December 2015 Moms

December moms win my love

Oh my goodness ladies....I ventured out into the other boards (possibly a big mistake). I lurked/commented on the baby shower board and was positively attacked over making a comment that I was unaware that it was considered bad etiquette to host my own baby shower. (much more in depth comment than that, but that's the gist) Apparently this is a huge no-no in baby shower world. I also made the mistake of informing them that even after finding out that it was apparently bad etiquette that I'm still going to host it because seriously, why not? Then this whole thing started about how if I throw my own and don't care about the gifts that I should call it a party and not a shower. Honestly, I can see where they are coming from with all of this, really I can, but man oh man instead of being judgement free and helpful they were positively rude, and let's just say there is a bit of a war going on in baby shower land. All these snarky comments happening and for the first time since being on the bump I feel genuinely attacked and needing to defend myself, over a freaking baby shower! People need to take a chill pill, it's a baby shower, not a ball in a castle. It has made me realize that dang I got lucky with you December 2015 moms group. Thank you all for answering my questions, cheering me on, and helping me through the stumbles and bumbles of this pregnancy without trying to attack me. I'm a FTM, so no, I don't know everything, and apparently a lot less about baby showers lol. 

If you ladies do venture out onto other boards, a word of caution, be prepared because you may have to do a lot of defending yourself, or getting angry at responses. Don't join the war....like I may or may not have done.(did, I got totally sucked in)..take a second to realize that none of it really matters, if it's not helpful to you and is only serving to upset you take a break from the computer screen. Some people feel the need to upset and attack strangers on the internet to feel better about themselves when people came on there looking for help. Don't let them upset you, they do not matter to your life. I am going to try and stay strong, and stay out of this baby shower war despite knowing that I will be attacked, especially since I was dumb enough to defend myself on my last comment. I may have lost friends on the baby shower board since I apparently don't have enough etiquette to not throw my own baby shower but I am glad I have you girls, and that ya'll are the ones I have been lumped with by fate alone because genuinely, I really appreciate all of you....and I really hope ya'll don't hate me now for admitting that I will most likely throw my own shower/party thing because no one has offered to throw one for me yet, but a lot of people are wanting to come to it, and like I was telling them, I don't even care about the gifts.
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Re: December moms win my love

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  • rewarereware member
    Welcome back, you poor thing... The whole baby shower right/wrong thing is so goofy. Actually, you're not even immune on this board as there were a few kerfuffles some months back (can't remember details,wasn't interested). But just remember that despite all those etiquette snobs, the rest of the world views this american trend for themed baby showers where grown women play games and fill gift registries with the same bewilderment that many of us view debutant balls and child beauty pageants.

    Being gift-greedy is tasteless (with which you obv agree) but otherwise have a great get-together with your friends and leave the drama to the silly girls who live in their little world of made up rules. Stick with us, Mama <3
  • I'm from Portugal and we don't have the tradition of a baby shower. Which I find very helpful. Don't pay attention to "haters". Do whatever you want and what makes you happy. It's your life, your baby and your friends your inviting. Good luck planning for it. I'm sure it will be a big hit!! :)
  • Who cares!! So many people in today's world are involved in the planning and throwing of their own baby shower. People are so rediculous online; do what works for you. I'm not hosting mine, but am considering doing something that is considered "bad ettiquitte" for my baby shower..and frankly, I don't care. I know for a fact the people coming won't even think anything of it because I know them, and have already solicited opinions from several people because of what I read online where others were accosted...and my friends/family thought THAT was what was rediculous. Remember, this is just a forum of many opinions...you know your friends and family and how they will receive your decisions, so do what works best for you!!
  • I was telling my mom about the terrible baby shower board last night!! Some poor mom to be asked about a long distance shower. Her situation, in mho, seemed sticky and completely understandable. She got chewed up!!! I couldn't believe the nastiness! Stay away from the baby shower board and do whatever you want!
  • edited July 2015



    You know it's bad form to complain about another board, right? Your posts aren't private.

    Psh, don't be an etiquette snob. ;)
    ETA: quote fail------
    Wouldn't want people to "join the war" by bad mouthing other boards, you know.

