Pregnancy is always an exciting time.  You are busy thinking about a
thousand things – what sex the baby will be, what name to choose, how to
decorate the nursery, etc.  But, many of your friends probably have one
thing at the top of their priority list – your baby shower.  Baby showers
are a great time to get together with friends and celebrate the upcoming birth
and all the excitement that goes with that. 

When the appropriate time comes, you will probably be approached by at least
one friend about a baby shower.  This may be your best friend from high
school or the girlfriend you ran around with while still single.  You may
even be approached by relatives who want to throw a shower for you.  Some
people have multiple baby showers – one thrown by family members, one thrown by
friends and one thrown by coworkers.  No matter who throws the shower for
you, you will need to think about whom to put on the guest list.  Chances
are, your aunt, best friend or coworker are not going to know everyone you would
like to invite, so she is going to need a little help from you. 

First, you will need to decide if you think you are going to have more than
one shower.  If you hear rumors of a family shower, you probably do not
want to invite family members to your "friends" shower.  If you have
coworkers that are also close friends, you do not want to invite them to your
"friends" shower only to find out you are having a work related shower as
well.  So keep your ears open to try to find out as much as possible to
avoid duplicate invitations.  You can even ask people you are close to if
you feel comfortable enough and explain to them why you are asking.  It
will not be the worst thing if Aunt Silvia has to tell you to hold off on
inviting your best friend to the family shower "just because."

Be sure to ask the shower host how many people can attend the shower. 
It may depend on where the shower is being held.  Some people have their
showers at their church so there is plenty of room and seating, but many people
have them in their homes, so there may be a limited amount of space.  
You also do not want to overload your shower host's budget.  She may be
thinking you will invite fifteen people and you do not want to show up with a
list of a hundred people.  Remember that the shower invitations,
decorations, and refreshments are going to cost your host money and you want to
be respectful of her generosity in offering to throw you a shower.

Once you have an idea of what type of baby showers you are going to have,
then you need to sit down and write out a list.  You may want to jot down
names on a sheet of paper before you start looking up addresses.  You may
even want to ask some other people whom you should invite.  With all you
have going on, chances are you may forget someone, so it will be useful to have
another person helping you.  You do not want to hurt anyone's feelings by
unintentionally leaving them off the guest list. 

After you get your list set, you will need to start gathering
addresses.  Actually giving your names and addresses to the host may best
be done on the computer if you are comfortable using it.  Many people
already keep names and addresses in online address books, so giving your host
your shower list may be as simple as printing the address list and checking the
names of those you want to invite.  If you do not have your addresses
online, you can type them into a spreadsheet to give to your shower host. 
An online copy of addresses may come in handy depending on whether she is going
to have addresses printed on envelopes, print address labels for the envelopes,
or hand write the addresses on each envelope.  No matter how she is going
to do it, having a nice, clear copy of all names and addresses will be
beneficial. 

Finally, if you forget someone important on your list and feel badly about
it, invite them out to a special one-on-one lunch with you.  It will not be
the same as being at the shower, but can help mend hurt feelings from being left
out.

Have fun determining your baby shower list.  Call a few of your closest
friends, grab your old address books and have a good time reminiscing as you jot
down names.

Jennifer Barnett is a successful party planner providing valuable tips and advice on planning a baby shower that is inexpensive, fun for the guests with baby shower games, and choosing the perfect baby shower gift. Her numerous articles offer moneysaving tips and valuable insight. Print her "Baby Shower Checklist" to help you plan and organize the upcoming event!