view. Subsequently, you don’t want the arrangements too wide either since they can become an annoyance if people are constantly shifting them to put down food or beverages. Other than that, I would let the venue itself deal with the majority of the decorations, and you can then save some money to instead put towards the table spread. Also: main decorations section Invitations The theme is elegance so the obvious invitation choice would be an elegantly printed one. There are many online catalogues that have wonderful invitations perfect for this theme, some even having customized printing. Make sure to mention in your invitation that it will be at an upscale location and that it is women only. Also: main invitations section
When it comes to gifting the mother-to-be at an Elegant Luncheon, any present is okay but try to keep them small and easy to transport. Don’t purchase large gifts like cribs or other large furniture. If you want to give a gift of that size, purchase it and then wrap it up as a photograph in a card. In the card you can say, “An elegant crib is much too big for this elegant room, but it will be delivered soon!” The expectant mother will appreciate seeing the gift and will eagerly await the delivery. For the guests, I would suggest giving simple but elegant favors. There are many online sites with all sorts of lovely favor ideas. You could also give small gift certificates for the guests to bring their spouse back to the restaurant for a special night out. The restaurant might even give you a discount on this. Lastly, you could make personalized stationary that is beautiful and very thoughtful. We received a question recently from one of our visitors asking how to give special honor to the grandmothers-to-be and whether a corsage would be a good idea. We think that small wrist corsages or lightweight pinned corsages are both wonderful gifts, but you should avoid anything too large and heavy. Another idea, if you wanted a more permanent commemoration gift for them, would be a personalized charm bracelet or brooch. If your budget allows, this can be a very thoughtful touch that many family members can chip in to do. Also: main gift section & main favors section
Since I am all for catering or dining out for this theme, I am not going to give you a list of recipes to try out. What I am going to suggest is that no matter how elegant you want the actual shower to be, the food does not have to be too fancy. I am a very picky person and am not about to eat Quail in Truffles Sauce or Foie Gras (which is derived from duck liver produced with very unethical methods). Although some people may love this type of food, you will have some guests that are left feeling very hungry and very unsatisfied with the party. Instead, order elegant but simple meals that everyone will love. Also, make sure that you have several courses instead of just one meal. This includes an appetizer, main course, salad course, and dessert. Depending on what style of meal you are having (i.e. In French cuisine, you may have a cheese course and a fish course). You should also have bread available for the guests at all times throughout the meal. Also: main recipe section
Even if you are having the shower outside of the home, you can still have games. The only difference is that your games will be ones that can be played sitting down. Some great games are Baby Names, Pregnancy Trivia contributed by Fela, and Motherly Advice contributed by Tammy, since these can all be done while sitting at the table and without people having to yell. Also: main games section Do you have an idea to add to this theme? Send it to us! |
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