    Speaking of rude...
  • Haha I started on the November board and still check it out for laughs once in awhile. There are some seriously snarky women in that birth month.
  • Have I mentioned yet that I love you ladies? 
  • If it makes you feel better I'm planning my own. My mom, SIL, and friend are hosting it but I'm planning it. I have all of the time in the world and they're always so dang busy it's the least I could do! I'm sure your shower will be a hit! Congrats! :)
  • Originally when I responded I legitimately did not see what the problem/big deal was. From the sounds of it people were just offended that girls were being gift grabby and throwing their own showers for presents. After sifting through the snarky comments I did actually learn a bit about baby showers that may seem obvious to some, but to others that are here to learn, it's obviously not obvious which is why we are here asking questions. I do understand now that it is considered bad taste because it seems like you're fishing for gifts, and that if that's not your purpose when hosting your own baby shower that it might be better to call it a baby party or whatever. All of that could have been said though without girls being complete butt heads about it. I never even got around to asking the question I wanted to ask when going onto the baby shower board which was when is it considered too early to throw one. Nothing I said on that board was right according to the etiquette police and it got totally dissected, even down to saying I wouldn't ask my mom to throw me one because I wouldn't want that sort of financial burden on her. Once again, wording makes a huge difference, should have said I wouldn't expect her to throw me one, but oh well, I said ask and got torn apart for it. I know I'm not a complete innocent here since I did respond without realizing the hail storm it would cause since I naively did not see what the issue was originally but man oh man, didn't know so many girls were ready to pounce on other girls over a baby shower. 
  • Lol what bad etiquette thing are you doing for your shower? I did something that was probably considered bad etiquette for my wedding, but I think I did a semi decent job of covering it up. For my wedding gift registry I wanted people to pick a part of our honeymoon to pay for, like put whatever amount towards a plane ticket, or a gondola ride through Venice, or a nice dinner out etc etc instead of giving us gifts since we didn't need any stuff, but we did really want a honeymoon. When sending out the gift idea thing I did put that my sister was sending out the whole idea so people wouldn't think I was being tacky and just asking for money. Once people claimed the portion they were paying for we sent thank you notes with a picture of us doing the thing they had paid for to them so each thank you was totally personalized. At least I had enough sense to see that straight out asking for cash was tacky, but it was for a good cause lol. I feel like I'm in a similar thing with my baby shower situation, not that I'm asking for money, or actually anything this time around, I just want to hang out and have fun and talk babies with people I love, but apparently this is bad taste since I'm not supposed to host my own. I just can't win with etiquette in this world lol, awh well. 
  • We tell the truth here. Sometimes it comes across as a little harsh but we want everyone to know the truth before they go and make a fool of themselves or get disappointed by their plan falling through. It is always with concern.

    As far as throwing your own shower. Make it more of a party to celebrate LO and if people want to bring gifts then great. You should try and find a cohost though. My guess is that no one wanted to do the work or they were all waiting for another to volunteer. Ask around for a cohost because when it comes to the party you are going to want to enjoy it and not run around after guests. If you are planning to play games or other activities you deserve to be the focus and not the one running it. If you are planning and paying then all they need to do is help set up, run some stuff during the event, and help clean up.
  • I'm sorry they were so rude to you! I feel extremely lucky with D15 as well.

    I was lurking on M16 and OMFG almost every single thread had someone bashing someone else. I was like woah what?! So unnecessary!!

  • 313Meg313Meg member
    MegStark said:

    Yeah, @magburt, you're seriously mean. ;) 


    But in all seriousness, I do like some snark. I wish D15 had more sometimes. Like I've said before, it's just so entertaining. 

    As for OP - I'm actually sort of an etiquette nazi, so I may roll my eyes if one of my friends threw their own. However, I don't understand why internet strangers would be so put-off? Do what you want!  
    Yes to this. Not my style... But I'm not going to lose sleep over someone else's difference in opinion. :) especially something so silly. I would also say it's more a party vs shower but again, I'm more traditional. Thus the reason I never had one w my first. But what matters is what your family and friends think, not internet strangers.

    Buttttt be careful, you will be watched now... This is from someone who's been around TB for a while now.
  • @Melissadmag, I've also wanted to throw my own shower!
    My mother has decided to plan it without consulting me, even for the date to have it. And our tastes are extremely different. I joked with DH that I would just throw it myself but tell my SIL to act like she threw it. She gets all the glory and helps me a little with it and we take on the financial aspect so no one else has to worry about that.
    ***Trying to conceive since 9/12- m/c 2/13 from natural conception.
    IVF success 10/14 with m/c 11/14. FET success 4/15***

    Pregnancy Ticker
  • @melissaadmag - you're damned no matter what you do, in the eyes of people who are determined to be cranky no matter what. I'm not having a baby shower because my in-laws almost completely destroyed our co-ed bridal shower, I don't like parties, and we can afford what we need. I figure I'll just treat the ladies in my life to brunch to say 'thanks for being around' a few months before.

    People already seem genuinely offended that I'm not having a shower, like I should either be humble and need their gifts, or they just want to go to a party, or whatever the case is. You can't make people happy no matter what you do. 

