Baby Shower Advice

[WestieMomma]

I am giving my friend a baby shower in Sept when she comes back to Dallas for the weekend. She currently lives in Las Vegas so she will be flying in for the weekend.

Is there a tactful way on the invitation to let everyone know to bring small items that can be taken on the plane, gift cards, or even buy the item on the website and have it shipped to her home?? Someone sugested that I do a "theme shower" of small items, mainly clothes and stuff but I hate to limit her in what she gets since this is their first baby. Any suggestions??

[WestieMomma]

OK people..15 views and no advice?! ;)

[wildcat]

Or another idea is just to ship to her what she can't take back on the plane, it shouldn't be too expensive?

[myshel]

I am one of the 15 that looked but didn't have give any advice. I'm not really sure there's a way to tactfully say "giftcards only please." So I didn't wite anything.

I've thought about it a bit more and basically came up with this-- Is there some sort of cute saying you could include in the shower invite that mentions how the mom-to-be will be flying in for the event? Maybe that subtle type of thing would work.

Honestly, most people will probably do what they want to anyway. I had a friend who lives in D.C. but got married in Iowa this past June. She and the groom flew to Iowa and hadn't really planned how they would get gifts back to D.C. Needless to say, they got several large gifts that had to be shipped to them in D.C. I will be the first one to admit that DH and I made the mistake of giving them a gift rather than a giftcard. I've learned my lesson from that and will never do it again.

I'm not sure if this helps but I do understand your situation and hope you can figure it out somehow.

[Surftraitor]

This happened to me. On the invite, my host indicated "Because our Mommy-to-be lives out of state, shipping gifts to the following address is preferred"

It worked out well. Many people gave gift cards and clothing (easy to pack). Many people shipped gifts but then had the internet receipt in a card. It was so nice to come home and have the gifts arrive weeks later.

Guests should understand the future Mommy's situation and not feel offended. Good luck!

[WestieMomma]

This happened to me. On the invite, my host indicated "Because our Mommy-to-be lives out of state, shipping gifts to the following address is preferred"

It worked out well. Many people gave gift cards and clothing (easy to pack). Many people shipped gifts but then had the internet receipt in a card. It was so nice to come home and have the gifts arrive weeks later.

Guests should understand the future Mommy's situation and not feel offended. Good luck!

That's a great idea surftraitor. Thanks for the advice everyone!

[jennylou]

Most guests will know that the mommy to be is coming from out of town, so I'd imagine that they will buy accordingly. If they don't, she can always return them and then re-buy everything at a store local to her. :)

[Jane&Andy]

ITA with Jennylou. If I was a guest at that shower I might still buy something big but I would tell the Mom that I would ship it for her - unless it was too huge and I just had it delivered straight to her and brought a card to the shower.

[mamax2]

I agree about adding a note to the invitation just reminding people that the guest of honor is flying into town and *if they preferred* to mail their gift to her home, the address is xxx; people should be bright enough to figure out that means they either buy something small, give a gift card or ship the gift directly to her home if they have their heart set on something large.

[Jodi AKA BostonTeacher]

I recently was invited to a shower in Maine for a friend who lives in Georgia. The invitation stated that they were registered at Babies R Us and included the phone number for the location closest to them. If a guest didn't want to pay to ship the gift they could call and pay for a registry item over the phone. The couple then picked up the gifts at the local BRU in Georgia.

I was also going to suggest the same thing as Jennylou. BRU gives you store credit. It would be a hassle, but she could return the gifts and rebuy them at home.

I don't think you can tactfully say, "gift cards please" but you can get creative with the wording and take the edge off.

Perhaps say something about the mom-to-be already being responsible for transporting a very special package (the baby) and suggest that guests please try to keep that in mind when shopping for a gift for her.

[WestieMomma]

I recently was invited to a shower in Maine for a friend who lives in Georgia. The invitation stated that they were registered at Babies R Us and included the phone number for the location closest to them. If a guest didn't want to pay to ship the gift they could call and pay for a registry item over the phone. The couple then picked up the gifts at the local BRU in Georgia.

I was also going to suggest the same thing as Jennylou. BRU gives you store credit. It would be a hassle, but she could return the gifts and rebuy them at home.

I don't think you can tactfully say, "gift cards please" but you can get creative with the wording and take the edge off.

Perhaps say something about the mom-to-be already being responsible for transporting a very special package (the baby) and suggest that guests please try to keep that in mind when shopping for a gift for her.

That is a great idea! I think I will add something about them flying in, etc with their address to ship gifts and the number to their local BRU.

[Twylla]

Could you make up a little rhyme and frame it at the shower saying something about in lieu of favours, you're paying to ship the gifts for her?

Or, could you do something fun with the guests, and have each guest bring a picture of the gift, and tell the mom-to-be that the gifts are ready for pickup in her hometown? It would take some work, and maybe some phoning around.... but it might work.

And remind the mommy to bring an empty suitcase on her flight... hopefully that'll help!

Good luck!

[Jane&Andy]

I know I posted already but I just wanted to add that I'd probably be a bit miffed if the invitation went into too much detail about what sort of gifts are appropriate. I like shopping for gifts and its my money to spend so I don't want to be told what I can and can't buy. I, of course, don't ever purposefully buy something that they wouldn't want or inconveniences them. If people know she's coming from out of twon than I think most will keep that in mind when shopping for her.

[mimieliza]

I like shopping for gifts and it's my money to spend so I don't want to be told what I can and can't buy.

ITA. I looooove shopping for baby showers, so it would irritate me to be asked to give a gift card. However, information about where to ship gifts to would be very helpful in the invite. :)

And, as a matter of ettiquette, it is okay to discuss gifts in a shower invite, since the purpose of the party is to shower the mom with gifts (and love) to help her prepare for the new baby.

[MichelleHou]

My husband's family had a shower for me when we were visiting for Christmas. I didn't see the invite as it was a surprise, but they did word it that we were flying back home, and included our address to encourage people to ship gifts. I still ended up getting several large gifts (Diaper Champ, etc). I ended up taking all the large gifts back to Babies R Us and getting a gift card. I then just re-purchased those items when we got back home. Most of the gifts not on our registry were clothes, or smaller things, that were easier to pack. Good luck!

[shushyk]

I like the idea of adding a note saying mom to be is flying in... please ship gift to _________ . Most people you are inviting to the shower is family or friends, and if they are family or a friend they should understand that it is hard to travel while prego, not to mention getting gifts HOME.

Also maybe she can bring an extra suite case for the gifts (and check in curb side) you are also allowed to check in boxes instead of or in addition to luggage.

Oh and one other thing, some people might want something for her to open, so when they call for the RSVP or maybe on the invite you can suggest bringing a picture of what they bought and ship the actual item.
Good luck :D