Baby shower in the US but we live in Germany
Hi,
I am in some need of advice as of how to handle this situation. My family and best friend really want to throw me a baby shower where I'm from in the US but my husband and I live and are having our child in Germany. I said to just skip the shower but my mother said she's supported so many friends children's showers in her life that now it's her daughter's turn and she insists on having a shower. After shipping all my belongs to Germany when I moved here we learned that shipping stuff is completely not economical and costs more than the stuff is worth. We looked into registering at stores in Germany and having people buy online but the sites are only in German (if you pick English it switches you to the US site) and everyone would get international transaction fees when they pay in Euros. I don't know if it's worse to do that or in a kind way give people the impression that a gift of $ would go for us purchasing what we need in Germany. Or, do we scratch the baby shower all together because of our living situation? Please any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Re: Baby shower in the US but we live in Germany
Are you going to come to the U.S. for the shower? Will you have any space in your luggage for small items?
Could you maybe talk with your friends and let them know that you appreciate their thoughts, but having a shower wouldn't be feasible because you won't be able to transport gifts home? Maybe you could go out for a girls lunch or something to spend some time visiting with your friends while you're in the US?
The other thing you could do is to only register for small and packable items- clothes, burp cloths, blankets, etc. that you could easily pack in a suitcase when you go back to Germany and have your hostess let people know by word of mouth that large gifts will be difficult. I know some people that have to travel will return items for store credit and re-purchase them when they get home, but not sure how this would work internationally???
I cannot tell from your post if you will be at the shower. If so, then people will buy accordingly no need to help them pick out gifts. I had an out of tow shower and it was fine.
If you will not be at the US shower, them there should not be a shower, no mttr how "even" or "fair" your mom wants it to be.
I totally agree with this. A friend of mine moved to England with her DH when she was only 4-5 months pg. She did not have a US shower (although some other people there did give her a small shower). Perhaps that can happen for you. Otherwise people sent things to her and some gave them to her mom to take over when she went to visit after the baby was born.