My sister Jen Tee Photography is having a baby this January and we had a fall baby shower for her themed as "my little pumpkin." It was the first weekend of October which everyone knows as pumpkin season, and when the fall activities are in full swing.
All of the food that was served was themed around fall such as pumpkin bars, pumpkin kibbeh, and squashes. Other items on the menu included chicken kebabs, homemade hummus, fruit salad in a pumpkin, goat cheese and berry salad, and charcuterie boards galore. For dessert, we had chocolate covered strawberries that looked like pumpkins, fall cookies from Cheryls Cookies, and two cakes from The Queen's Cup. There were two cakes. One a gluten free/dairy free chocolate cake with peanut butter filling. I wanted to have a regular cake as well so we had a pumpkin cake with a salted caramel buttercream. If all of those desserts weren't enough, we had a candy bar where guests could take a cup or bag of pumpkin themed candies and treats to go and an ice cream bar when cake came out from Stone Cow Brewery (best ice cream in the world in my opinion).
Let's talk about drinks. Yes, this was a baby shower but I wanted to spice it up a bit. First, we had a MOM-osa bar. The champagne options included regular prosecco, peach, rose, and non-alcoholic. For juices, we had orange, cranberry, grapefruit, and my personal favorite apple cider from Breezeland Orchards. Fall is a time for cider and breweries so it was fitting to have a cider and beer tasting section. We featured 5 local ciders and 1 beer (Downeast Pumpkin and Cider Donut, Ragged Hill Honeycrisp, Far from the Tree Apple of my Chai, Carlson Orchards Oak Hill Blend, and Shipyard Pumpkinhead). We also offered regular wines and had water out with apples in it as well.
My family is not one to have a normal bridal or baby shower, so we did not play your normal games like bingo. We left out prediction cards for those who wanted to fill one out. During gifts, these cards were collected and 4 winners were chosen for those who completed the cards. Prizes included pumpkin pillows and mugs. Jen had been doing a lot of traveling since the start of her pregnancy and had taken pictures in each location so we had pictures printed out where guests had to guest the country/location of where the photos were taken which everyone found very entertaining. We also had corn hole outside and boat rides during the end of the shower.
As the shower was winding down, to go bags of Breezeland Orchards apple cider donuts were put out and guests were shown to the pumpkin patch to take a pumpkin of their own home. Guests also had the opportunity to draw and/or paint on their pumpkin. We then had a bonfire with our remaining friends and family to enjoy the rest of an amazing day.
Overall, the day was the kind of fall day we all dream about. Cider tastings, good company, cider donuts, and picking pumpkins. Looking forward to welcoming "little Dewey" in 2022, and dress him up like a pumpkin next year!
