Traditional Baby Shower or Baby Shower Tea?
by Donna Gorenflo

Baby showers are an extremely important occasion in a soon to be mother's lifetime. A shower is always a wonderful opportunity to allow your friends and family of the soon-to be-mother to show their affection and love for her. A clever option to your classic baby shower is a baby shower tea. A baby shower tea is usually a more formal affair which offers the mother to be and attendees an alternative way to have fun.

When holding standard showers, the invites are usually pretty informal. From time to time they're communicated through e-mail or word of mouth. Showers often involve close friends and families, so they can often simply tell one another the time and place. A baby shower tea, however, is much better served through creating proper invitations that show a lot more formality. The goal isn't to make the baby shower tea feel pretentious, rather helping to design a more formal feeling for the whole occasion. Likewise, the amount of people invited to attend should be less. With a standard baby shower the person hosting usually will invite a larger number of guests since large groups often wonderfully with the conventional shower activities and games. A baby shower tea, on the other hand would be best served with a smaller number of guests. You usually do not want any more guests attending a baby shower tea than can be seated at a small table. The goal is intimacy, and typically, games are not played.

A traditional shower can be hosted just about anywhere. In general the baby shower will be in a hostesses' house, although they also take place in a restaurant, hall, or a favorite hang out. The place really should be dependent on what the mother to be would most like, so if she happens to have a favorite hang out spot then that might be the perfect spot. Baby shower teas, on the other hand, are preferably hosted in a more formal, quiet place. Most often this means they're held in a private home, but the event could just as well be located in a tea room. The decor of the party location should be formal and charming, although that doesn't necessarily mean it has to be ostentatious or that the home needs personal chefs and servants to be appropriate.

You can hold baby showers at just about any time during the day but they are typically in the evening or on weekends because most guests work during the day. If none of the guests have to work in the day, a shower could be held while the kids are at school. A baby shower tea is most appropriately held during the afternoon, since it is the most ideal time for a tea party. However, some may choose to hold the baby shower later in the morning. During a traditional shower, essentially any refreshments can be served, but at a baby shower tea, the appropriate choice is scones and tea sandwiches. Gifts and baby shower favors are a main part of a standard baby shower, but at a baby shower tea, gifts don't need to be exchanged and favors ought to either be relevant to the party or cut out completely. Now some baby showers include the new daddy and often times guests bring gifts for dad, but at baby shower teas the guests should only be women.

Both types of celebrations have good and bad points, but a mom to be can have both types if she chooses to. Celebrating the birth of a baby should be a wonderful experience.  Whether you gather friends for a baby shower party or a more formal baby shower tea, you can not go awry if you just make it fun, intimate and unique!

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Looking for some help in arranging a baby shower party?  Bama Babies and Birthdays offers party hosts unique shower favors, gift ideas and decorations as well as many great resources in helping you design either a formal or fun celebration.