What does this mean? (baby shower related)

seethesmiles · June 2010

I just got an invite to a baby shower and on the bottom it says, "Please be a dear and wrap it clear." Obviously, I realize they are asking me to either not wrap or wrap so the present is visible but does this mean the mom-to-be will not be opening the gifts? I hope not because that's my favorite part of the shower!

LynnJones · June 2010

Yep she won't be opening the gifts. I've been to 3 showers like that where it's no wrapping. I usually put a ribbon and bow on it though because it feels funny to not wrap a gift. I HATE showers like that but whatever.

macchiatto · June 2010

Wrap it clear? I don't get it. That just makes me picture Saran wrap over the gift. :P

superherostocker · June 2010

Yeah I think that means she will not be opening gifts. Some people think it takes away from the time they have to visit with their guests

PhilsWife07 · June 2010

macchiatto:
Wrap it clear? I don't get it. That just makes me picture Saran wrap over the gift. :P

Me too. I'd definitely show up with a gift in cling wrap. LOL

IU_baby · June 2010

Nope, no gift opening at the shower.

Wrapping the gifts in clear cellophane or just putting them in a basket allows everyone to see the gifts without her having to unwrap them.

lzybeanie · June 2010

Yeah, this is the new rage in baby showers...not wrapping it in normal paper so the mom can just gawk over her gifts and not actually put in the effort to open the gifts that people went through the trouble of picking out for her. I hate this as much as I hate the so-called 'green' showers where they ask you not to wrap it to conserve...again, I say it's laziness!!! I would quadruple wrap your gift and put in in multiple nested boxes!!!

seethesmiles · June 2010

This is the first time I've seen this and I'm really disappointed. I enjoy watching people open gifts at a baby shower -- all those cute little outfits and toys! And I just bought super cute wrapping paper that I now won't be able to use. Blah.

EastCoastBride · June 2010

superherostocker:
Some people think it takes away from the time they have to visit with their guests

Yeah, this trend in showers bugs me too. It just makes it seem much more gift grabby.

As far as visiting w/ the guests- if that's all people want to do, socialize, then they could have a party for the mom that does NOT involve gifts. I think if it's a "shower", then the guest of honor needs to suck it up and open the gifts!

And really- it doesn't have to take THAT long, and I've always found that people can talk and still have a good time w/ eaach other and w/ the mom to be.

Caroline&Stephen · June 2010

I hate when people request specific things at showers. I'm not talking about registrys...but when people want gift cards only, money only, non-clothing items, non-winnie the pooh items (yes, my SIL put this on her invite...LOL!)...This is just as annoying.

I think showers are about opening gifts. I think it's polite to open gifts & to thank the person who gave it to you. A lot of people want to see people's reactions when the mom-2-be opens the gift they bought.

I don't get it.

macchiatto · June 2010

EastCoastBride:
superherostocker:
Some people think it takes away from the time they have to visit with their guests
Yeah, this trend in showers bugs me too. It just makes it seem much more gift grabby.
As far as visiting w/ the guests- if that's all people want to do, socialize, then they could have a party for the mom that does NOT involve gifts. I think if it's a "shower", then the guest of honor needs to suck it up and open the gifts!

And really- it doesn't have to take THAT long, and I've always found that people can talk and still have a good time w/ eaach other and w/ the mom to be.

I totally agree!

Violet's Mommy · June 2010

You bought the paper, wrap it!!!! I think that's the best part, I love watching them open their gifts and to be honest I LOVED opening my gifts. By the looks of it most would agree that that's part of the fun.

Sage Mommy · June 2010

A "shower" implies gifts so I think they should be opened or acknowledged.

We threw a 'green" baby shower for a friend. She's very ecofriendly in her life and we decided to honor that. It was a smaller group of people though that knew that about her and didn't mind.

We asked the guests if they liked, not to wrap the gifts. As the guests came in the front door (before seeing the mom to be), they put their gift in a reusable shopping bag (Pier 1 had some really cute ones) and instead of tissue paper, we used receiving blankets which the hosts bought for the baby to use.

Like I said, it was a small group and everyone thought it was cute. And the mom to be was still able to "open" the gifts.

Alex26 · June 2010

Violet's Mommy:
You bought the paper, wrap it!!!! I think that's the best part, I love watching them open their gifts and to be honest I LOVED opening my gifts. By the looks of it most would agree that that's part of the fun.

