Pine Marsh Salad - Jello Salad

Best Jello Salad EVER!!!

In saucepan or microwave melt:

            16 large marshmallows (160 small) 

            1 cup milk 

Pour over:

            1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese

                              softened with milk mix

            1 large pkg. lime Jell-O

            2/3  cup sour cream 

            2½  cups crushed pineapple

Whip in a separate bowl:

            ½ pint whipping cream 

                  

I will substitute 8-12oz of Cool Whip the whipping cream if necessary. It is sweeter, but it works fine. 

Fold cream into Jell-o mixture. Place in desired bowl. Cover. 

Chill until set. Keep refrigerated.      

Little Boy Blue, Baby Shower

Baby showers are a special way for family and friends to celebrate a baby. It is fun for everyone to "shower" the new baby with gifts. Creating a shower is one of the funnest activities there are, but if you have never planned one before it can be a little overwhelming. There are several key elements to a traditional shower...

• Decorations
• Activities, Games and Prizes
• Food or Dessert 
• Opening of the gifts

I will go over each of these areas to help design the perfect party. Keep in mind that a shower can be as inexpensive or costly as you choose. So don't panic! It doesn't have to break the bank. Planning ahead will help everything flow smoothly on the day of your party. 

The first thing to do is set a date and time for the event. Make a guest list and decide who will be invited. It is a long-established rule that baby showers are just for ladies, but times are changing and the guest list is entirely up to you. Plan food and activities based upon your guests and the number of people who are attending. 

Send out your invitations. I personal like stamped letters for my invites, but some people use social media to create an event. 

Little Boy Blue, Baby Shower - Decorations

DECORATIONS and Planning

Create a "hotspot" for your activity. A designated gift table of food table works well to define your theme. If you know the gender of the baby it is fun to plan everything around that. I create a special board on Pintrest to plan each of my events. If you do this be sure to set your board to private so all your friends can't see a preview of your event!   

Have a time frame set for your party. I expect a shower to be anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours. If you have guests that you know will be staying longer then this make sure all your events are completed so those that want to leave can make a composed exit whenever they want to. You do NOT want your party to drag on and on! It is your job as hostess/host to keep your events moving from one activity to another. Stay within your set time frame.  

Little Boy Blue, Baby Shower - Activities

ACTIVITIES
  These are fun things that you do at your shower that are not rewarded with a prize. 

Little Boy Blue, Baby Shower - Games and Prizes

GAMES

     

Set up each of your games. There are two basic types of games and I classify them as active and quiet. Typically I try to have two of each. If you have extra time to fill have a "back-up" game ready to go. Set aside an hour or less for the games and if it is taking more time then you planned cut one of them out. Prepare pen/pencils and paper if necessary for the game. Guest may also need something to support their paper while writing. A stack of older magazines works well for this. 

If you have a large group of guests avoid games that only one person can do at a time. An example of this might be passing a new diaper bag around the guest circle to feel in a bag for baby items to guess and then make a list. If you have 6 guests and they each take two minutes to feel in the bag it will take about 15 minutes to complete the game and that would be acceptable time frame. BUT... if you have 20 guest it will take about 45 minutes and your guest will get bored waiting for their turn. 

PRIZES

Have prizes ready for each of your games and have an extra one or two for tie breakers. I also like having a door prize and a booby prize. They don't have to be expensive. I trip to the dollar store can yield excellent results.  

There are so many good websites for baby games I am not going to take the time to make a new list of my own. Just do a web search for best baby games and have fun reading. 

A WORD OF CAUTION... (in my opinion)

Make sure that all the games that you choose are in good taste for your audience. This includes ALL of your guests! 
If you feel even slightly uncomfortable with the content of a game DO NOT DO IT! 

As delightful as that might be to enjoy the mental picture of your boss sitting in a high chair with a pacifier from her/his puckered up mouth it might be best to save that game until you are retired.  

This does not mean that you have to have boring games! There are many fun options, so evaluate your guest list and plan accordingly.  
   
It is your job as hostess/host to make your guest feel at home and have a good time. This can be achieved with many funny games that are in good taste, but it is not a good idea to take it over the top. You need to feel good on the day of your party and worrying about whether or not you made the right choice in appropriate games is something you should not have to worry about.    



Baby-Shower.com Games
TheBump.com Games
beau-coup.com Games

Little Boy Blue, Baby Shower - The Food

FOOD

   Have an assortment of simple nibble foods (nuts, mints, candy, etc.) ready for guests to snack on while they visit and wait for other guests to arrive.    Take one or two while you visit with your guests so they know they are available for eating.

 Food can be very simple. Unless you are planning a full meal and have informed your guest in advance, little finger foods are completely acceptable. 

   Make sure you serve a sweet treat of some kind. It really can be anything you want, but make sure it is something special. Most people choose cake, cupcakes, fancy cookies or something of that nature.   

Pillsbury - Bunny Butt Cookies

Little Boy Blue, Baby Shower - Opening the Presents

OPENING THE PRESENTS

 The mother of the new baby takes a seat of honor and proceeds to open the gifts. This gives everyone a chance to see all of the cute things that where made or purchased for the new baby. 
   Have a "scribe" write down a list of who gave each gift and a small description as each gift is opened. This will greatly help the new parents as they send out thank you cards. 
  It is nice to pass the gifts around the circle of guests, but if a gift is fragile or delicate it can be set aside for display. Designate someone at the end of the guest circle to place gifts carefully in an specified location. 

   

If there are a lot of gifts they will take time to open. You can double up on time if you need to by serving your special dessert while the presents are being opened. You can skip passing the gifts around the circle if guests are eating, but have a display area for them so guests can see them all before they leave.