The invitation to a baby shower needs to include all of the obvious facts about when and where the event will take place and who it is for. Be sure to put the date by which you want guests to RSVP. This is extremely important if the shower is being held at a hotel or restaurant or if you are having it catered. You will need to give an accurate count of the number of guests to the representatives from these places so that they can prepare accordingly. They will most likely require you to give a guaranteed amount, so you want to be as close to the right number of people, since you will be paying for it, even if they don't all show up.

You should send out the invitations 2 weeks before the RSVP date and the RSVP date should probably be at least 2 maybe 3 weeks before the baby shower. This gives the guests a month or more to make sure they are available on that date and to have time to figure out what to do for a gift. This also gives you time to really bring everything together and know basically how many guests you will have. Obviously a lot of planning will have already been done by the time you send the invitations

You also want to include in the invitation anything the guests need to bring or to think of in advance if you have any special activities that require the giving of well wishes, or words of advice, or anything of that nature.

In addition, the invitations you send should visually tell the invited guests the theme of the shower. It will help them to know how to dress. If the shower is being held at the beach or in the evening at someone's home the attire will obviously be different.

Other information that is nice to know is the gender of the baby. If the shower is being held after the baby is born, then you can include the name, birth date, and other facts such as time of birth, length, and weight of the baby. Even if the baby is not yet born, many parents have ultrasounds at around 20 weeks into the pregnancy and can and often do find out the sex of the baby. This will help guests select gifts appropriate for boys, girls, or even twins.

Invited guests that will be coming in from out of town will appreciate additional information that should be included in the invitation. You can include details on surrounding hotels, or information about who they will be staying with if other family members will be putting them up. Hotels will usually print out cards with maps, directions and what to tell the reservations desk in order to get your prearranged group rate. Also include directions to the exact location where the shower is actually going to be held. This applies to all guests who may not know the area well.

The Guest List (Yikes!)

Deciding who to invite to the baby shower can be more difficult than you think. You may face one of two problems: There are too many people to invite, and your budget, room size, etc. are limiting the numbers. Or, the expectant parents are far from family and new to the area, so making a nice party for them means inviting people they may not know as well and therefore, you may not get a good turnout.

Let's look at the first scenario. If the couple is popular, both work and have lots of extended family around, it may be difficult to shower them with just one event. In this case you will need to consider locations that can accommodate a large group, such as the beach, a park, or large function hall. Also, you may find budget restraints mean asking for more help and donations of food, decorations, invitations, etc. Here is where multiple hosts can work together to share the workload and expense.

In the case of a smaller group, a home setting will feel warm, inviting and intimate. Even if only 4 or 5 ladies show up, it can be a fun event to celebrate the birth. This might be the right situation for a girl's night out at a restaurant where everyone also brings a gift, or a movie night at home watching a real "chick flick." The new mom will know that there are other women around who will be there to celebrate and support her in her new role as a mom. Also consider inviting husbands to round out your guest list and make the event more festive.

If you are unsure of who to invite you can always ask the parents-to-be for the names and addresses of family members, close friends and business associates. If you want the party to be surprise, try going to the parents of the expectant couple for ideas on who to invite. While you are compiling your guest list, you can organize the names by categories such as Family, Close Friends, Work Friends, Neighborhood Friends, and Church Friends. This way, if you need to cut numbers from your list, you can keep the closer relationships separated.

With all of the details surrounding a baby shower, it is easy to forget when someone called, left a message on your voice mail or email, or just gave you a verbal RSVP in passing. A good way to keep an accurate record of who has been invited and who has responded is to use a Guest Checklist

This checklist also lets anyone involved in the planning get a good overall visual of who is coming. It will help you to not forget important guests and to give any catering facilities an accurate count for your party. It is a nice list to keep to record gifts and also if the thank you note has been sent.