Determining Your Baby Shower Guest List

Pregnancy is always an exciting time. You are busy thinking about a thousand
things - what sex the baby will be, what name to choose, how to decorate the
nursery, etc. But, many of your friends probably have one thing at the top
of their priority list - your baby shower. Baby showers are a great time to
get together with friends and celebrate the upcoming birth and all the
excitement that goes with that.

When the appropriate time comes, you will probably be approached by at least
one friend about a baby shower. This may be your best friend from high
school or the girlfriend you ran around with while still single. You may
even be approached by relatives who want to throw a shower for you. Some
people have multiple baby showers - one thrown by family members, one thrown
by friends and one thrown by coworkers. No matter who throws the shower for
you, you will need to think about whom to put on the guest list. Chances
are, your aunt, best friend or coworker are not going to know everyone you
would like to invite, so she is going to need a little help from you.

First, you will need to decide if you think you are going to have more than
one shower. If you hear rumors of a family shower, you probably do not want
to invite family members to your "friends" shower. If you have coworkers
that are also close friends, you do not want to invite them to your
"friends"
shower only to find out you are having a work related shower as well. So
keep your ears open to try to find out as much as possible to avoid
duplicate invitations. You can even ask people you are close to if you feel
comfortable enough and explain to them why you are asking. It will not be
the worst thing if Aunt Silvia has to tell you to hold off on inviting your
best friend to the family shower "just because."

Be sure to ask the shower host how many people can attend the shower. It may
depend on where the shower is being held. Some people have their showers at
their church so there is plenty of room and seating, but many people have
them in their homes, so there may be a limited amount of space. You also do
not want to overload your shower host's budget. She may be thinking you will
invite fifteen people and you do not want to show up with a list of a
hundred people. Remember that the shower invitations, decorations, and
refreshments are going to cost your host money and you want to be respectful
of her generosity in offering to throw you a shower.

Once you have an idea of what type of baby showers you are going to have,
then you need to sit down and write out a list.
You may want to jot down names on a sheet of paper before you start looking
up addresses. You may even want to ask some other people whom you should
invite. With all you have going on, chances are you may forget someone, so
it will be useful to have another person helping you. You do not want to
hurt anyone's feelings by unintentionally leaving them off the guest list.

After you get your list set, you will need to start gathering addresses.
Actually giving your names and addresses to the host may best be done on the
computer if you are comfortable using it. Many people already keep names and
addresses in online address books, so giving your host your shower list may
be as simple as printing the address list and checking the names of those
you want to invite. If you do not have your addresses online, you can type
them into a spreadsheet to give to your shower host. An online copy of
addresses may come in handy depending on whether she is going to have
addresses printed on envelopes, print address labels for the envelopes, or
hand write the addresses on each envelope. No matter how she is going to do
it, having a nice, clear copy of all names and addresses will be beneficial.

Finally, if you forget someone important on your list and feel badly about
it, invite them out to a special one-on-one lunch with you. It will not be
the same as being at the shower, but can help mend hurt feelings from being
left out.

Have fun determining your baby shower list. Call a few of your closest
friends, grab your old address books and have a good time reminiscing as you
jot down names.

About The Author: Jennifer Barnett is a successful party planner providing
valuable tips and advice on planning a baby shower that is inexpensive, fun
for the guests with baby shower games, and choosing the perfect baby shower
gift.
http://www.about-baby-showers.com