Host notes
Setting a baby shower table
A baby shower is usually one long table in a front room rather than a hall of forty. That changes what to buy and how much of it.
Start from the table you actually have
Most of these happen on a six foot folding trestle, which is 30 inches by 72. A rectangle cover on that hangs about a foot down the sides, which is a half drop and looks right in a room with a sofa in it. Measure yours before you order: kitchen tables run narrower and change the answer.
One cover, one spare
For a single table the pack size stops being about the room and starts being about the afternoon. The smallest box we do is 2, which for one table is one on the table and the rest in the cupboard. That is fine, and it is cheaper than the alternative when something goes over.
The centre of the table
A bottle bank sits in the middle, holds what people put in it and gives the table a reason to be walked up to. It works because it does something rather than just sitting there; a vase of flowers gets looked at once and then ignored.
Shades that read as a shower
Soft over saturated. A pastel cover with white china reads as a shower; the same table in a strong color reads as a birthday. If you want the strong color, put it in the centerpiece and leave the cloth quiet.
