Baby Shower Invitation Etiquette

Here is what you need to know about baby shower invitation etiquette. Avoid simple and even costly mistakes when preparing and sending out baby shower invitations.

When To Send Invites
Invitations should be sent out at least 6 to 4 weeks prior to the shower. This way guests will have enough time to prepare for the shower and purchase gifts. Also you will have enough time to get RSVP information on the number of guests to prepare for.

If you are making the invitations yourself start from as early as 8 to 6 weeks before the shower (as soon as you have a theme and decide on the invites) that way you have adequatetime to make all invitations and then mail them out.

Who to Invite
Ask the mom-to-be for names, phone number and addresses of those persons she would like to attend. You do not want to have a shower for the mom-to-be with an incomplete guest list. The mom to be may also be getting other showers so you may want to avoid inviting those persons so they are not double booked for her parties.

How many Invites
The number of invites depends on the number of guests but be sure to have extra invitations on hand as often times there may be last minute addition to the guest list from mom-to-be and other well wishers.

Baby Shower Invitation Etiquette for Formal Invites
If you plan on having a formal shower then send out a formal invitation, with the wording and look of the invitation giving a formal feel. You want to spell out words and do not include numbers except for telephone numbers and use a more elegant type of card. Likewise if the party is more casual you have the option of being creative and cute with your invitation choices.

R.S.V.P Baby Shower Invitation Etiquette
Include RSVP information. RSVP is short for "respondez s'il vous plait" meaning please respond. That way guests will know that they should respond if they are attending. Include a deadline date for the RSVP.The RSVP is usually placed at the bottom of the invitation.If you are worried that guests may not know what RSVP means or you just prefer not to use it you can say instead please respond by...

Use Regrets only when you only want to find out those guests who will not be attending. This comes in handy if you have a large guest list and want to get a quick head count of guests.

Email or Electronic Baby Shower Invitation Etiquette
Email invitations are a new and cheap form of invites. You can use a online invitation service like evite but I recommend that you use the regular and traditional form of invitation. Not everyone checks emails regular and by sending traditional invites guests will get a better feel of what to expect from the shower. If you want to send email invitations its best to send the traditional invitation then follow up with a email invitation.

Need to Know for Guests
Make sure to include any information that guests will need to be aware of before the shower.For instance if you plan to have a diaper shower state that on the information that each guest should carry a diaper. Nobody wants to be left out by being the odd one out.

Adults Only Or Inviting Children
If you plan a formal adult shower say adults only on the invitation. Its common for ladies to bring newborns to the party.The same goes for a family shower and couples shower. If the dad-to-be wants to be apart of the celebration invite his friends and state on the invitation that its a couples shower so ladies can bring their partner. Family showers usually see guests bring partners, children and even other relatives for a big blow out. Where children are invited you can make arrangements to have a baby sitter or have activities for children to be apart of during the shower.

A note of caution for couples showers. If you plan on guys attending make sure invitations are guy friendly. So do not give them a pink invite with lots of hearts and smiley faces as they may get scared off with all the frills and decide not to attend.

Baby Shower Invitation Etiquette & Registry Details
At one time it was taboo to include registry information on the invitations. Overtime this has become more relaxed. In factsome guests expect the registry details to be included to help guide their gift purchasing. These days you can get registry cards from baby shower registries to include with the card. You can include the registry information on the bottom or back of the card so guests wont get annoyed when lots of other stuff comes falling out of the invitation or in case they loose the registry card.
If you are not sure then mention it to guests when they RSVP or when they ask.

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Baby Shower Invitation Etiquette

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