Baby It's Cold Outside | Winter Baby Shower

Happy New Year to all our friends and family! I hope you all had a fabulous holiday season with your loved ones and are getting into the swing of things for 2020!

Over the winter break, both Ryan and I enjoyed lots of quality time with our friends and families and had so much fun catching up with everyone we haven’t seen in a while. One of the highlights of our trip was celebrating the arrival of our first child who is expected to make their debut in less than 3 months (eek)!

Both Ryan and I wanted a simple Baby Shower with our families so we could keep the celebration intimate and really have the opportunity to spend time with each guest in attendance. My parents threw us a “Baby It’s Cold Outside” Shower (how cute) and it was such a magical day! We had so much fun with everyone, so I am super excited to share all the details of our special day! If you too are planning a winter-themed Baby Shower, hopefully, you can find some inspiration here!

Food

Seeing as this was an afternoon party with both men and women of all ages, we opted for simple lunch food that was easy to whip up for a crowd of any size. The soup bar with assorted toppings was definitely the fan-favorite at this event! Everyone loved having a cozy meal to munch on while mingling.

Charcuterie Board
Shrimp Cocktail
Bite-sized sandwiches
Crockpot sausage & peppers
Crockpot meatballs
Assorted bread basket
Soup Bar
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chili
- Clam Chowder
- Toppings
  - Shredded cheddar cheese
  - Tortilla chips
  - Sour cream
  - Oyster crackers

Beverages

Again, we kept things fairly simple and included seasonal favorites such as eggnog, as well as champagne and liquors for the non-pregnant guests!

Sparkling Water
Egg Nog
Champagne
Assorted Liquor
Soda/Juice

Hot Chocolate Bar

Probably the highlight of the party for me was this Hot Chocolate Bar! It was so much fun putting this together and it was the perfect afternoon treat for a chilly winter day. We made the hot chocolate from scratch (for the first time ever) and I honestly don’t know why we haven’t been making it at home all these years! It was so rich, tasty, and the toppings were a huge hit!

Toppings
- Marshmallows
- Chocolate Chips
- Andes Mints
- Mini Candy Canes
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Whipped Cream
- Caramel Drizzle
Recipe (for 1 cup)
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Whisk ingredients together in a saucepan or in a teapot
- Stir consistently on medium heat until warm
- Serve with toppings and enjoy!

Desserts

Everyone’s favorite part about attending any party is always the desserts, am I right?! And if you know anything about both of my parents, you know they never fail to go all out when it comes to making desserts. I mean…check out the detail on those snowflake cookies! And the croquembouche?! I have no words!

Snowflake Cookies
Mini Cannolis
Cheesecake Bites
Pizzelles
Croquembouche

Gift Table

When we originally began planning this party, one of the biggest topics we kept discussing was what to do about the gift situation! Seeing as Ryan and I live halfway across the world and only came to visit with a suitcase each, we were afraid of receiving too many larger items that we weren’t able to bring back home with us. However, we know how much guests absolutely ADORE giving gifts to a brand new baby, so here was our solution:

My mom found this blue and pink vintage suitcase on a tag sale page so we bought it, jazzed it up with some twinkle lights and snowflakes, and BAM! On the invitation, we asked guests to bring “suitcase-able” gifts that they could place inside once they arrived. It worked perfectly! We also dug out an old baby blanket of mine that my grandma made for me when I was born and used that as the tablecloth for our gift table. It was the perfect addition to our winter wonderland party!

Decor

One of the best things about having this “Baby It’s Cold Outside” party was the fact that we held it shortly after Christmas. That way, we were able to leave all of our Christmas decorations up and not have to worry too much about decorating! Especially if you have a lot of white or silver Christmas decor, you can just keep it up a little longer and reuse it! We opted for lots of white and silver elements, snowflakes, garland, pinecones, etc.

One of my favorite decor items was the centerpiece we put together in the kitchen. We purchased 3 flocked trees to represent Mom, Dad, and Baby. On our invitations, we asked each guest to bring an ornament for the baby or for one of the parents. Upon opening the ornaments, we hung them all on the 3 trees to be displayed. It was so magical to see all of these ornaments together representing all of the people who were there celebrating our growing family. I know these will be very special keepsakes for years to come- not only for us, but for our son or daughter one day!