Another Shower Question

[daughtersrus]

I posted a few weeks ago about a "save the date" that my DD got. Well, today I have a shower question.

She got an invitation for a baby shower for another one of her co-workers. The invitation has all of the basic information. Time, place, RSVP, where's she registered... but the it also says "Be sure to bring a pack of diapers and wipes to be part of the door raffle!"

What the heck? You have to bring a gift and diapers and wipes.

I'm thinking that I'd reduce the amount of money that I'd spend on the gift by $10 to cover the cost of the diapers and wipes.

I've been to showers before where they played games for prizes or gave away the centerpiece flowers. But I've had to pay to play.


Is it just that I'm from a different generation that all of this seems weird to me?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

They made it optional, so you can skip it if you want. Work showers are always less formal anyway.

 

[akhenaten]

I posted a few weeks ago about a "save the date" that my DD got. Well, today I have a shower question.

She got an invitation for a baby shower for another one of her co-workers. The invitation has all of the basic information. Time, place, RSVP, where's she registered... but the it also says "Be sure to bring a pack of diapers and wipes to be part of the door raffle!"

What the heck? You have to bring a gift and diapers and wipes.

I'm thinking that I'd reduce the amount of money that I'd spend on the gift by $10 to cover the cost of the diapers and wipes.

I've been to showers before where they played games for prizes or gave away the centerpiece flowers. But I've had to pay to play.


Is it just that I'm from a different generation that all of this seems weird to me?

seems like a twist on the wishing well to me... we usually had one where the guest brought a small additional gift.... wipes, wash clothes, diaper rash ointment Etc. The specific requests and entry to game is pushing the manners envelope IMO...

 

[daughtersrus]

They made it optional, so you can skip it if you want. Work showers are always less formal anyway.

Maybe but the shower isn't at work. It's a rented hall on a Sunday afternoon. My guess is that it's not just co-workers that have been invited but I could be wrong.

 

[Tink888]

Must be a new trend.

I attended a baby shower where guests were asked to bring a children's book in addition to the gift so we could help build the baby's library. Not too big a deal, I can a find decent, inexpensive book.

I guess I'd be okay with the wipes, it's only a few dollars but diapers are expensive, heck some people give diapers as the gift, so I agree with you in that if I've got to bring diapers and wipes, it's coming out of what I'd spend on the gift.

I guess the host thinks it's cute but there's a very thin line between cute and rude to me. I guess my line crosses right around the five dollar mark.

 

[RachaelA]

Must be a new trend.

I attended a baby shower where guests were asked to bring a children's book in addition to the gift so we could help build the baby's library. Not too big a deal, I can a find decent, inexpensive book.

I guess I'd be okay with the wipes, it's only a few dollars but diapers are expensive, heck some people give diapers as the gift, so I agree with you in that if I've got to bring diapers and wipes, it's coming out of what I'd spend on the gift.

I guess the host thinks it's cute but there's a very thin line between cute and rude to me. I guess my line crosses right around the five dollar mark.

This is what my mom plans to do for my shower (or so she says). I think its a cute idea.

I've been to showers where we were asked to bring diapers for the raffle as well. I just didn't spend as much as I normally would on my gift (maybe a couple bucks less) and then I got the diapers as well.

I guess in the end though I don't understand why people want others to bring diapers because what if diaper brand doesn't work? What if you get a million newborn diapers and your baby is 9+ lbs at birth and grows out of them insanely fast? I plan on cloth diapering so I haven't done any research on disposables.

 

[aprilgail2]

Must be a new trend.

I attended a baby shower where guests were asked to bring a children's book in addition to the gift so we could help build the baby's library. .

I had one like that too and I just took the cost of the book off what I was going to spend on a gift! Its a nice idea but come on--its just another way of getting another gift.
I went to a bridal shower and in addition to a gift they asked everyone to bring a bottle of wine to start off their wine collection!!

 

[Kasmooth]

The last baby shower I went to did the diaper raffle that was a couple of years ago and since I have heard alot of people are doing that or the book raffle.

 

[luvmy3]

If you show up empty handed and they send you away, then you can assume its a gift grab, otherwise its just an optional "game".

 

[scrapquitler]

I posted a few weeks ago about a "save the date" that my DD got. Well, today I have a shower question.

