For those planning a baby shower for a friend, one of the more difficult aspects of planning is in choosing and sending the baby shower invitations. Some find that there are too many options in terms of styles and colors and become overwhelmed. Others wonder how to navigate the etiquette concerns that come with drafting and sending formal invitations. When planning your first shower, there are a few things that one should remember that will make the creating and sending the baby shower invitations far easier.

Choose the shower theme first, and find invitations that highlight this theme. There is no need to get too involved in complicated shower themes. Some showers are patterned after high tea services, while others are more informal get togethers. Make sure that the invitations reflect the mood of the party. If it will be an informal occasion, do not send out ornate engraved invitations. For more formal afternoon parties that will require a certain mode of dress, choose invitations in a more formal style to convey that to the guests. Planners should also include any notes on dress code at the bottom of the invitation. This will make it easier for attendees to plan for their appearance.

Showers are not thrown by the mother to be, nor are they generally thrown by a member of her family. Traditionally, baby showers are meant to be thrown by friends of the expectant mother and not someone to whom she is related. If upholding this tradition is important to you, find a friend who is willing to take on the responsibility of sending and addressing the invitations, as well as updating the guest list. Some people do find this tradition a bit antiquated, but sticking to it does not mean that the soon to be mother cannot be a part of the planning process.

Give guests plenty of time to respond. There is no need to send invitations out a few months early, but many guest appreciate being given at least a month to clear their calendars and make arrangements for their attendance. When addressing the invitations, make sure that you are including the name of everyone within the household who will be invited. This can avoid the confusion that comes with not knowing if it is an adults only occasion or one that will include children. It can also be the best way to get a true idea of the number of people who will be in attendance.

Do not email the invitations. While more and more people are using email as their primary means of communication, mailed baby shower invitations should still be sent if at all possible. There is no need to go to great expense to have invitations printed. There are now software programs that enable the printing of professional looking invitations from home, as well as many low cost template invitations that can be personalized by hand. Mailing invitations is a lovely touch that is always appreciated, and makes any occasion feel that much more special.

So, you’ve been asked to run a baby shower? Are in you in charge of making invitations, decorations, or shower games? If you’ve been enlisted to fulfill any or all of these tasks, you’re likely going to need baby shower clipart unless you intend to purchase pre-made invitations and such. However, if you’re feeling creative or want something out of the ordinary, you’re going to want to use your own clipart. Thankfully, clipart for baby showers is not difficult to find.

If you’re already lucky enough to have a computer clipart program, you can start your search there. The available clipart will likely include things such as baby blocks, bottles, diapers. Depending on the software you have, the selection may or may not be very extensive or helpful.

If you don’t have clipart software, you always purchase some, but you may find this unnecessary if you’re only going to use it for this baby shower. Your best bet is to search the internet where you can find just about anything you need. Although there are many internet sites that require an account or a fee to use clipart, there are also many websites that offer free clipart.

Visit your favorite search engine, type in “baby shower clipart”, and enjoy the half a million results. Baby shower clipart may be in a downloadable PDF form or in a simple JPG form which you can simply save to your desktop. Thankfully, the internet holds a vast selection of clipart so you can find exactly what you are looking for. You should find just about everything from storks, pacifiers, bottles, carriages, strollers, daddy and baby, mommy and baby, twins, and triplets to baby bottles, teddy bears, blocks, bassinets, balloons, rubber duckies, and Noah’s Ark.

Some great free websites to visit are amazing-baby-shower-ideas.com, babyshower.net, or Webweaver’s free clipart. Other sites, which may require a small fee, are clipsahoy.com or babytidings.com.

What do you do once you’ve found some baby shower clipart? Save the clipart to your desktop and cut and paste it as necessary to various projects. Using photo manipulation programs, you can also play with the colors or the sizes of the clipart if you wish.

Once you find some clipart you like, it’s time to get to work preparing invitations, decorations, or signs. Keep in mind that you want everything to look nice, so don’t jumble a whole bunch of clipart pieces together just because they’re all for baby showers. Try to determine a theme and choose clipart accordingly. i.e. the theme is rubber duckies, so mainly use clipart that fits this and go easy on teddy bears, building blocks, and diapers.

When making personal baby shower invitations and such, don’t go overboard with the clipart either. You want whatever you are making to be readable and memorable, not a big mess of pictures and colors. Be creative but simple with your clipart finds, and have discretion as to where you put the clipart.

You’ll soon have a finished product that looks great and is unique for the mom-to-be!