ITA with this

SwissPrincessBride · June 2010

I don't understand why guests get upset about wrapping or not wrapping gifts. My friend had a shower and to this day still feels bad because the way the host set it up my friend ended up in a separate room opening presents the whole time. She missed games that were played, couldn't really talk to people, etc. Just because you, the guest, like a shower one way doesn't mean it should be that way. I say respect the host/mommy of honor's wish. And no, a clear present wrapping is not gift grabby. Hitting you up for tons of gifts is. I think green showers are a nice environmental gesture and would not be upset or insulted to attend a green or clear party. Just be happy something wants to share their day with you.

Mrslove78 · June 2010

In some cases it's because the mom has a fear of opening gifts in front of a large group of people. I sure do... but, I suffered through it.

DEBBIE33CASEY · June 2010

Mrslove78:
In some cases it's because the mom has a fear of opening gifts in front of a large group of people. I sure do... but, I suffered through it.

ITA- no matter how much of a fear of opening gifts infront of people doesn't mean you don't have to do it! If you don't want to open gifts infront of people then don't ask for gifts

As far as eco-friendly, if that's the reason you're not asking for presents to be wrapped then I'm okay with it. But I'm not okay with any other reason

Echowysp · June 2010

lzybeanie:
Yeah, this is the new rage in baby showers...not wrapping it in normal paper so the mom can just gawk over her gifts and not actually put in the effort to open the gifts that people went through the trouble of picking out for her. I hate this as much as I hate the so-called 'green' showers where they ask you not to wrap it to conserve...again, I say it's laziness!!! I would quadruple wrap your gift and put in in multiple nested boxes!!!

If someone feels strongly about conserving trees (the amount of trees used just for the 10 seconds a present is wrapped is staggering), I'm not sure why they bugs you so much.

If it's so important to you that a present be wrapped, you can wrap a present in your newspaper or in a pretty scarf.

Echowysp · June 2010

To be honest, I'm glad for the trend. Most people I know, myself included, absolutely hate the torture of having to sit through present after present being unwrapped and then held up for us to fake ooohh and ahhh.

Echowysp · June 2010

Mrslove78:
In some cases it's because the mom has a fear of opening gifts in front of a large group of people. I sure do... but, I suffered through it.

Me too. I hated opening presents in front of everyone for showers. Heck, I even hated doing it for Adam on his 1st birthday. Too much attention and everyone staring at me.

DelGrecoBride · June 2010

I think its an awesome idea. It allows you more time to hang out and talk to friends. This is especially a great idea if you are lucky enough to have a really large shower.

I was lucky enough to have a TON of people at my shower that my mom's friends threw for me. I literally sat for an hour and a half and opened gifts....i didn't get to visit with people i had not seen in a long time.

Heck even for a smaller shower I still think its a great idea.

lzybeanie · June 2010

Echowysp:
lzybeanie:
Yeah, this is the new rage in baby showers...not wrapping it in normal paper so the mom can just gawk over her gifts and not actually put in the effort to open the gifts that people went through the trouble of picking out for her. I hate this as much as I hate the so-called 'green' showers where they ask you not to wrap it to conserve...again, I say it's laziness!!! I would quadruple wrap your gift and put in in multiple nested boxes!!!
If someone feels strongly about conserving trees (the amount of trees used just for the 10 seconds a present is wrapped is staggering), I'm not sure why they bugs you so much.
If it's so important to you that a present be wrapped, you can wrap a present in your newspaper or in a pretty scarf.

If the recipient and family are TRULY eco-friendly and go out of their way in every day life to conserve and care for the environment then no, I don't have a problem with the request. But in my case, I've seen it done by people who are just trying to be trendy and avoid the 'hassle' of opening gifts. People spent time and money to buy you that gift...they're entitled to see your reaction when you open it. Not a quick little gloss over a pile of gifts set up on a table for you to take stock.

And I agree with what you said about wrapping it in newspaper or a scarf, that's certainly a nice way to honor a truly eco-friendly recipient's wishes. I also like what the PP did with the reusable shopping bags and receiving blankets...it shows consideration for both the guests and the guest of honor's practices. Like I said, if they're TRULY eco-friendly then that's great and I support their beliefs. But in most cases, it's a trendy statement that someone is trying to make as well as people not wanting to 'waste time' opening gifts when it seems like the bulk of people I know actually enjoy the opening of gifts.

