The Front

• Select the design for the front cover of the invitation before selecting the wording. Predesigned cards can be found online at sites such as Invitingsmiles.com, or at any greeting card or party store. If you are talented in scrapbooking or stamping, consider creating a customized cover for the special occasion.
  
  Once the design is created, choose a catchy baby verse or poem to let the guests know the reason for the invitation. There are some excellent poem examples at InvitingSmiles.com, such as "Tea parties, baby dolls and dress up clothes, this time it's a girl with ribbons and bows!" or "Snakes, creepy crawlers, and oh, so much more . . . that's what his new mom has in store!" Guests appreciate knowing if they are buying for a boy, girl or unknown gender to plan appropriately, and a poem is the perfect way to let them know.
  
  

Invitation and Information

• The next portion of the card is composed of the official invitation, directions and contact information. A typical invitation will begin by stating, "You are invited to a baby shower for (mother's name and baby's name if known)." Then proceed to list the specific date, time, and location of the party. Finally, list the name and phone number of the person to contact for the RSVP and the date by which to confirm attendance.
  
  

Gifts and Games

• While it is not considered well mannered to mention registries in invitations themselves, specifications regarding nursery themes, diaper preferences (if using cloth diapers) or the gender of the baby provide guests with an ample amount of information for purchasing a gift. For example, the invitation could say "This is a cloth diaper family, so for happy bums they could use some Bummies" Gift information should be placed after the essential information.
  
  If the party has a particular theme, that may be mentioned in this section as well. For example an invitation could state, "This is a Time-of-Day themed shower, and your time of day is bed time." If the guests will be participating in games that require them to bring supplies, this should also be mentioned in the card. For example, "Please bring a copy of your favorite lullaby for a fun game."