Ideas for a new baby celebration

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Allegra

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We’d like to have a family party to celebrate the arrival of our new baby in March. We want it to be before the baby is born, because afterward we’ll be busy and concerned about germs. We also are hoping the party might help our kids get excited about the new baby. However, we want to be very clear that this is not a baby shower. With our second, we tried to celebrate with a “diaper party”, and it was a negative experience because my mom and aunts have decided that having a baby shower for a second baby is the most crass and distasteful faux pas ever and that people shouldn’t have kids unless they can afford to provide for them. We talked them into the diaper party, and it should have all been cool, except my step-mother has an obsessive need to buy crap and showed up with bags of gifts. (More than she bought for the first baby, just because someone told her ‘no’.) This caused all sorts of drama and unpleasantness. It also can’t be a “gender reveal” because we’ve already told everyone the baby is a girl. Frankly, I think I just want to have a family get-together with a cake that says “Welcome, Allegra Junior”. We don’t need any gifts. I’m thinking early February and I was thinking of making a couple kinds of soup and having a sandwich tray. Any good ideas or even traditions I don’t know about for celebrating a new baby at a non-gift giving event?
 
Maybe just have a party to celebrate your fortune of bringing another child into the world.
I would then put in the announcements that gifts are NOT expected however if they wish
to bring a gift the gifts will be turned over to a pregnancy center for women in need!
 
Just have whatever party you want (what you described sounds perfectly reasonable) and on the invitation put, in bold, “no gifts, please”. If someone shows up with a gift, accept it graciously. Don’t rob them of the pleasure of bringing a gift.

You can’t control other people, and you shouldn’t try. If someone behaves in a way that is ruining the party, ask them to leave.

Sounds like a whole lot of drama to me. I don’t do drama. Life is too short for that. Remember, it is your party and you get to invite those people who you want to be there. Those who cause trouble…don’t invite them.
 
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That’s a good idea! We have a crisis nursery in the area that is always looking for donations, especially of diapers and wipes.
 
How about ditching the arrival party. In my country we may have a baby shower, but not a arrival party. Seems

Instead have the party when your daughter is Christened.
 
I just had another thought. I hope you aren’t declining gifts just because you have a few relatives who think you should. Even if this isn’t your first baby, I am sure you could use some new things for the baby.

When someone I know is having a baby, I love to buy a gift. People usually want to do this. Each baby is special and unique.

Anyhow, I forgot to add in my previous post that it is perfectly acceptable to have a baby shower-type party for second, third, fourth, etc. babies. Don’t let your grouchy relatives ruin that for you or dictate that.
 
They’re 3 and 5, so I was going to let them help plan it. We do have a budget to consider though.
 
I don’t really intend to actually decline a gift. That would be rude. I just don’t want people to feel obligated to bring gifts. We really don’t need anything new except diapers. We didn’t really get rid of anything substantial from our last two. It’s just a matter of bringing up the pink box or blue box. We knew we were intending on having another baby eventually, so we saved everything that was in decent condition.
 
We are planning on having our baby Baptized in complete secret and hoping no one asks. Long story.
 
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