Echowysp · June 2010

lzybeanie:
Echowysp:
lzybeanie:
Yeah, this is the new rage in baby showers...not wrapping it in normal paper so the mom can just gawk over her gifts and not actually put in the effort to open the gifts that people went through the trouble of picking out for her. I hate this as much as I hate the so-called 'green' showers where they ask you not to wrap it to conserve...again, I say it's laziness!!! I would quadruple wrap your gift and put in in multiple nested boxes!!!
If someone feels strongly about conserving trees (the amount of trees used just for the 10 seconds a present is wrapped is staggering), I'm not sure why they bugs you so much.
If it's so important to you that a present be wrapped, you can wrap a present in your newspaper or in a pretty scarf.
If the recipient and family are TRULY eco-friendly and go out of their way in every day life to conserve and care for the environment then no, I don't have a problem with the request. But in my case, I've seen it done by people who are just trying to be trendy and avoid the 'hassle' of opening gifts. People spent time and money to buy you that gift...they're entitled to see your reaction when you open it. Not a quick little gloss over a pile of gifts set up on a table for you to take stock.
And I agree with what you said about wrapping it in newspaper or a scarf, that's certainly a nice way to honor a truly eco-friendly recipient's wishes. I also like what the PP did with the reusable shopping bags and receiving blankets...it shows consideration for both the guests and the guest of honor's practices. Like I said, if they're TRULY eco-friendly then that's great and I support their beliefs. But in most cases, it's a trendy statement that someone is trying to make as well as people not wanting to 'waste time' opening gifts when it seems like the bulk of people I know actually enjoy the opening of gifts.

Either way, it saves on trees, so who really cares what the "motivation" of the host is? Do people really care about wrapping paper THAT much? Really?

AngelaL · June 2010

SwissPrincessBride:
I don't understand why guests get upset about wrapping or not wrapping gifts. My friend had a shower and to this day still feels bad because the way the host set it up my friend ended up in a separate room opening presents the whole time. She missed games that were played, couldn't really talk to people, etc. Just because you, the guest, like a shower one way doesn't mean it should be that way. I say respect the host/mommy of honor's wish. And no, a clear present wrapping is not gift grabby. Hitting you up for tons of gifts is. I think green showers are a nice environmental gesture and would not be upset or insulted to attend a green or clear party. Just be happy something wants to share their day with you.

I agree....DH and I each have HUGE familes, so both our wedding and baby showers were quite large. I tried to open the gifts as fast as I could, because I could see everyone was getting bored, but it still took a very long time. As soon as I was done opening the gifts, people started getting up to go. I wanted to walk around and personally thank everyone, but it was over. I would have LOVED a shower with no wrapping, and if I ever got invited to one I would just look at it as a way to save time (for the wrapper and guest of honor) and spend more time celebrating the baby.

june909 · June 2010

lzybeanie:
Yeah, this is the new rage in baby showers...not wrapping it in normal paper so the mom can just gawk over her gifts and not actually put in the effort to open the gifts that people went through the trouble of picking out for her. I hate this as much as I hate the so-called 'green' showers where they ask you not to wrap it to conserve...again, I say it's laziness!!! I would quadruple wrap your gift and put in in multiple nested boxes!!!

Big Smile this

katiekate1974 · June 2010

SwissPrincessBride:
I don't understand why guests get upset about wrapping or not wrapping gifts. My friend had a shower and to this day still feels bad because the way the host set it up my friend ended up in a separate room opening presents the whole time. She missed games that were played, couldn't really talk to people, etc. Just because you, the guest, like a shower one way doesn't mean it should be that way. I say respect the host/mommy of honor's wish. And no, a clear present wrapping is not gift grabby. Hitting you up for tons of gifts is. I think green showers are a nice environmental gesture and would not be upset or insulted to attend a green or clear party. Just be happy something wants to share their day with you.

Pretty much. Who cares if you wrap, don't wrap, etc. Isn't the point that you get to share a special time with a good friend? ::shrug::

Echowysp · June 2010

katiekate1974:
SwissPrincessBride:
I don't understand why guests get upset about wrapping or not wrapping gifts. My friend had a shower and to this day still feels bad because the way the host set it up my friend ended up in a separate room opening presents the whole time. She missed games that were played, couldn't really talk to people, etc. Just because you, the guest, like a shower one way doesn't mean it should be that way. I say respect the host/mommy of honor's wish. And no, a clear present wrapping is not gift grabby. Hitting you up for tons of gifts is. I think green showers are a nice environmental gesture and would not be upset or insulted to attend a green or clear party. Just be happy something wants to share their day with you.
Pretty much. Who cares if you wrap, don't wrap, etc. Isn't the point that you get to share a special time with a good friend? ::shrug::

Of course not, silly. It's that you get your name called out and you get publicly thanked for your onesie set and receiving blanket gift.

Duh.

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