Anonymous wrote:My best friend threw our baby shower and in lieu of a game or activity she had paper and magazines and pencils and crayons and if people wanted to, they could make a page of an alphabet book for our baby (so for example, on someone did the "F" page and cut out a bunch of pictures of fish) Most of the people participated and there was a lot of laughing. The bottom of each page says, "prepared with love by..." So now when my son and I read it he always remembers who made that page. I really treasure it.

OP here. Thank you so much for sharing this! This is exactly the kind of input I was looking for.

My best friend threw our baby shower and in lieu of a game or activity she had paper and magazines and pencils and crayons and if people wanted to, they could make a page of an alphabet book for our baby (so for example, on someone did the "F" page and cut out a bunch of pictures of fish) Most of the people participated and there was a lot of laughing. The bottom of each page says, "prepared with love by..." So now when my son and I read it he always remembers who made that page. I really treasure it.

It was a cocktail party that started later in the day (happy hour time? Saturday at 5) so there were heavy apps but it was over by about 7:30 so people had their evenings if they had dinner plans too. It had a great happy hour vibe. It was a display shower, which I am not even sure if I think its a proper thing (some find this horrid and tacky) but I had no hand in the planning of it and was just grateful that people actually wanted to do all that planning for us so I didn't cluck my tongue at their generosity.

Oh and no games.

Buy your friend some thank you notes in advance and have the envelopes at the shower for each guest to fill out their mailing address directly onto the envelope and then give them to your friend. This will save her a ton of time in addressing thank you notes and one less thing she'll have to do.

the best part for mine was that it was really geared to who i am. it was a small intimate lunch for my nearest and dearest and we all just sat and talked for a few hours.

Anonymous wrote:So, yes, I know the rule about no family-hosted showers. But:

My awesome MIL really wanted to host one and invite all her friends. The only people I really knew were my SILs and my own mom. It was still fantastically fun. My MIL asked each of the attendees to write one piece of parenting advice on a note card. A lot of the advice was really sweet, a lot was really funny. Some was even contradictory. I loved reading the cards aloud--that's what really sticks with me 7 years later.

This is great. The hard and fast rules about these parties are silly. Your MIL's friends are happy for her and you and wanted to get you gifts. It's an exciting time for her too! Bravo to you for understanding that and not being a typical DCUM neurotic

So, yes, I know the rule about no family-hosted showers. But:

My awesome MIL really wanted to host one and invite all her friends. The only people I really knew were my SILs and my own mom. It was still fantastically fun. My MIL asked each of the attendees to write one piece of parenting advice on a note card. A lot of the advice was really sweet, a lot was really funny. Some was even contradictory. I loved reading the cards aloud--that's what really sticks with me 7 years later.

Best--how excited everyone was for us. And having my DH there.

Worst--unwrapping the diaper cake. SUCH a pain. And then we had to figure out how to store curly diapers for months.

Suggestion: if there are a lot of guests/gifts, have 2 people opening gifts. Takes up so much time and everyone's just bored and staring at you.

Best--NO GAMES!!! Drinks for friends and family.

No worse. It was just good food and nice time.

I hate , hate, hate stupid games.

Trivia game sounds so fun!

So sweet...

Best was at the end when a friend and I were cleaning up, and I thought everyone had left...I found out that several friends were sitting out on the patio. I grabbed a bottle of wine and some snacks, and we sat out for another hour or two catching up on girl talk.

Awesome

I love opening presents an watching the moms to e open, especially of a lot of the guess have kids. I loved getting things that I would never have thought to register for and hearing the stories that go along with them. Like a friend gave me a nose Frieda and explained how to use it, if I hadnt opened the gift in front of her I probably would have thought it was gross and never tried it.

I also loved the yummy food, my hosts made (or bought) delicious mini sandwiches and cupcakes and other tasty things.

I'm not big on games but the baby trivia game sounds fun!

Best: painting onesies or bibs and just chatting with folks

Worst: awkward time when you're just ready to go- set a definite end time- like 2-4 pm