After the birth of a new baby, it's often customary for visitors to bring by meals or gift certificates to restaurants so Mom and Dad don't have to worry about cooking while caring for the needs of a newborn. Without these timesaving meals, it's not unusual to see a tired and frazzled dad sprinting for take-out at the 11th hour.

Now, with the emergence of a new type of baby shower, the expectant parents can have their freezer stocked with meals before the actual day of the arrival, which leaves more time for bonding with each other and Baby without worrying about dinner when 6 o'clock hits.

For hosts who are planning a "meal prep" baby shower, there are several options you can choose from when putting together the big event. The easiest way would be to ask all the guests to bring a meal that could be frozen easily in lieu of traditional baby shower gifts. With this type of system, all Mom and Dad have to do is pop the dinners in the freezer until a later date. Have each guest attach a label with cooking directions on the entree, and include a note card with the recipe in case Mom wants to make it again at a later date.

With this type of shower, you can still set out some refreshments for your guests and plan some of the more traditional shower games. As an added benefit, you can have each guest prepare copies of the recipe they brought to give to the other guests and everyone can go home with a batch of new recipes.

"When I was expecting my third baby, who was also my third boy, a friend threw me a casserole shower," says Lucy Adams, a Thomson, Ga., resident, mother of four and author of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny (Palm Tree Press, 2007). "I already had every piece of boy clothing and toy anyone could imagine, so everyone brought food. Some did include lovely casserole dishes in their gifts, which were handy once my children got older."

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