How to Plan a Catering Menu for a Baby Shower
Planning the food menu for a baby shower can be lots of fun, especially since you can work with cute themes and be as creative as you want. With that said, coming up with baby shower food ideas that will satisfy everyone can be especially tricky.
If you’re tasked with planning the menu for a baby shower and don’t know where to start, this article will guide you in the right direction. When you’re done reading, you’ll better understand how to plan the menu and feel inspired enough to come up with some fantastic, fun ideas.
Consider How Many People Will Attend
Before considering what type of food to offer, you need to know exactly how many mouths you’ll have to feed. Always have guests RSVP to the baby shower. Send out invitations to the baby shower a good while ahead of time so everyone can RSVP. Late invitations will lead to late replies, which will mess up your careful menu planning.
Once you have a general idea of how many people will attend, you can start planning the menu. It’s important not to use the exact RSVP number—always add extra to the expected attendance list since there will always be people who forget to RSVP. It’s best to have extra food left over versus running out.
Knowing how many people to expect can also help you decide on the best menu type. For example, a buffet will work better with a large crowd, and highly personalized meals will be easier to achieve if the baby shower is a smaller event.
Tip: Keep in mind the time of day when guests will be eating. People are more likely to eat bigger portions or return for seconds if you’re serving food during standard breakfast, lunch, or dinner hours.
Main Course Versus Snacks
Baby shower food doesn’t have to follow any specific rules, but you should still consider that most people like a sense of order.
You can offer a main course consisting of a standard meat and/or vegetable entree, along with interesting appetizers like meatballs and deviled eggs, or anything light that goes with your chosen theme.
Alternatively, you can opt for a buffet with 12 different meal options to really give guests the freedom of choice. However, with buffets, you must aim to have the food ready around a specific time—breakfast, lunch, or dinner, which could increase overall expenses.
Snack-based options are also popular and better suited to a baby shower that won’t have a dedicated eating time. Snacks can be less expensive than an entire meal, depending on the number of people attending and the snack options you offer.
Example Baby Shower Food Ideas
Here are a few entrée ideas for your baby shower:
- Pinwheel Sandwiches
- Pasta Salad
- Chicken Wings
- Slow Cooker Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Appetizer Ideas:
- Deviled Eggs
- Chips & Dips
- Sausage Bites
- Mini Fruit Tarts
- Fruit Kebabs
- Charcuterie
And a few snack-based food ideas:
- Mini Pizzas
- Mini Banana Cream Pies
- Mini Burgers
- Mini Cinnamon Rolls
- Brownies
Always Stay on Theme
We’ve mentioned themes throughout this article because they’re essential. When planning food for baby showers, you must always keep your theme in mind.
Always ensure the snacks or food colors match the decorations and other elements of the baby shower. For example, if you’re planning a fairytale-themed baby shower, your food should fit nicely, like colorful cupcakes and sparkly drinks. A nautical-themed baby shower would feel on-brand with seafood options served.
It’s okay if all your food doesn’t match the color of the theme, but try your best to make the food feel like it was planned with the theme in mind.
Of course, this will take some careful planning, but as long as you’re creative, you’ll come up with interesting ideas. When in doubt, try Pinterest and search for inspiration from other baby showers.
Get More Ideas Today
Make your baby shower unique with help from Chef Raymone. For over 25 years, we’ve provided affordable baby shower catering services throughout Michigan. Our menus are fully customizable, available for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and can include barbecue, salad bars, full buffets, and more. Reach out to us today if you need help planning your baby food shower menu.
