February 19, 2009

What does Baby Shower Etiquette say about not attending and giving gifts?

wonderrranja75 asked:


I received a baby shower invitation, but cannot attend. The shower is for my cousin and We are close, practically sisters. The shower is being held in her home state, which is across the country from where I live (WA State to FL state), So, I will not be able to attend.
I do want to get a gift, if not lots of gifts for her and the baby. I am confused about what to do. I was going to send the gifts directly to her home, but now I am wondering If etiquette says I should send them to the baby shower location? If I send the gifts directly to her home, should I send a card or something else to the baby shower location to acknowldege the fact that I received the invitation but could not attend? When do I send the gifts? Will it be ok to send them after the shower, or should I send them before the shower so that she will have them for the shower… I’m all confused! Any advise or input?

Alexis

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Comments on What does Baby Shower Etiquette say about not attending and giving gifts?

February 20, 2009

April M @ 10:17 am

Lillie

If you and your cousin are close, I am sure that she would understand that you may not be able to make it. As far as a gift goes you definately want to send one. I would send it too whoever is putting on the baby shower, this will be a nice surprise to her on that day! You said that you may want to send lots of stuff, but i would pick one thing (and a card) to send for the party, and send to rest directly to her, at a later time. Congratulations on the new member to the family, and good luck!

February 22, 2009

wendy08010 @ 12:36 am

Heather

If it is a surprise shower, then either send the gift to the shower location or wait until after the shower and send the gift to her home and call her later to tell her that you are sorry you were not able to attend. If the party is not a surprise, then send the gift to her house whenever, and call her to tell her that you are sorry you will not be able to make it. If it will be a large shower, then sending it to her home (surprise or not) is the best bet. As much as I loved all 5 of my baby showers, the difficult thing was figuring out how to get all of the wonderful gifts back home after the shower, as neither me nor my husband were driving large cars at the time. Going home from my church shower we ended up not being able to see out of the back window of our car.

February 23, 2009

RedKarma @ 4:35 am

Amir

Send them to her home. Putting way too much into this.

February 25, 2009

Syberian @ 2:52 am

Lorenzo

1) send a letter to the hostess of the party thanking her for the invitation but with your regrets
feel free to say how much you wish you could be there.

2) send a congratulations card to the expectant mother
and say something about how much you wish you could have come to her shower.

3) send the shower gifts to the expectant mothers home.
it will save her from lifting and carrying items more than she has to.

February 28, 2009

Terri @ 11:48 am

Anabel

IF she does not know about the shower, I would get gifts and send them after the baby shower.

If she knows, go ahead and send them whenever you get the chance.

March 1, 2009

Angela C @ 11:22 pm

Sawyer

Either mailing them directly to her or to the person throwing the shower is acceptable. Even though you can’t be there for her shower, sending a gift lets her know that you care and are there in spirit.

March 5, 2009

teacherintheroom @ 1:06 am

Iliana

If the shower is a surprise, it would be very nice to send the gifts ahead of time to a close relative that will be attending who can bring them to the shower for you. It would also be nice if you include a note saying how you wished you could be there.
Or, you could wait and send a gift after the shower directly to her.

If the shower is not a surprise, you can send the gift to her with a nice note at anytime.

Send one nice shower gift and then send another gift after the baby is born if you really want to “shower” her with gifts! (yes, pun intended….)

Lou Lou @ 5:55 pm

Beatrice

It’s not so complicated. Find out who is hosting the event. Get their number, call them and tell you them you won’t be attending. Then talk to your cousin and apologize for not being able to come. Tell her you’re sending her a gift. If she wants it before the shower, send it either to the host or your cousin. I would send it before so she can open it at the shower. Get a really nice card or write a personal letter if you are that close and say, “I wish I could be with you and hope this makes up for my absence. See you soon!” or something to that effect. I’m sure she’ll understand and it will all work out just fine.

March 8, 2009

valschmal @ 3:21 pm

Jamie

If the invite asks for a response to the hostess, then do that for sure. If it does not, call the cousin and let her know you got the invite but can’t come. Just simply ask her what she would prefer on the gifts. She may have a definite opinion; she may not want them sent to the shower so that she doesn’t then have to lug them home!

There is no etiquette on where to send them, really, so you can’t go wrong either way!

March 11, 2009

berry @ 9:37 pm

Leroy

Since you are not attending, you may send the gift before or after the shower. I suggest sending the gift to her house. You could send a gift by buying online from Amazon, Ebay or Red Envelope which will send them directly to her house..