It's becoming increasingly common to include men—friends, spouses, and relatives—on the baby shower guest list. But inviting men may change the chemistry of the party.
While traditional baby showers consist of women only, co-ed baby showers are becoming more and more common. However, if you're looking to throw a traditional baby shower and still have the dad-to-be attend, this is completely acceptable and appropriate as most dad-to-be's will want to thank guests before they leave.
Close friends and family members should be invited to the baby shower. You should always consult with the mom-to-be on the guest list though, just in case she has any co-workers or friends she wants to add to the list.
A Dadchelor party, otherwise referred to as a man shower or baby stag, is a baby shower for men. It is a celebration of the birth or expected birth of a child and the transformation of a man into a father however the focus tends to be on allowing the expectant father to have fun before the arrival of the baby.
Who Traditionally Pays for a Baby Shower? The hostess traditionally pays for the baby shower and its associated costs. However, the hostess can divide up the responsibility and costs by asking a few close family members or friends to co-host.
From parents to college roommates, and anyone else who plays an important role in the parents-to-be's lives. It's safe to say that those who weren't included in the initial guest list are the people you shouldn't invite.
While baby showers have traditionally been all-female affairs, it's becoming more and more popular to throw “co-ed” baby showers, including both male and female guests. Also, sometimes people throw multiple showers.
Q: What information should the baby shower invitations include? A: Be sure to include the name of the mother-to-be and/or the father-to-be, the date, time, and location of the shower, the RSVP date and contact information (i.e. telephone, e-mail, or mail).
A gender neutral Baby Shower is a Baby Shower for a baby boy or baby girl, oftentimes when the parents-to-be do not yet know the baby's gender. Usually the color theme is a gender neutral color like greens, yellows, golds or neutrals.
What Is a Diaper Party? A diaper party, aka a dadchelor party or a man shower, is a baby shower for the dad-to-be. Instead of baby registry gifts, guests are asked to give diapers and baby wipes. Most hosts skip the giggly baby shower games and opt for a casual setting of drinking beer and barbecuing.
Traditional Baby Shower Length
Games, food, and opening gifts are all part of the fun but can run long. Check with the guests of honor to see what they feel comfortable with and adjust if needed. Parent's magazine recommends a shower last three hours at the most.
If you're worried that no one will offer to throw a baby shower for you (which is highly unlikely), talk to your best friend or a close relative and, if you're comfortable doing so, ask her to take the reins.
As much as guests would love for the mom-to-be to open their gifts, proper etiquette is respecting her wishes and not asking her to open the presents during the shower.
In general, I would say that by the age of 8 or 9 years-10 at the latest-most children have developed enough of a sense of personal boundaries and body space that they no longer want to shower with a parent or bathe with a sibling of the opposite sex.
Most baby showers should be hosted by a sister, mother, mother-in-law, or close friend. Baby showers were traditionally thrown by family members who weren't close with the parents-to-be, to avoid the assumption that close family members wanted to collect gifts for themselves.
A coed baby shower is an event that takes place to celebrate *both the mom and the dad to-be. Traditional baby showers only focus on the mom-to-be and typically only include female guests. Whereas a coed baby shower celebrates both parents and invites both men and women to join in on the fun.
How Many People Should Attend a Baby Shower. Every baby shower is different, but most ladies agree that 15 to 30 is the perfect number of ladies at a typical baby shower or about 30-40 for a coed. These numbers change depending on the size of the family, number of friends, and even work colleagues involved.
A baby shower is technically a party to honor the mother, so her name goes on the baby shower invitation by default. However, many modern baby showers are co-ed and also include the father. If that's the case, the mother's and father's names can both be included at the top of the card.
Traditionally the host will pay but this will depend on many factors. This includes the venue, budget, size of the guest list, and how extravagant it may be. For instance, you can't expect your best friend to throw a huge baby shower and pay for it all herself.
As a fast rule, baby showers are often held at the end of the second trimester or early to midway through the third trimester — usually four to six weeks before the due date.
Should you open gifts at the baby shower? Tradition would have you open all the gifts in front of the guests. But, times have changed and it's more common not to.
Gift registry information should not be included on the baby shower invitation itself, though enclosing it on a separate sheet of paper is fine. Guests should always feel free to choose whatever gifts they think are best, registry or no—half the fun of giving and receiving presents is the element of surprise.