Someone you know is about to have a baby. You have been invited to the baby shower and you want to say something that expresses the joy you feel for them. You go in search for a baby shower card that expresses your sentiments. Well you don’t have to worry there are so many baby shower cards to choose from.

Baby shower cards can be funny, sentimental or serious depending on your relationship to the mother-to-be and the type of baby shower you will be attending. Most baby shower cards contain a simple congratulatory message, while others offer bits of home-spun wisdom or humor.

When choosing a baby shower card you must keep in mind the the kind of relationship you have with the parent or parents, whether the shower is an elegant affair or a homey one. One must also be aware of the situation of the mother to be, is she going to be a single parent or is the parent/parents to be in an alternative relationship.

Baby shower cards can be religious in nature or secular it all depends on who the card is intended for. When choosing a card a little forethought can prevent hurt feelings and miss understands. For example you wouldn’t want to give a Jewish friend a baby shower card intended for a Muslim. All baby shower cards are not created equal! If you are friends with the mother-to-be then keep her personality in mind, however if you are just an acquaintance choose a card that is dignified and caring. In other words choose your baby shower card wisely.

Another thing to keep in mind when choosing a baby shower card is the theme and color scheme of the baby shower if that information is available. Also if the sex of the child is known choose a card based on that information; however, if the sex is unknown choose a card with neutral colors and unisex prose.

There are many local stores such as Wal-mart, Target and K-Mart that have a wide selection of baby shower cards to choose from. Specialty stores such as Hallmark carry an even larger selection of cards for all occasions. There are online stores that have a wide range of baby shower ecards and cards for printing. If you are the creative type you may want to create your own unique baby shower card(s). There are many software programs available to help you create a masterpiece.

Baby shower cards come in all shapes and sizes. Use your imagination when picking out that special card and ask yourself, “Is this a card I would like to receive?” Please don’t be hasty when choosing a baby shower card. Remember baby showers are given to celebrate new life and the right baby shower card can add to warmth to that joyous occasion. The mother-to-be will appreciate the time you took to find the right card.

As you search for the appropriate baby shower card or if you choose to create your own put yourself in the mother-to-be’s shoes. When you see and read the card does it move your heart to laughter or tears. If the card doesn’t speak to you then chances are it will not speak to the mother-to-be.

Today everyone is into the “do it yourself” theme of doing things. The world of crafts keeps growing and growing. People are making cards and invitations as a hobby more and more. Therefore, what better way to get your baby shower invitations done for a party you are hosting? Sit down and do it yourself. There are ideas from simple to very complex. Take a look at the many sites on the internet today and you can even order specialty paper to makethem out of.

Once you have the date set the next thing to do when it comes to hosting a baby shower is to pick a theme and make the invitations. You will want something unique, especially the wording. Make sure you include the specifics though. The date, time, place of the party etc. There are many themes to pick from that you can use for the invitation only or carry through all the way to the party itself. Some cute unisex ideas are pandas, monkeys, bumble bees, baby footprints, any of the classic baby Disney or Looney Toon characters (or groups of them).

Popular and cute ideas for girls include ladybugs, flowers and polka dots. For boys you can try elephants, boats, football or baseball, and camouflage (especially cute if one parent is in the military). If you’re planning a couples shower you can go with any pair theme…such as Mickey and Minnie mouse or, Donald and Daisy duck. You could also personalize a couple’s shower even more by using pictures of the parents-to-be.

After the decision on the outside of the invitations, you have to consider the baby shower invitation wording. There are several things you have to make sure you include in your wording for the invitation. These are a cute verse or poem, the expectant mothers (or both parents) name, the date of the shower, the time of the shower and the location of the shower. Make sure to include the street address of the place you are hosting int. Include a name and phone number for guests to R.S.V.P to, and list all the baby registries that the expectant mother has joined. Also, make sure to include any special instructions you want the guests to know. This can include things such as a picture of themselves for a scrapbook or one of the expectant mother and themselves for use in a scrapbook. Also, make sure to include any specific instructions that may apply. such as certain items to bring for a wishing well or to put on a diaper cake.

There are many websites to get wording for your invitations from also. For example you could write your own (or use one you find on the website) along with the above information. You could also use something as simple as “Please join us for a baby shower honoring….” Just be sure to include the baby’s sex if you know it. This can be done in a number of cute ways and incorporated into the many poems available.

Spend a little time, do a little research and your guaranteed to come up a unique invitation. One as unique as you are and as unique as the mother-to-be-is.