She got an invitation for a baby shower for another one of her co-workers. The invitation has all of the basic information. Time, place, RSVP, where's she registered... but the it also says "Be sure to bring a pack of diapers and wipes to be part of the door raffle!"

What the heck? You have to bring a gift and diapers and wipes.

I'm thinking that I'd reduce the amount of money that I'd spend on the gift by $10 to cover the cost of the diapers and wipes.

I've been to showers before where they played games for prizes or gave away the centerpiece flowers. But I've had to pay to play.


Is it just that I'm from a different generation that all of this seems weird to me?

For a co-worker, the diapers and wipes would be a large percentage of my gift budget. I'd buy something like a book or a package of onsies and some socks to go with it. No more than $25 total including the diapers and wipes. Or I would skip the diapers and wipes alltogether.

 

[dislal]

I have had a few cousins do this with just diapers. They put your name into a drawing for a $50 GC for a local restaurant. I am going to one of these showers in April and I used coupons and waited for sales at our local grocery store and I picked up three ( one for me and each of the girls) big packs of huggies diapers for about $12 total. I also got the deal at rite aide a few weeks ago for the johnsons baby products lotion and baby wash and destin for free after coupons and UP rewards, so all I have to do is buy a cute outfit and a card and I will have a VERY nice gift for under $25 with the diapers included. So my advice would be look for coupons and sales.

 

[marybet]

I got an invitation like that, it was worded to be an option, not as a demand. I still thought it was tacky. I think baby showers should be for close friends and family, not everyone you know. If you can't afford to buy the baby stuff than don't have a baby.

Since the shower was in another state I just sent a gift card, but had I gone I would not have taken diapers or wipes.

It really is not the guests responsibilty to fill your medicine cabinet, your wine rack, your spice rack, your baby's library, or bring enough diapers so you don't have to buy any till the childs first birthday. But that is just my cranky opinion.

 

[phillmolly]

I don't like the idea, not just because it is asking for extra gifts, but because you never know until the child is born what type of diapers and wipes you can use. Before my son was born I bought several jumbo size boxes of huggies, turned out he was allergic to them and would break it in a rash after just one diaper! My sister got very luck because I gave them to her (my niece is two weeks younger than my son). Also my son was in premmie diapers for the first month or so, my niece went straight into size 1. If anything, they should just ask for GC for diapers.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Also my son was in premmie diapers for the first month or so, my niece went straight into size 1. If anything, they should just ask for GC for diapers.

I had a lot of friends give me diapers when I was pregnant with #2, and thankfully my friends are smart and I mostly size 1 and 2, only one box of NB. Which was great because my son was 9 lbs and by the time I got down to the last few NB diapers they were a tight fit!

Moral of the story: If you are going to give diapers, give size 1 and up. If you are going to give clothes, give size 3 month and up!

 

[Belle0101]

I received an invite like that once too. The invite indicated where the mom-to-be was registered, Babies R Us, and to bring 1 package of diapers for every entry you wanted to have in the raffle.

I didn't go so I don't know what the raffle prize was.

Ditto on the not knowing what brand of diapers will work for babies. My niece could only wear Huggies. She developed a rash with other brands. My sons both had blow-outs with Huggies. Yuck! I was really lucky though. They both wore the Wal-mart brand diapers. Cheapest diapers I could find and they were fine with them. No rashes and no gross blow-outs.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

BTW...they didn't neccessarily say what KIND of diapers, so you could take some cloth pre-folds!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Why do invitations to showers and birthday parties and weddings always get people so worked up?

 

[disneyismyname]

This is very common in our baby shower neck of the woods. When it says that we usually never do it. Or if we do..we buy the small package of diapers. The prize is usually a candle or a gift card. Its not mandatory or anything.

 

[merbobear]

There was a "diaper raffle" at my baby shower - no one seemed offended by it. It was an optional game. I believe the wording was "Bring a package of diapers to be entered in a drawing for a door prize." Something like that. If someone didn't want to enter, they didn't have to

I received about 50 packages of diapers (around 70 people attended) in various sizes & brands. We did have to return a few when a size was outgrown quickly, so we just brought them (unopened) to target and exchanged them for another size - no problem!