Before it’s time to welcome a new addition to your family, and to fill up the pages of baby photo albums with adorable photographs of your offspring, it’s a lovely idea to get together with family and friends at a baby shower.
Whether you’re the guest at a hosted baby shower, or are planning to organise the event for yourself, there are a numbers of pros and cons that you should consider before sending out personalised baby shower invitations…
It’s A Joyous Reason To Celebrate
For expectant mothers, a baby shower is the main socialising event on the calendar, before the big life-changing event of having a baby takes place. It’s an opportunity to spend time in the company of friends or family before your impending due date.
Pro:
A baby shower is a special occasion that honours the mum-to-be and celebrates the joyous miracle of a new baby. It’s an informal party that should be enjoyable and fun. With a support network of family and friends in attendance, an expectant mum will feel cherished and pampered.
Make sure that you ask a close friend or sibling to take plenty of photos of the party celebrations and your guests, so that you can pick out your favourite baby shower photos to include in a pre-birth section of your baby photo albums.
Con:
Being surrounded by a lot of people, at a party, can be overwhelming and stressful, especially if you’re uncomfortably pregnant and just want to relax and make the most of your free time before your little on arrives and demands all of your attention. Having to make small talk with distant relatives, who want to share the details of their birth stories, can feel like social pressure.
Not Everyone Loves Surprises
If you’re hosting a baby shower for a friend, sibling or relative, it’s important to consider and respect the mum-to-be’s likes and dislikes. While you may love surprise parties, not everyone does.
If you want to ensure that ‘mum’ is happy, it’s polite to discreetly check whether she’s amenable to the suggestion of a baby shower, before you go ahead and plan the event.
Pro:
A mum who is up for a get-together with her family and friends will be delighted that you’ve organised a special party in her honour.
Con:
If your friend or sibling isn’t interested in socialising during her pregnancy, be respectful of her wishes and plan a more intimate occasion, like afternoon tea or a day at the Spa.
Stick With Tradition Or Start A New Custom?
In many cultures, it’s customary to welcome new life into the world at a pregnancy ritual that honours the mother. A modern day baby shower is a special event that is usually hosted by females who are close to the mother-to-be. This could be your mum (your newborn’s grandmother), sister, BFF or someone else that you have a strong bond with.
Pro:
If you love to hang out with the girls, you’ll enjoy being the centre of attention at a baby shower party that is traditionally female-only. At the baby shower, the women can get real about childbirth, and candidly talk about personal experiences.
Con:
Not every mum-to-be feels comfortable at a party that her partner isn’t invited to. For this reason, some expectant mothers prefer to ditch tradition, in favour of the new custom of including dads.
Gifts Galore!
Having a baby is an expensive business. If you’re a first-time mum, you’ll need to invest in an endless array of baby equipment and accessories that help to make parenthood a little bit easier, such as disposable nappies, a sterilizer, a baby sling, a car seat and a buggy, besides other things. If you already have children, you may be able to cut costs by reusing what you’ve already bought.
Pro:
A baby shower is a great way to limit your pre-baby spending and to reduce your financial burden. You can sign up to a baby registry and ask your guests to purchase items on your behalf, as baby gifts. And yes, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask for beautiful bespoke baby photo albums, a luxurious super-soft cashmere baby blanket, or a cute designer newborn outfit that you wouldn’t splash out on yourself.
Con:
Even though you may spend hours selecting the perfect gifts that you would love to receive for your new baby, there’s no guarantee that all of your baby shower guests will oblige by shopping at your registry. Don’t be disappointed if you end up with duplicate items or a stash of practical gifts, like nappies, toiletries and baby wipes.
You may also receive a mountain of clothes that baby will need to grow into, or toys that he/she can’t play with until after their 1st birthday. Be polite, smile and say “thank you”.
After The Baby Shower
Once the party has wrapped up, and you’re getting ready to the imminent birth of your baby, it’s the perfect time to relax with your feet up, while you browse through the photos that were snapped at your baby shower.
Pick out your favourites, and arrange them in your personalised baby photo albums. Add some captions, comments and anecdotes to bring the photos to life. You’ll be able to share the story of the miracle of their birth, with your child as he/she grows up.
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