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An Open House Baby Shower
A New Twist on That Special Party for the Mom-to-be
By Renee Roberson
In today's hectic society it's not unusual for a family's weekend to be completely booked months ahead of time. As a result, structures and formats of social events, such as birthday parties and baby showers, are constantly evolving to help accommodate guests who might be attending.
A new trend with baby showers is to hold an "open house" or "drop-in" baby shower where guests have an option of bringing the guest of honor her gifts without being obligated to stay for several hours.
Kiley Thiel, a resident of Charlotte, N.C., had an open house baby shower before her baby's birth. Female members of her church held the shower in their church fellowship hall from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. one weekend afternoon. Simple finger foods, cake and punch were served for guests who dropped in during the event.
"We all have lots of things going on during our weekend hours and this is a way to be able to attend a baby shower without feeling obligated to stay for two or three hours," says Thiel. "Thirty minutes at a baby shower can be fit into a busy day much easier than three hours can."
Another advantage to this type of shower is that some of the pressure is taken off both the hostess and guest of honor.
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An Open House Baby Shower by Anonymous on 09/24/2009 10:40PM
My friend offered to have an open house baby shower for me. I was very hesitant since I had not heard of this before. I decided to research on the internet and found this article. It actually looks like it can be very fun and organized! We decided to have it at my house that way people can see the nursery and I can visit as they come. I think the first baby prob traditional is good, so you have the experience of the games, etc., but since this is my second I am loving this idea. Can't wait!! Thanks for the article!
An Open House Baby Shower by Anonymous on 05/05/2009 10:17AM
I think this is a great idea! My daughter is expecting her first child 2 months, but unfortunately, the baby is going to be born early, we're just not sure exactly when. The open house baby shower will be perfect for her (she is on strict bedrest) and if the baby arrives early, the shower will still work just fine and will be a much more relaxed atmosphere for everyone.
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An Open House Baby Shower by Anonymous on 10/24/2009 05:29AM
I am hosing an open house baby shower tomorrow! The mommy-to-be only wanted one shower, but had 80 people on her guest list. We figured an open house would be less painful for everyone involved, who wants to watch someone open that many gifts?!?? I noted on the invite that the shower is from 1-4pm at the local church's hall, but gift opening would be from 3-4 for the traditional people and family that really wants to see EVERYTHING she gets. We are serving snacky foods and no games will be played. Hopefully it goes well!