• Serve pickles as a snack but not as or in the main dish.pickled cucumbers image by Andrzej Wlodarczyk from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  Pickles and ice cream are the classic salty-sweet pregnancy craving foods. While perhaps it is a cliche, the duo is a well-known symbol of the ups and downs of appetite and cravings during pregnancy. A pickle and ice cream baby shower aims not to force the guests to consume the two simultaneously, but to highlight the surreal and brief, yet strong, impact pregnancy has on a woman's life.
  
  

Cake

• The cake for a pickles and ice cream baby shower holds the most creative possibilities. Options include an ice cream cake decorated with with hand-piped frosting "pickles," a cake shaped as a pickle and decorated with green frosting and pickle warts, or a tiered cake decorated with ice cream and pickle-shaped icing images or sculpted fondant. Those who are brave enough, can serve actual pickle and ice cream cakes by offering cupcakes topped with a scoop of ice cream and a real salty pickle.
  
  

Food

• Just because the mother-to-be is pregnant and may crave odd food combinations doesn't mean the guests feel the same way. Serving large trays of pickles and pickled items such as beets, onions and garlic is a must; however, there provide other food options that are less briny. Small meat or vegetable sandwiches, cheese platters, breads and crackers, salads and fruits are great pallet cleansers. If the cake is made of ice cream, do not serve additional ice cream. If the cake is a baked cake, serve ice cream sandwiches, or set up a build-your-own ice cream sundae bar with plenty of toppings and whipped cream.
  
  

Favors

• Favors are tokens that let your guests know your gratitude for their presence and gifts. Ice cream and pickle themed favors include ice cream scoops with ribbons tied around the neck, homemade canned pickles with a tag proclaiming "do not open until (baby's name) is born," and homemade ice cream topping jars (canning jars) filled with chocolates, nuts and marshmallows.
  
  

Decorations

• Decorations for an ice cream and pickles shower should be subtle; large blow-up pickles and ice cream cone-covered tablecloths turn the event into a birthday-style party rather than a baby shower. Keep the tablecloths tame; focus on whites with green accents (to represent pickles), and add the theme in through details such as small ice cream cone string lights, and jars of pickles surrounded by flowers as centerpieces. Bring the ice cream theme into the decorations by using soda-shop-style glasses, and fill ice cream cones with table snacks such as popcorn or peanuts.