Mum-to-be asks baby shower guests for £40 each, outrages internet

Just as you think the number of weddings you have to save up for to attend is going down, that’s when the baby showers start.

But at least these, without hen dos or hotel bookings, don’t require as many upfront costs. Right?

Not so for one Mumsnet user, who was baffled after a friend asked her and 20 other guests invited to her baby shower to pay £40 towards the event.

Apparently, the cash was going towards decorations, food and the venue, but the mum-to-be’s friend was shocked.

“My friend who I am close to is having a baby shower in a few weeks,” she wrote on Mumsnet.

“We [have] all been told we have to chip in £40 each towards the venue, food decorations etc.

“This does not include a gift for the baby plus a small gift each for the mummy to be.

“I feel this is a lot of money to stump up for a party that she has organised and expects everyone else to pay up for.”.

She then asks: “Am I being unreasonable here? Is this the norm for a baby shower?”

The writer’s fellow Mumsnet users, for the most part, agreed that it absolutely was not.

“If you (understandably) can’t afford it, I would make my excuses and not go,” said one commenter.

“Maybe send a gift? But paying £40 for the luxury of attending someone else’s baby shower is excessive in my opinion.”

Another wrote: “£40 each, an £800 food/deco [sic] party?!? Plus gift?! Someone is profiteering … I wouldn’t pay it. That’s outrageous.”

The original poster, however, didn’t feel she could simply turn down the invite.

“She is quite a close friend tho and I don’t want to let her down,” she responded to the advice.

“I don’t know how I can get out of going. Any ideas?”

One suggested sending a gift instead: “If you haven’t already accepted, send your apologies and give her a gift when you next see her, or take her something for the baby once it’s been born,” they said.

“I wouldn’t go – that is ridiculous,” wrote another user. “I’d just say that you have to go to a family event instead (make up something believable) then send a gift if you want to, up to the amount you’d normally spend.”

“You don’t have to make a big thing about not going.”

What we want to know is: How does the mum-to-be plan on spending that £800?

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