How to Get Past “Not Invited” Guilt When Sending Baby Shower Invitations

One of the hardest things to do when sending invitations for a baby shower is whittling down the guest list. You know that you can only send out a certain number of invitations, so some cuts are going to be involved. But now you’re feeling a little bad about not inviting some certain people. It’s understandable to have a little guilt about it, but is it necessary? If you can answer any of these questions in the negative, it probably isn’t.

First, ask yourself if the people you didn’t invite to your baby shower would have enjoyed it. Since the event in question was directed to a specific audience, then chances are that your uninvited friends wouldn’t have enjoyed it that much. It wouldn’t make any sense to invite a casual friend who’s not really into babies to a small party where they are going to be the primary focus. If you think about who would get the most out of your planned event or party, making the guest list should be guilt free.

Another thing to think about is whether the uninvited person in question would be able to make it to your event at all. Everyone is busy in their own way, but there are always a few people that you know who just seem to be busy all the time and aren’t able to take some time out of their schedule to enjoy themselves. It wouldn’t make that much sense to invite them if they can’t fit your event into their lives.

Finally, you should really think how your friends that you didn’t invite are going to react to not getting invited. There’s a good chance that they won’t take it seriously and would go on with their lives as any normal person should. Honestly, you’re probably worrying about it more than they are!  Sending out your baby invites shouldn’t be so stressful.  If they do decide to make it into a petty grudge, there’s nothing you can do about that and move on.

There will always be another party or an event scheduled, so there is really no need to feel guilty over not inviting certain people. They might end up coming to your next party or event scheduled, and hopefully they will have a really good time. Do not get hung up on the “what ifs” of everything and try to think realistically about whether a person is a fit for your guest list.  It’s okay to be a little choosy about such a special event in a new mother’s life!

Heather is an amateur party planner – the self-proclaimed ‘binder ninja’!  She occasionally consults on party etiquette and organization, and recently started her own party planning blog on the side.