As if the end of the year didn't bring enough reasons to celebrate, the wintertime baby shower makes a fantastic complement to all the warmth and joy already heating up the cool winter temperatures. A winter-themed baby shower - held at any time of the year - presents a wealth of charming design and decoration opportunities. You can also build your entertainment and meal around the winter motif, so that the finished result is not only evocative but a complete experience guests are sure to love. 

The Arrangements & Decoration
    The classic winter color scheme includes shimmering blues and vibrant, iridescent whites. These colors perfectly lend themselves to baby showers (especially if the new mother is expecting a boy) and present a crisp, exciting look that's at once festive and at the same time calm and reflective. The ultimate baby shower is truly a combination of those emotional moods. Presenting your guests with something that's at once fashion-forward and exotic but also soothing helps create the friendly, easygoing atmosphere that’s a natural and will allow your guests to relax. 
    For a design scheme with a slightly more whimsical touch, you may choose to create an "ice cave" by using only whites and metallic blues, with plenty of banners and bunting around the baby shower table. You can spray paint tree branches and arrange them in bowls and vases to simulate icicles and stalactites, and use crystal and frosted glass for the meal.

The Wintertime Feast
    If you're throwing the baby shower around the holidays, odds are your guests' diets have already been placed "on hold." Why not go all out with a tantalizing and filling wintertime feast? To celebrate the promise of upcoming motherhood, you can serve "Mom's cooking" dishes that fight off the chill. Plates of beef stew and steamed vegetables, hearty soups and roasts, and ample bread with gourmet butter all make for a satisfying wintertime repast. For dessert you can provide something cool and satisfying, like sherbet or an ice cream cake, served with plenty of steaming hot coffee. 

Baby Shower Gifts
    The wintertime baby shower also provides a great way to coordinate the gifts the new mother receives during the party. Many retailers and online boutiques now feature nationwide bridal registries, or you can simply coordinate everything on line with a few emails between you and your guests. 
    The gifts can be winter themed for mother and child both. Guests can coordinate so that the baby is well stocked on all important wintertime items: blankets, bodysuits, layette sets, hats and caps, stuffed animal companions, and anything else baby will need until springtime. 
    Coordinating the gifts is easy. Guests will choose their present and check it off a list provided by the hostess. By frequently emailing updated lists to all guests, the hostess can arrange for the maximum number of useful gifts. 

The Entertainment
    No baby shower could be complete without plenty of games to keep the party momentum going after the healthy, filling meal and unwrapping of the gifts. With a winter-themed wedding, your game choices might be traditional or something to fit the theme - or even both! 
    There are plenty of game ideas available, but here are three to get you started:
1.    Pin the nose on the snowman - use a real carrot and adhesive tape.
2.    Guest of honor trivia - how much do the guests really know?
3.    Who's got the stinky diaper? A fun game available at many retail and online boutiques.