Gay and Lesbian Baby Showers
The make-up of American families today is very diverse compared to fifty
years ago. More and more gay male and lesbian couples are either adopting
children or using the latest technology to give birth to a child of their own.
The essentials of a gay or lesbian baby shower are basically the same as
described previously in this guide – themes, silly games, food and gifts. One
difference is that both gay or lesbian parents-to-be are usually the guests of
honor at a baby shower, while for straight couples, it is commonly just the
expecting mother. Accordingly, the invitation list will frequently be larger for
gay couples, as the number of friends, family members or colleagues wanting to
celebrate this joyous occasion will grow with two guests of honor. Baby Bunch
community members Laura and Belinda, from New Jersey, share the story of their
recent baby shower:
This is the first grandchild for our parents so this child was definitely
cause for celebration. Both of our mothers hosted the shower, but since we had
wanted it to be a surprise for Belinda, I was involved with the planning. She
had no idea and thought that I was being surprised as well. The shower was held
at a local Knights of Columbus hall. Belinda thought we were going to someone's
engagement party. She had no idea when we arrived that it was for her until we
walked in the door and everyone yelled surprise.
As far as our invitation list, it was HUGE. I couldn't believe how many
people were invited, and I couldn't believe how many people attended. We had
somewhere in the range of 90 expected, I think in actuality it ended up being
somewhere around 60-70 that showed up. We wanted men to attend as well, since we
have some very close male friends and didn't want to exclude them, so we invited
couples and gave the men the choice to stay upstairs with us for the shower or
hang out downstairs at the bar with the guys. To our pleasant surprise, many of
the men stayed upstairs and celebrated with us, so that was nice. Men of all
generations and backgrounds were represented upstairs, which we
appreciated.
It was amazing to have so many caring people there. Belinda asked not to
do too much in terms of games because she usually gets annoyed by them when we
attend other baby showers, plus she didn't want the men to want to run out of
the door screaming! We had a giant wall of gifts - it was unbelievable. We felt
like we unwrapped gifts FOREVER. Everyone was very supportive & very excited
for us and we couldn't ask for anything more!
Gay and Lesbian Baby Showers
Shower essentials basically the
same
Both partners invited
Invitation list sometimes grows because two guests of
honor! |