Domestic Diva Recipe Shower
Stock your favorite Bride-to-Be's new kitchen with helpful tools and heirloom recipes.
Invitations. Cue your guests that you'll be filling the Guest of Honor's recipe book by sending Domestic Diva Invitations. These bright-colored panel cards have plenty of room for the who, what, when, and where plus directions for your guests to download a free recipe form (pdf) that coordinates with The Shower Diva's Domestic Diva Recipe Binder. They're completely personalized and pre-printed so all you have to do is address and stamp the coordinating envelopes. You can even purchase matching Domestic Diva postage stamps to give your envelope a designer look.
Decor. Take your decorating inspiration from the Domestic Diva invitation.
At the buffet and dining tables, start with blue polka-dotted tableware and white linens. Tie one strand of yellow gingham ribbon and one strand of pink gingham ribbon around the napkins and drinking glasses. Add bouquets of pink and yellow flowers. Less formal blossoms are in order for this fun, casual theme. Try bundles of snapdragons or mixed bouquest of daisies, lilies, marigolds and/or scabosia in clear vases set on yellow gingham kitchen towels. Sprinkle the heads of light blue pansies across the towels - around the vases of flowers. Place similar flower arrangements at the gift table, beverage stations, and other strategic locations.
If you're having an evening shower, add white candles wrapped with a strand of yellow gingham ribbon and a strand of pink gingham ribbon to create additional light.
Aim for a light, cheerful look throughout the party space.
Refreshment. Since tried-and-true recipes are front and center at this shower, ask the Guest of Honor which family favorites she prefers. Grandma's famous Cherry Pie? Aunt Juanita's melt-in-your-mouth Pineapple Upside Down Cake? Her best friend's Stuffed Mushrooms? Make sure you go straight to the source and either ask them to contribute their signature treats or ask for the recipe so you can prepare the Bride-to-Be's choices. Label these special dishes so guests know they're being treated to a family tradition. BadaBadaBaby.com has gingham tags and that can be personalized. Order some in pink, yellow, or blue without pre-printed text. Using a calligraphy marker, write the name of each special dish on a tag and place it in a plastic card stake (the kind you get when you buy plants or flowers) or placecard holder. If you use plastic stakes, just pop them in the edge of the serving dish.
Fill in the menu by browsing The Shower Diva's recipe library for delectable treats recommended by the Diva Team.
Entertainment. No shower is complete with out games and prizes. Sprinkled throughout the festivities, games keep the action up and give guests something in common to talk about -- even if they just met.
- Envelope raffle. As guests arrive, ask them to pre-address a thank you note envelope and place the completed envelopes into a basket. Once everyone is at the party with a refreshing beverage in hand, ask the Guest of Honor to draw one envelope out of the basket and award that guest a gift. The real winner will be the Guest of Honor because she doesn’t have to hand address envelopes when she writes her thank you notes! Diva Tip: When the Guest of Honor opens gifts, have someone write which gift was given by each guest on the inside flap of their thank you note envelope. That way, the Guest of Honor will know what she received from each guest. Once the envelope is sealed, no one will even see your notation!
- Jackpot Bridal Shower Game. This pull-tab game is easy to play and the pink wedding cake design goes well with any food themed party. Just have your guests pull back the three perforated tabs. The guest who finds three hearts in a row wins a prize!
- Bridal Shower Fill in the Blanks Game, Recipe Shower Version. Give everyone a Bridal Shower Fill in the Blanks game she
et. Play by having guests use each pair of letters as the beginning and end of the longest word they can think of - but in this version, challenge them to come up with food, cooking or recipe words for extra points. Each word is worth one point but make each word directly related to food, cooking or recipes worth two points. Three-syllable words are worth one extra point per word. Give guests 10 minutes to think of as many words as they can and award a prize to the guest with the most points. - Herbs and Spices. Gather about 10 herbs and spices and 10 paper cups. Mark each paper cup with a number. Place a different herb or spice in each cup and cover the cup with paper. Blue paper napkins and cups from your tableware supplies will tie this game to your decor. Secure the napkins to the cup with a strand of yellow gingham ribbon and a strand of pink gingam ribbon. Make a small hole in the napkin so guests can smell what is inside the cup but can't see it. Give each guest a recipe card with the numbers 1 through 10 written on it. Each guest has to guess the herb or spice in each cup and write their guess down on their recipe card. The guest with the most correct guesses wins a prize.
- Domestic Diva Recipe Binder. Of course the star of this shower will be the recipe binder, assembled by all the guests. Have the binder in a central location so it's easy for people to insert their recipe and browse the other contributions. Encourage guests to decorate their recipe page or download The Shower Diva's free Domestic Diva Recipe Form (pdf) and include a special message to the Bride-to-Be.
Prizes. Domestic Diva totes or aprons make excellent prizes for this shower. Personalize them with the Guest of Honor's name and shower date to make them extra special.
Favors. Send your guests home with handpainted bridal shower cookies personalized with a pink, yellow, or blue gingham tag (this time, have them printed with the Bride-to-Be's name and the date of the shower). They will be a delicious reminder of your yummy recipe shower.
Thank You Notes. Domestic Diva Thank You Notes are a must. Order the number needed at the same time you order the Domestic Diva invitations so you have them on hand for your envelope raffle. Your Guest of Honor will be thrilled to have this small but important detail taken care of so she can send thank you notes right after the shower.
Looking for more bridal shower theme ideas? View our complete list!
