May 20, 2009
Can we not hold a baby shower and still ask for gifts?
_arkose asked:
My wife and I are expecting our first child in November and have just moved to our new home. Our friends and family are spread across the US, so there is no point in having the shower where we live as no one be able to attend. What would be an appropiate way to send a card announcing a baby on the way and announcing where we have registries without sounding rude?
Carley
My wife and I are expecting our first child in November and have just moved to our new home. Our friends and family are spread across the US, so there is no point in having the shower where we live as no one be able to attend. What would be an appropiate way to send a card announcing a baby on the way and announcing where we have registries without sounding rude?
Carley















Comments on Can we not hold a baby shower and still ask for gifts?
Eliseo
Baby showers are not about gifts, if your friends want to send gifts they will. A baby shower is about support and friendship.
Sage
Upcoming birth announcements are perfectly okay, but they should not contain registry information. There is no polite way to do this. Etiquette-wise, you should only tell people where you are registered if they ask.
Jane
send out the announcements and list the places you have registered. if you live a good distance away it is cheaper to send the gifts than to travel anyways. Good luck and congrats!
Tiffany
I would say somthing along the lines , We are about to introduce a new little one into the family , please keep us in your prayers, we would like to throw a baby shower, but as most of you are to far to travel, we did not want to inconvinonce anyone. We are in need of baby items, any gifts that we have on the registries would be greatly appreciated and when our little bundle of joy arrives all of you will have a picture. Somthing like that, I hope I helped
Jamir
Congregations
Mr and Mrs. XXXXXXX are proud to announce that we will be expecting a boy/girl in November. We are thankful for one of gods blessings.
Love,
Mr & Mrs. XXXXXXXXx
We are register at walmart & Tagret
Richard
There is no way to do it without sounding rude. If you were to have a baby shower you are at least hosting a function where your family and friends are able to celebrate the pregnancy. But if you can’t do this it’s just not right to expect gifts from people just because you are having a baby, you decided to do this not them!
If you send out a birth announcement card after bub is born then many people do send gifts or cards, but it should never be expected. Your baby will get many gifts after it is born, during christenings or birthdays etc.
You cant ask people for gifts before baby is even born!
Brenna
I dont think its rude..i think everyone in the family and friends circle would be offended if you didnt send out a note or announcement. I know my family would..and if your family is like mine trust me..the gifts will come unasked for if you have loving family and friends..it is not inappropriate to send out an announcement saying something to the effect of “we would like you to share in our upcoming joy even though we are apart” a short sweet little note and the little registry inserts would be perfect….
Zion
You should send out a pregnancy announcement and if they want to send a present then they can and if they don’t then they don’t. It would be rude and tacky to ask for gifts though.
Romeo
Why not just send out shower invites anyway, and have a small one at home, with the idea that there won’t be many people there? I know that I would find it rude if I got an announcement and a registry list.
I am in the military, and threw a shower for a friend of mine who is from the West Coast. We sent invites to all her family & friends back home, and her mom did fly out (she was going to come anyway to help w/the new baby). She got a few gifts mailed and a lot of gift cards. No one commented that it was tacky.
You can always couple your announcements & thank you cards as well.
Delia
I think you’ll have to wait to announce the arrival of your baby and someone other than you will tell them where you are registered or if people ask then you can say we registered at target.
you can’t send out your own announcement about where you registered.
Sara
You and your wife could send out invitations for a “virtual shower.” Explaining that even though your friends and family are all in different parts of the country but you still want to include them, you could announce that on a specific date at a specific time, you and your wife will sit down together and open baby gifts. You could film it with a webcam or just call each person to thank them after you open a gift. You could get a little cake, and it would be a fun little bonding experience for the two of you. I would be sure to include websites of the places you are registered. As the gifts arrive, you can just stack them up until the shower. It would be even better if you could enlist the help of a close friend or relative that lives far away (someone who would have thrown a shower if they lived nearby) to send out the invitations on your behalf.
Heather
Try the baby announcement cards…and slip in a registry card (the things that the store gives you to insert) announce that there will not be a shower held but would appreciate any gifts, put expected due date and possible name…that should do it.