Coed Baby Shower

When my longtime friend Bruce announced that he and his girlfriend Shanna were expecting, I was super excited (and surprised!) Needless to say, his enthusiasm was infectious, and I immediately started dreaming of my one true love when it comes to celebrating: cupcakes.

Did you really expect anything else? No. You didn't. Despite what you may tell yourself, you knew that I was going to say cupcakes. It's okay. We all know I have a problem.

Of course, I didn't really want to make cupcakes and mail them. What's the fun in sending someone cupcakes if you're not there to watch them enjoy them? When I send my sisters care package I require them to send me updates when they try something. After care package receipt, my inbox looks a lot like this:

Rae: So far the truffles are our favorites, but we haven't tried the cherry cookies yet. John likes the chocolate chip cookies.

Or:

Tori: More chocolate covered cherry cookies please. Um, thanks.

Needless to say, I refused to just mail them cupcakes. I needed them to be here to share the cupcakes. What better way to do that than to host a baby shower for them?

I know, it's work. I know I complain a lot sometimes about having too much on my plate. Throwing someone you love a party though? I don't think that's too much work, or too much to put into a weekend. It's been decided. I am hosting a shower on April 10.

This means I need to put together one heck of a shower that is coed. Ah, there is the challenge.

Maybe you think it's easy. If you do, I think you should leave me a comment (or two) about why it would be so simple to combine the following three things: women, men and babies. It's not nearly as easy as it may seem at first glance.

I have eliminated certain things. Those things are games. At least the type of games that make women coo and giggle. We might have another game that is less about the squishy and the pink and more about the hilarious and wrong. I think that would be very Bruce. If asked to describe him in two words, I do think that "hilarious" and "wrong" would make my type five list. I'd have to narrow it down a bit, but they just might be the words I'd choose.

I have not eliminated the cupcakes. I have also not eliminated Bruce's suggestion that BBQ be part of the festivities. While I jokingly said I could make ribs, I might actually put together a big pot of my aunt's sinfully delicious pulled beef. The woman is a machine when it comes to the pulled beef. It's almost terrifying how tasty it can be.

The bottom line is this. I want the shower to be fun for everyone, male and female. I want people to sit around and laugh. I want people to share their parenting horror stories with the parents-to-be. I want it to be a light, festive, celebratory atmosphere without being scheduled.

I think that's a lot to expect. I've raised the bar high. I plan on meeting it, don't worry.

Now, while I start planning, I'll leave you to ponder my purchase of this. And my making of these.