A sticky question for hostesses nowadays is whether men should be invited to a baby shower or not. While there are still quite a few women that refuse to have men at a baby shower, the rules seem to be more relaxed nowadays.
A lot more daddies-to-be want to get more involved with their children and are asking to be included at the baby shower. Well, why not? It's a beautiful thing that men are becoming more active in raising the family and there is certainly nothing wrong with them being celebrated right alongside the mommies-to-be.
Some hostesses try to find ways to bend rules that discourage men from joining the baby shower. One way is to invite the daddy-to-be, period. It is considered normal for the daddy-to-be to show up at the end of the celebration to help his wife with the baby gifts, why not stretch out his participation a little bit more and have him there from the very beginning?
As the guest of honor, he gets a little glimpse into the women's world and would actually have a very privileged position on how his family life is going to change in the near future.
Other hostesses embrace the male guests by inviting the partners of the female guests to join them. This is the more common “couples party” which involves both men and women. A nice side-effect here is the atmosphere of the baby shower changes, some women say for the better. The silly female games are not so much the focus anymore but the concentration is more on partner's games instead.
After all, how dignified would you be if you got yourself diapered in front of a group of men? Your image would definitely be shot.
Then there is the newer type of baby shower – the all-men's baby shower. This can be held while the female baby shower is going on and it usually is based on a theme that is near and dear to the daddy-to-be's heart. For example, if he loves fishing, the meal could just be fish, chips and beer. They could play games that involve catching fish in a baby wading pond. With a magnet at the end of the fishing pole's lines and a paper clip slipped onto plastic cutouts, a fishing contest is sure to be a hot activity. Spice it up with a few plastic cutouts of old metal cans and fishing boots and you've got an easy and highly competitive game.
There is another kind of baby showers for men and they involve more competitive activities like poker or competitive team sports showing on the television. All-male baby showers are simpler affairs that focus more on the activities and food than anything else.
A very common theme for this is a baby shower modeled on formula racing, for example. Aside from a large television where the action can be viewed, there is also a betting station set up in a corner where wagers can be placed as to who wins what. The food is also based on what can be found while watching the races – hotdogs and hamburgers with all the fixings, taco buffets, and simple comfort desserts like brownies or blondies served with various warm sauces and ice cream are partnered with their choice of soda or beer. Now what male would not want to go to a baby shower like that?
Ultimately of course, it is up to the mom-to-be. She may just want
to celebrate with her lady friends, but in general, it is perfectly
acceptable to invite men to such a party. Just make sure that the
activities planned are gender-neutral in nature.