    And @missemmawoodhouse - I think we all know our posts aren't private, and if they people arguing with her over there didn't care about having tact, then who cares if she bitches about them here? I have a feeling she would stand up to them just as much on this board if they ventured over to complain.
    Angela

    Pregnancy Ticker

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  • Wow i just read that post i never go on that board as we dont do baby showers much here but i had to have a nose. Seems they were waiting for someone to say something they didnt agree with just so they could go on the attack. @meg313 This is the first pregnancy ive been on any forum. And im genuinley curious what the warning about being watched means.


  • @Melissadmag FYI you weren't being tacky you were being ahead of the curve. :) this is actually a thing now. My husband and I stayed at and extremely nice hotel on Kauai for our honeymoon and the hotel actually has a link you can put on your registry so people can pay for things for your honeymoon (ex couples massage, 5 course wine dinner....). Plus I think the way you said thank you is super cute and now I wish I had thought of it. Haha
  • edited July 2015
    Pssssh don't worry about those ladies on the other board. People on the internet can't and shouldn't dictate your decisions. You want to throw your own shower? Do it! It isn't like they were invited anyway lol. My mom is hellbent on throwing mine with my aunt/Godmother, hell it may even be a surprise knowing my aunt. Do whatever works for you and your loved ones. As long as you are nice and gracious about it; I don't see the issue. Not everyone has someone who can or is willing to throw them a shower for whatever reasons, and that is OK. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't have one.
  • Ah i get it now! thanks for the insight. I think ill be staying on D15 in the future haha
  • And if anyone seeks you out, we got your back! Lol ;)) I totally wish my husband and I would have done the honey moon thing instead of gifts for our wedding (although we actually got gift cards instead because we were moving out of state just a few days after our wedding and didn't have room to pack actual gifts) everyone seemed to be happier about the gift cards. We had like a little bird cage type thing and everyone who brought cards or gift cards would put it in there, it was a pretty cool idea. I totally went off on my own story haha

    As for baby showers, I agree that I think it really just depends on personal preference, how your family does them, culture and location. Everyone is different, and not everyone is going to agree which is totally understandable. It sucks that people felt the need to attack you based on your own opinion and choice. Do what you want, at the end of the day if your happy that's what matters =]
    For my baby showers (I'm having 3....family is separated and don't get together like that, it's awkward lol) we just talked to my parents and DH parents and they basically said they would be buying the big items for us which is what we needed the most help with financially. Everything else on the registry is simple stuff. If no1 offered to throw me a shower, I'd probably throw my own too lol. Since we already have a plan for the big items, I wouldn't really care if people brought anything, I've always just wanted to do the fun games! And we made them co-ed because we just wanna share this special time with everyone.
  • Thank you, that was genuinely helpful advice and I will take it with heed (I think heed is the right word lol, I am losing my vocabulary lately). All of this could have been said on the baby shower board without the negativity, you just proved it could be done. I also like another posters idea of paying for it and just giving the glory to my mom or something because I'm sure she wishes she could afford to do it for me. I like the idea too of the co-host, probably my mom. 

    I haven't figured out how to tag people yet, so hold on I'm going to try real quick.....@elisemenchies: Yes, I do find it pretty hilarious picturing a bunch of pregnant women going at it back and forth with each other on the internet but I've always loved everything about pregnancy and it is like a dream come true being able to virtually hang out with a bunch of pregnant chicks. I really need to find an actual live pregnancy group to hang out with, like in person because to me that would just be so much fun. We could all go drink water together lol. I've just been too busy and tired to even attempt something like that, but there's still time. 

    And to everyone else that responded I'm sorry I'm not tagging you because I really don't think I did it right since it didn't light up but in a general response, thank you. I am back to being excited about my baby shower and not feeling like I'm going to p*ss a whole bunch of people off for hosting my own. There are plenty of others that think like me which is very refreshing. I should have realized it anyway and not allowed myself to get sucked into the drama. I know my family, my friends, my coworkers, and I know that none of them would think twice about me hosting my own baby shower, in fact I think a lot of them expect it honestly. And yes I think it is a regional thing too, like maybe if I lived in the deep South people would really care about etiquette?? (I am assuming here, not trying to offend, I just picture the South as the place where beauty pageants and coming of age parties are still a big thing, thank you t.v. lol) Where I live, or maybe the people I surround myself with are much more laid back and easy going and I get along better with people that enjoy life in ways other than making sure people are using the correct fork for their salad and don't surround myself with judgmental people. I'm a live and let live sorta person. The people that I'd have at my shower know that, so why I let myself get so worked up I don't know, but I will try not to let it happen again. 
  • Oh snap it did light up! I tagged someone I did it!!! yaaayyy...lol, it's the little things in life. 
  • I'm from Texas and I'm pretty laid back with these sorts of things. So is my family. I tend to think that people in the NE would be more uptight as far as etiquette goes ;)

    Jamie


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