A pregnant woman, whether it is her first or third time to have a baby, would have a lot on her mind as she nears the date when she is about to give birth. Aside from the physical pains and emotional stress of her upcoming labor, she should have something else to think about. Throwing a baby shower is a great way to lighten her load.

Baby showers are often planned by the mother-to-be's closest friend or any member of the family. Ideally, they are held anytime within the last 3 months of pregnancy. However, it still depends on the most convenient time for everybody, including the guests and family members. Some even hold baby showers after birth, which is an ideal time for the new member of the family to be introduced to the world.

A great way to start planning a baby shower is by preparing the invitations. These invitations can be hand-made, printed, even ordered online, depending on the person in charge of planning for the affair. Of course, mom-to-be's would like to be involved in choosing the perfect theme for the baby shower, be it for a girl or a boy. Here are some great ideas to create baby shower invites to prepare for that oh-so-fun baby shower:

Create you own invitations. First, think of a theme for the party. Do you want to have a Disney-inspired baby shower? Or you might want to have an animal theme. Whatever motif you decide on, make sure that the invitations that you will send out will reflect the main theme. One specific idea is to attach the printed invitations to pacifiers or tie then with a ribbon and put them inside feeding bottles or powder puff canisters. Place them inside any baby accessory that you think will be useful. They can be in pink or blue, or both, if you do not know the baby's gender yet. These items can even be brought to the party by the guest for the mother to use after she gives birth.

2-in-1 invitation ala give-away. You can print out the details of when and where the baby shower will be held and put them in mini-picture frames. These would make great invitations, and can be kept as after-party souvenirs. Make sure that the frames reflect the theme of the party as well.

Personalize your invites. A baby shower is not just a tribute to the boy or girl who is about to be born, but it also celebrates the joys and sacrifices of the mom-to-be. She is the one who deserves to have a break for taking care of the baby in her womb for the past months. You can think of ways to show the mother's personality on the invitations that you will give out. One web site offers unique baby shower invitations, with names like "Polka Dot Mama", "Hip Mama" and "Tummy Love". You can also use the mom's work, for example, as a party theme. If the mom-to-be dabbles in writing, you can use children's books as invites, just stick a huge bookmark in it, where the details of the baby shower will be printed. For a mother who is a chef, or who just plain loves to cook, you can create mini-chef hats which can be made of cloth, paper or felt and just stick the invite in front.

Order the invitations online. If you are in a hurry and do not have the time to make the invitations yourself, you can order them online. There are a lot of web sites where you can view samples of baby shower invites. If you have not thought of a theme yet, you can also get great ideas from these web sites. You can even download ready-made invitations, just change the wordings and print out copies in specialized paper, then, voila, you now have your own personalized baby shower invites. There are hundreds of possibilities on how to create your special baby shower invitations. Just let your imagination run wild and you will surely come up with the perfect theme for that baby shower that is bound to be fun for everybody.