One of my favorite baby shower themes is the Baby-Q – it’s easy on the budget, works for both co-ed and your traditional, girls-only baby shower, planning the menu is a cinch (whether your preparing the food or having it catered), and they are just plain cute!
While it’s definitely easier to plan a Baby-Q in the summertime or warmer months (here in Michigan, that’s about 3 months out of the year), Baby-Q is a classic baby shower theme that can easily work year-round.
When it comes to planning the perfect Baby-Q shower, here’s what you’ll need to consider:
I’ve covered each of these categories in detail below to help your Baby-Q to go off without a hitch!
Baby-Q Invitations
The first thing you’ll need to consider when it comes to invitations for your Baby-Q shower is whether you’ll be passing out good old-fashioned paper invitations or if you will go the electronic route.
There are lots of options for electronic invitations. You could consider creating a Facebook event or using an email invitation service (like Paperless Post or Evite.com). Both of these options make managing RSVPs a bit simpler.
Alternatively, you could manually send an email to the guest list or you could send out a simple text message invitation. These are simple options, but a little more effort can go a long way toward making guests feel welcomed and setting the stage for an awesome themed shower.
That’s why I’m partial to the paper invitation option – that, and there’s just something about getting a piece of mail, and hanging it up on the fridge!
Remember that your invitation will set the theme for the whole Baby-Q shower, so make sure it’s something you love and something that will be easy to carry through to your decorations, games, and any other areas of the shower.
My Baby-Q Party Toolkit comes with customizable invitations as well as signs and a banner, food and drink menus, and games. You can download it here for everything you need to host your Baby-Q themed baby shower.
Baby-Q Decorations
Once the invitations are out the door, it’s time to start thinking about decorations! To make sure your guests feel welcomed, proper signage is a must. Simple table decorations can help keep a consistent style throughout your party, and paying attention to the little details can go a long way toward tying your whole Baby-Q together.
Signage for your Baby-Q Shower
Great signage includes everything from where to park to what’s the difference between those two yummy looking desserts. Here are some signs to consider for your party:
- Parking
- Welcome
- Food menu
- Beverage menu
- Dessert table
- Gift table
- Game “table” (optional)
Table Decor + Centerpieces for your Baby-Q
Floral centerpieces can be a great way to elevate your Baby-Q to the next level. If you have fresh flowers you can cut, consider using what you have and putting them in mason jars. A simple strip of burlap and a ribbon tied around front is all you need to tie those fresh cut flowers in with your Baby-Q theme.
If you don’t have flowers you can cut, baby’s breath is an inexpensive option, but so elegant and whimsical for a baby shower. You can pick some up at almost any grocery store!
I also love the look of gingham for a Baby-Q. It’s classic and easy to carry through everything from tablecloths and placemats to napkins and tableware. If you want to tie your centerpieces into your theme a bit more, consider using red and white gingham ribbon or pick up some simple gingham placemats to place under your centerpieces.
And don’t forget to make some extra centerpieces to scatter around the rest of the party! Think about gift and dessert tables, food and drink tables, and any other areas that could use a bit more umph to tie them in with the Baby-Q theme.
Baby-Q Menu Ideas
Food Menu
Perhaps the best part about throwing a Baby-Q is how simple the menu can be! Burgers and dogs or brats are a staple barbeque food that everybody loves. They are inexpensive, and you can surely find a guy who would be willing to man the grill for your party (if not, try twisting his arm with some beer).
Another option I love is pulled pork sandwiches. This is my favorite pulled pork recipe. You just throw a big pork butt in the crockpot all day and shred it up! Sometimes I’ll leave the sauce off entirely and offer a couple of different sauce options for guests to choose from. Honestly, with the rosemary and basil, this recipe doesn’t even need sauce.
Once you’ve decided on a main dish, it’s time to start thinking about sides. Some pretty standard barbeque sides that are easy to pull together include coleslaw, baked beans, apple sauce, potato salad, and rolls or cornbread. Rope in some girlfriends to each tackle one or two sides, or hit up your local bulk food store for some cartons.
If you want to elevate things a bit more and take food prep off your plate, consider having a local barbeque joint cater your Baby-Q. We have a local favorite who actually catered our wedding, and we’ve used for work events here and there. The nice thing about having your Baby-Q catered is you don’t have to worry about set up, keeping the food hot, wondering how much food to have – it’s all taken care of by the pros!
Baby-Q Drinks
Will you be hosting a dry Baby-Q or providing some adult beverages for your guests? You may want to confirm with the guest of honor their preference prior to solidifying a drink menu.
Some classic barbeque drinks I’d recommend include lemonade, iced tea, and water of course. Beyond that, you could do a fun root beer keg and round off the drink menu with some soda options.
For alcoholic options, you can go as simple or crazy as you want. Basic beer and wine would be plenty sufficient, but if you wanted to get creative with some cocktails, sangria or gin and tonic are a couple to consider.
Baby-Q Game Ideas
If you are hosting an open-house style Baby-Q where guests will come and go as they please, you don’t necessarily need party games. But if you’re planning to have your guests sit down, eat together, and watch the guest of honor open her gifts, it’s a nice touch to have some ice breaker games to get guests socializing with each other.
My Baby-Q Party Planning Toolkit comes with two of my favorite shower games: Baby-Q Bingo and The Price is Right.
Baby-Q BINGO
At each place setting, include a blank bingo card. Make sure you have enough pens and bingo markers for everyone at each table too. As guests arrive and throughout the meal, have them fill in each square on the bingo card with a gift they think the momma-to-be will receive. As she opens her gifts, guests will mark off the ones she opened on their bingo cards.
Just like normal bingo, the goal is to get 5 in a row. When a guest yells “BINGO,” have her read off her matching squares. If it’s a match, she wins a prize! Consider having 2-3 prizes so multiple people can win, and the game isn’t over with the first match.
Baby-Q Price is Right
With Baby-Q Price is Right, guests are given a game sheet that lists out common items needed when having a baby – like bottles and diapers. Guests guess the price of each item, and total it up at the end. The guest closest to the actual total wins a prize!