Baby
Shower Guest List Advice for the Mommy-To-Be
Who
should be invited to your baby shower?
Pregnancy is
always an exciting time. You are busy thinking about a thousand
things - what sex the baby will be, what name to choose, how to
decorate the nursery, etc. But, many of your friends probably have
one thing at the top of their priority list - your baby shower. Baby
showers are a great time to get together with friends and celebrate
the upcoming birth and all the excitement that goes with that.
When the
appropriate time comes, you will probably be approached by at least
one friend about a baby shower. This may be your best friend from
high school or the girlfriend you ran around with while still single.
You may even be approached by relatives who want to throw a shower
for you. Some people have multiple baby showers - one thrown by
family members, one thrown by friends and one thrown by coworkers. No
matter who throws the shower for you, you will need to think about
whom to put on the guest list. Chances are, your aunt, best friend or
coworker are not going to know everyone you would like to invite, so
she is going to need a little help from you.
First, you will
need to decide if you think you are going to have more than one
shower. If you hear rumors of a family shower, you probably do not
want to invite family members to your "friends" shower. If
you have coworkers that are also close friends, you do not want to
invite them to your "friends" shower only to find out you
are having a work related shower as well. So keep your ears open to
try to find out as much as possible to avoid duplicate invitations.
You can even ask people you are close to if you feel comfortable
enough and explain to them why you are asking. It will not be the
worst thing if Aunt Silvia has to tell you to hold off on inviting
your best friend to the family shower "just because."
Be sure to ask the
shower host how many people can attend the shower. It may depend on
where the shower is being held. Some people have their showers at
their church so there is plenty of room and seating, but many people
have them in their homes, so there may be a limited amount of space.
You also do not want to overload your shower host's budget. She may
be thinking you will invite fifteen people and you do not want to
show up with a list of a hundred people. Remember that the shower
invitations, decorations, and refreshments are going to cost your
host money and you want to be respectful of her generosity in
offering to throw you a shower.
Once you have an
idea of what type of baby showers you are going to have, then you
need to sit down and write out a list. You may want to jot down names
on a sheet of paper before you start looking up addresses. You may
even want to ask some other people whom you should invite. With all
you have going on, chances are you may forget someone, so it will be
useful to have another person helping you. You do not want to hurt
anyone's feelings by unintentionally leaving them off the guest list.
After you get your
list set, you will need to start gathering addresses. Actually giving
your names and addresses to the host may best be done on the computer
if you are comfortable using it. Many people already keep names and
addresses in online address books, so giving your host your shower
list may be as simple as printing the address list and checking the
names of those you want to invite. If you do not have your addresses
online, you can type them into a spreadsheet to give to your shower
host. An online copy of addresses may come in handy depending on
whether she is going to have addresses printed on envelopes, print
address labels for the envelopes, or hand write the addresses on each
envelope. No matter how she is going to do it, having a nice, clear
copy of all names and addresses will be beneficial.
Finally, if you
forget someone important on your list and feel badly about it, invite
them out to a special one-on-one lunch with you. It will not be the
same as being at the shower, but can help mend hurt feelings from
being left out.
Have fun
determining your baby shower list. Call a few of your closest
friends, grab your old address books and have a good time reminiscing
as you jot down names.
Related:
The
Baby Shower Guest List
About
the Author:
Jennifer
Barnett is a successful party planner providing valuable tips and
advice on planning a baby shower that is inexpensive, fun for the
guests with baby shower games, and choosing the perfect baby shower
gift. http://www.about-baby-showers.com. |
