Try to send the invitations four weeks prior to the baby shower to give guests enough time to schedule the date and rsvp. The earlier you know how many people will attend, the easier it will be to get ready for the party.

There are a lot of invitation options, many for each type of budget and selected party theme. From color matching to the specific character you are highlighting at the party, it’s available.

Email

Etiquette wise, email is not the preferred method of sending out baby shower invitations. However, if you have budget or sever time restrictions, this may be the way to go. Evite.com is the most popular online invitation service and it is free. You can select available templates or customize your own. You can easily track responses and send follow-up messages using Evite.

Make Your Own

You can easily make your own, using your printer and some clip art, using a software package, or using kits available in many craft and stationary stores.

Purchase

Cute and inexpensive fill-in-the-blank invitations are available in most grocery and drug stores, as well as you local party and stationary stores. You can also find imprintable invitations which allow you to print the baby shower information using your printer.

Custom printed invitations are available from your local stationary stores or online sources. All price ranges are available, from $1 per invitation to an extravagant $15 per invitation! Most companies will also offer return address printing on the envelope for a small additional fee and some even stamp the envelopes!

I did a search for baby shower invitations at Finestationery.com and received over 700 results! Almost 300 of those results were print your own options - a great way to save some cash and get stylish invitations for the baby shower.

This set by Toccare Design's is affordable and adorable - it contains 20 printable invitations, 20 thank you notes, 20 favor bags, a baby registry notebook, a photo album and seals. All the items are coordinated and at $30, this set is a bargain from Finestationery.com.

Who, Why, What, Where and When?

Make sure to include all the pertinent baby shower information on the invite:
What is the party? A Baby Shower of course!
Who is the guest of honor? Expectant parents or mom-to-be
When is the party? Date and Time
Where is the party? Location and directions
RSVP information: Include the name of the host and phone number and/or email address for rsvp.

Optional Information to Include in the Invitation:

Gender and name of the baby, if known.
Directions to the party location. You won’t have to field as many last minute phone calls for lost guests if you include clear directions. Print out a map on your computer using MapQuest or GoogleMaps and include a map with the invitation.

Specifying Gifts and Registries

It used to be an etiquette “no-no” to include gift information directly on the invitation. Some would say it shouldn’t be included anywhere, but I think it can be very helpful to add a little insert card with the baby registry location or discretely include the information in the lower left corner. Make it a simple statement along the lines of “Mary is registered at Babies R Us.”

Most guests will ask for gift ideas or registry locations when they rsvp for the party – just make sure you know where the mom-to-be is registered prior to sending out the invitation.

La Di Da Baby Tips:

You can easily customize inexpensive folded, fill-in-the-blank invitations! Using matching color card-stock and your computer and printer, type up the invitation information and add a cute saying, size and cut it to be the same or slightly smaller than the dimensions on the invitation and glue it in. Now you have taken advantage of a cute invitation front and customized the inside with your personal touch.

Purchase coordinating thank you notes for the mom-to-be with you purchase of the invitations. Give her the notes as part of her gift.

Save an invitation for the mom-to-be's scrapbook layout of the baby shower.

Online Resources

Online invitations: American Greetings

Online invitations: Evite

Custom invitations and printables: Finestationery.com

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Invitations

· What Information To Include

· Specifying Gifts and Registries