Match Your Baby Shower Invitations to Your Party’s Theme

There's many ways to find baby shower invitations; online stores, card shops such as Hallmark, superstores such as Wal-Mart, e-cards on the Web, downloadable cards, or you can even make them yourself. Whatever type of card you send, the following information will help you get the ball rolling.

Guest List

Unless this is a surprise shower, you should work with the mommy-to-be in making the guest list. You don’t want to leave out someone who should be included, and you don’t want to invite someone that the guest of honor would rather not be there. If the shower is a surprise, you still need to work with someone close to the guest of honor, such as a husband, mother, or sister.

If you are a co-worker or a member of the same church or organization as the mommy-to-be, you probably have a ready-made guest list. You’ll probably invite everyone at work or everyone that belongs to your church or organization.

Selecting the Invitations

You’ve made your guest list and now its time to send out the baby shower invitations.

Whether to decide to purchase invitations or make your own, try to select a style that goes with the baby shower theme that you have chosen. For example, if you have chosen a ducky theme, select invitations with baby ducks on it. If you are giving a more formal shower, select a more subdued, traditional shower invitation. You want to select an invitation that reflects the attitude and style of the type of shower you are throwing. Remember that the baby shower invitation will probably go into the baby book for posterity.

I have some ideas for free baby shower invitations , or nearly free, that you can make yourself. 

Information for the Invitations

Give your guests as much information about the shower as you can on the baby shower invitations. The information that should be included should be similar to the following:

• Mommy-to-be’s name
• shower date and time
• hostess' name and phone number
• address of shower
• map of shower location (optional, this can be obtained easily at www.mapquest.com)
• RSVP date and phone number
• shower theme information
• sex of baby (if known)
• where mommy-to-be is registered, if applicable
• if this is a surprise party, mention that detail
• if a meal or refreshments will be served

Number of Guests to Invite

Usually a baby shower has anywhere from five to twenty guests, if it is to be held in a home. More than twenty guests leans toward a more formal shower and you’ll probably need to find a larger space.

RSVP

R.S.V.P. stands for a French phrase, "répondez, s'il vous plaît," which means "please reply." In other words, you are asking your potential guest to let you know if she will be attending the shower. Having an approximate head count helps especially if you are planning a more elaborate shower, such as one that provides lunch.

On the baby shower invitations, you should include a date by which you would like to receive the RSVP. Something similar to “Please RSVP at (phone number) by (date).” will suffice. The deadline date for the RSVP should be a couple of weeks before the shower.

But be prepared – just because you display good manners doesn’t mean that everyone does. You may not hear back from many of the invitees, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t coming so you should plan for extra food and supplies just in case. And if you really need an accurate headcount, especially if you are having the shower catered, it’s perfectly acceptable to call those who have not responded after the deadline date.

When to Mail the Invitations

If there will be guests coming from out of town, it’s best to give them as much time to plan as possible. If possible, send the baby shower invitations to them 6-8 weeks before the shower.

If the guests are local, 2-4 weeks is acceptable. If you send them out two weeks before the shower, you naturally won’t be able to ask for a RSVP two weeks before the shower, but certainly expect one a week to three days before the shower.

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