Here’s a peek at the Cravings baby shower theme that I worked on for Parents.com last year. I have yet to actually put this to use for a friend, but am hoping to bring it to life one of these days… don’t you think this would be as much fun for the guests as for mom-to-be?!

Who wouldn’t love a good excuse to indulge in salty & sweet favorites… it’s just for one day! I love the idea of an entire “comfort food buffet” featuring mini bites like grilled cheese squares, fried pickles, and individual servings of oven-baked fries and mac-n-cheese… YUM!

Centerpieces would be old-fashioned sundae glasses & cake cones filled with “fluffy” flowers like peonies, styled to look like ice cream cones!

For party decor: framed prints of traditional “craving” foods like fries, pickles, and ice cream. (You can purchase images for the frames at istockphoto.com.)

Dessert: a build-your-own ice cream sundae bar!

Party favor ideas: a take-home edible treat that incorporates both salty & sweet flavors – like chocolate covered pretzels or a few mini cookies or macarons wrapped up in cellophane or a take-out container and paired with a small bag of gourmet kettle chips.

Here are some fun invitation designs that would work well for this theme too:

Pictured above: Food Cravings Mobile invitation {paperculture.com}; downloadable Craving Your Company invitation from {parents.com}, and Pickles and Ice Cream invitation {polkadotdesign.com}.

You could also incorporate jars of pickles decorated with ribbon & paper details into this theme… any other ideas? Please share them here!

Find more details on the Cravings theme – including a party playlist – over at Parents.com!