Wild about Riley: A co-ed baby shower

This weekend, I hosted my first co-ed baby shower. I've hosted co-ed parties before, but this one was tricky since guys don't exactly jump at the chance to guess the circumference of the mother-to-be with ribbon while drinking sherbet punch!

Selecting a theme that wasn't too frilly was key. I found hot pink and lime green invitations, with a zebra print, at Joyful Heart Designs and ran with the theme "We're Wild About Riley!"

Elements of a traditional baby shower were incorporated, but with louder colors and zebra print fabrics. The diaper cake was 4 tiers and topped with a zebra stuffed animal. The flower arrangements were hot pink and lime green -- some incorporated wire forms of a pregnant lady with ribbon. The menu included pulled pork sandwiches (compliments of my mother-in-law, Grace), fruit kabobs, smoked salmon hors d'oeuvres, brownies topped with icing and raspberries, chicken salad sandwiches on mini-croissants, bite sized spinach and cheese quiches, strawberry and spinach salad, and vegetables for dipping in ranch dressing.

Being a co-ed affair, beer and wine were served, along with lemonade and an assortment of other non-alcoholic beverages. At the request of the mother-to-be, her friend Wendy made lime green sherbet punch, which was suprisingly a hit with the guys!

Instead of playing orchistrated games, I set up a table where people could liesurely taste different flavors of baby food and guess the number of gumballs in a large baby bottle. Guests wrote their answers in pencils that were custom made with the theme "Wild about Riley," then submitted their answers in a decorated photo box with a slit in the top. By the time the parents-to-be were finished opening presents, almost everyone had voluntarily played the games and we announced the winners. Suprisingly, more guys tasted the baby food than girls!

Strawberries dipped in white chocolate and then decorated with dark chocolate stripes (similar to zebra stripes) were handed out as favors. On the back of each strawberry was a lime green sticker with Riley's expected due date.

All-in-all, the event was a success. There was one small tragedy however -- the cake was supposed to be three tiers, but a bumpy ride back from the bakery caused the top tier to come loose and slide off!! Luckily, the bottom two tiers and the fondant bow at the top of the cake were salvageable and the cake still looked great...just a little smaller than before! I suppose every event has its share of small "party fouls," but this one literally "took the cake!" No worries though...sometimes you just need to laugh about those kinds of things. Parties are really all about fun, right? Enjoy the pictures!