Fitting everyone you know into one baby shower guest list can be hard. Especially if you have a big family.
So should you split up your baby shower into multiple parties? Or just have one big baby shower?
Here are a few reasons why you should consider having multiple baby showers. (And a couple reasons not to.)
If you have a large family
Do you have a large family? Maybe your husband/boyfriend/partner’s family is pretty big too.
You’re going to want to have separate baby showers for each side of the family. Or even more than one per side.
My family is huge. My dad has 7 siblings and my mom has 4 siblings. So I have lots of aunts and cousins and my cousins all have kids.
So not only did we split the baby showers between my family and my husband’s family. We also split my mom’s side of the family from my dad’s side of the family.
We ended up with three baby showers for just our family.
If you have a lot of friends
Do you have big friend groups? Maybe some friends don’t necessarily get along with other friends? Split up the parties.
Even if your work friends would get along great with your high school friends, it’s okay to have smaller baby showers for each friend group.
Sometimes mixing friend groups changes the dynamic, and it’s a little awkward. That’s okay.
You might have a friend who just wants to throw a small shower with just your circle of eight friends.
That can be a simpler option than gathering those eight friends, your twelve friends from high school, six more from college, and ten from your previous job in one party.
More party options for busy guests
Maybe your best friend can’t make the shower she’s invited to. Or your sister is out of town the weekend of your family shower.
When you have multiple baby showers, you can give your guests options so they don’t have to worry about missing it.
Your best friend says she can’t make it to your friend party? Invite her to your family party.
Your sister is out of town for your family party? Invite her to your partner’s family party. Or your friend party.
People have busy lives so offering options to celebrate with you is helpful for guests.
How to break up your baby showers into multiple parties
First, you’ll probably want to make a spreadsheet. Google Sheets is your friend.
Start with anyone who has offered to throw a baby shower for you. They will be the team captain for each baby shower.
Now you just need to match up your guests with the group they belong to.
Your aunt on your dad’s side said she would like to host, but your dad’s side of the family is huge. So keep that party as just your dad’s side.
Don’t have a huge family like me? Then your aunt’s party can just be all of your family together.
What if you want to have a friend party and no one has offered?
It’s okay to ask someone.
Ask your best friend if she would host a shower for just friends so you can split up your baby showers.
Or you could just host your own for a smaller group.
Related: Should You Throw Your Own Baby Shower?
Multiple baby showers can be easier on the mom-to-be
Smaller parties mean fewer people you have to mingle with.
I know I always feel bad when I don’t get talk to everyone at my party. Just like at your wedding, you might not have time to talk to all of your guests.
Smaller groups make it easier to actually have a conversation with your loved ones during the party.
Another bonus to having multiple baby showers is that it doesn’t take as long to open gifts. You aren’t spending two or three hours opening 60 gifts.
A lot of guests don’t really enjoy watching the mommy-to-be opening gifts for more than about an hour.
And I remember at one of my baby showers, my feet started swelling from sitting and opening gifts for so long.
Don’t want to open gifts at all? Try a display baby shower instead.
Long baby showers and parties with a lot of people can be very exhausting for pregnant women.
Shorter and smaller baby showers keep you from using all of your energy and are usually less stressful.
You don’t need added stress while you’re pregnant.
What are the downsides to multiple baby showers?
Okay, you may be thinking “this is not for me. I just want one big one.” And that’s valid.
Multiple baby showers won’t work for everyone.
You might not want to dedicate multiple weekends to baby showers if you’re already busy with other things.
Or you might not have more than one person that wants to throw a shower for you. That’s okay. Invite everyone to one party.
Are you planning more than one baby shower?
Let me know in the comments below!
Or did you have multiple baby showers? How did it work for you?
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