Have baby showers always been a thing? Or is this just a recent thing?

[ThatPeachSnake]

I can’t remember anyone having a baby shower up until around 5 years ago. Am I correct? I’m guessing it’s down to SM and I hate to be a party pooper but doesn’t it all seem a bit … grabby and wasteful?

I see this big rubber balloon arches that are terrible for the environment. Loads of shit bought for the baby. I get it might be nice to get together with your loved ones for a horah before life gets crazy with sleepless nights etc but I guess the excessive-ness of it all really puts me off.

I don’t have children and many of my friends don’t so I am only going off what I see on social media!

I went to one 24 years ago, but it was for an American colleague who was terrible homesick as her parents wouldn't be able to come when the baby was born so we did our best to cheer her up.

One of my best friends had one 12 years ago, her husband is American and I think we did it more for him than her.

In her case we only did small gifts, socks, baby grow and did a larger gift when the baby was there.

I had a baby shower with DS who's 9 so def at least ten years! My sister organised mine but it was a low level relaxed affair! Was lovely!

I can remember an American relative talking about baby showers in the 1960s.
My mother disapproved, you didn’t buy anything for a baby until it was born in case anything went wrong. There was some superstition about not having a pram in the house before the birth, you stored it at a relative's house.

They are a recent thing and a shite thing.

Only in the last 10-15 years. They were a joke before then. I can't help but find them incredibly cringe inducing. But not sure why. I guess it's the expectation of presents.

If I have one I would ask the host to specify no gifts though as for me it’s more about a get together then being gifted a load of random items

No gifts = not a shower

It's like having a Superbowl party but not putting the game on.

If you want a celebratory party without the shower, don't call it a shower!

I had my DD 34 years ago .. no baby shower, when baby was born then people popped round to see baby with a baby grow or something...it was nice, nothing grand. I absolutely cannot abide these baby showers , baby reveals etc. its commercialized rubbish imho. Money making racket. For some, attention seeking eg: instagrammable garbage. I really do cringe at it all. Fair enough, have a tea out, get together with friends when pregnant but none of this expense for people. I think the excitement from others when you have a baby is not the same now because of the cost of everything, gifts etc. its pressure when not needed.

Allover!

I had one 10 years ago

This is exactly how I feel about it it is just commercial rubbish for those who seek attention and obviously for those who have friends who buy into all of that . Don't send out invitations for those who obviously can not buy into this attention seeking nonsense .Just accept those kindly bought gifts when baby is born .

I've only ever been to one, held for an American friend living in the UK. I felt a bit bad for her tbh as almost no-one else there was American and everyone was a bit awkward (lots of people who didn't know each other, which didn't help). It wasn't "commercialised" at all - no balloon arches etc - it was basically a lovely afternoon tea, and some very cute napkins and cake toppers was about the limit of any themed stuff. Though there were some fairly dire games/quizzes about the mother-to-be, hen party style, which I didn't enjoy. There was a gift list registry included with the invitation so no piles of unwanted tat for the baby (obviously if I hadn't been happy to give a present I wouldn't have accepted the invitation). A different American friend explained to me that from her experience attending them in the US it's only partly about the gifts and just as much about lots of older female friends and relations coming together and reminiscing about having their own babies, talking about the mother-to-be herself when she was little, a chance to chat with friends who've recently had babies about their experiences, that kind of thing. It sounded quite sweet the way she described it, so I did wonder if the UK version that gets such a bad rep is just a poor, over-commercialised job of importing a US tradition. I wouldn't have wanted one myself, since our traditions in the UK are different.

I had one 10 years ago so not new at all.

I think I first heard of baby showers about 50 years ago (maybe longer), when watching American TV. I vaguely recall in the series "Bewitched", the main character, Samantha, was pregnant and her mother arranged a baby shower.

At the time, it was just one more strange thing that Americans did that we Brits found rather odd and more than a little vulgar and of course would never do ourselves, along with trick-or-treating, high-school proms, high-school graduations etc. Times change - and as a nation we do seem to have wholeheartedly embraced vulgarity in a big way now. 😂

I've only ever been to one and it was about 12 years ago. The mother-to-be was adopting 2 DC after a long time and lots of heartbreak to get to that point. It was our opportunity to celebrate, see photos of the DC (only viewable in person for confidentially reasons), and confuse other people in the pub with a very slim woman wearing a sash that said Mum To Be on it. We bought gifts that were more suitable to adopted children, rather than babygros or nappies.

It was a really lovely afternoon and I'm pleased we did it. But it was a very different occasion to what I imagine a standard baby shower would be. Mother to be drank a lot of wine for a start... 😁

My friends and I were having babies (lots of friends, lots of babies) in the UK between about 2005 and 2010. None of us had baby showers, or even considered having baby showers. I would say they weren't a mainstream thing, although I'd heard of them as an American thing via watching Friends etc (a bit like being aware of Thanksgiving).

I did go to one baby shower in around 2009, but the pregnant lady wasn't British. I remember taking along some baby onesies and hoping this was an appropriate gift, because I really had no idea what was expected.

Well I suppose depending on your age(!) ten years ago is fairly recent .If your maybe only in your twenties maybe that doesn't feel old to you ..

@bluetopazlove how's my age got anything to do with it. 10 years is 10 years 🤷🏻‍♀️

10 yrs feels fairly recent .It is not a long a ago .

Yeah, 10 years feels like a long time when you're young. Doesn't feel so long to me now I'm 50!

@bluetopazlove I was replying to the op who said 5. I was clearly pointing out that I had one 10 years ago. And 10 is longer than 5.

I think calling them baby showers is a relatively new trend in England.

I remember my Nana (who brought my siblings and I up) hosting a get together when my SIL was pregnant with my first nephew (he’s 22) for the family and friends who’d chipped together to buy the pram and cot. That was quite common around here.

I’m sure on a thread before someone posted a thing showing they were actually something that happened somewhere (maybe australia?) before being taken to America and becoming a massive thing there. I think it got big in the US, but didn’t start there - a bit like the Halloween traditions that always get called American, but were actually Scottish long before

Agree. American

But baby celebration sounds even more wanky!

Same for me - my DS is 23.

Not at all .

For an adult in their 20s it was half a lifetime ago . For me (late 50s), it seems like yesterday .