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So who should host the baby shower? Traditionally, only non-relatives are to host a baby shower -- co-workers, church groups, etc.; however, it has become more common and acceptable for mothers and sisters to host showers too. The important thing is that someone take the initiative to host the shower -- what a wonderful display of caring for a growing family and a special way to help welcome a new life into the world. It is also perfectly acceptable for more than one person to host a baby shower. It can be fun for a group of friends to share the responsibilities and excitement of planning and hosting this special event.
When it comes to inviting guests, you likely have some idea of those you want to invite to the shower, but it is always a safe bet to run the guest list by the mom-to-be to ensure you haven't left anyone out.
You can invite guests via a phone call or an e-mail (be sure they check their mail regularly!), but the written invitation is still the most preferable way to kick off a shower. You can even find baby shower ecard invitations online. Just do a simple search online and I'm sure you'll find one. No matter what type of invitation you use, be sure to include pertinent information -- whether it regards a theme, a note of where the mom-to-be has registered, a map or written directions to the shower, or any special item you want the guests to bring for the mom.
Showers are normally given a month or two before the mom's due date. It's a good idea to give the mom enough time following the shower to shop for items she didn't receive, yet wants to have before the baby arrives. And of course you don't want to hold the shower too close to baby's due date in case he or she makes an early arrival!
Baby showers are normally held in the home of the hostess. If desired though, you can certainly host a shower at a church fellowship area, a favorite restaurant, or even at a banquet hall -- it really all depends on what atmosphere you are looking for and how much money you want to spend. If the shower will be held in a restaurant, make reservations at least two weeks prior to the date. At one- week prior, one of the organizers should speak with the manager to confirm the details.
The shower should last around one and a half to two hours. Things may wind down early or they may likely continue on as guests chat together.
There are many variations on showers, but we have devised a general "schedule" for baby showers. You can add/remove any part and re-order it to your liking.
Greet Guests - serve light appetizers
After all or almost all guests have arrived, go around the room and have each guest introduce themselves and identify how they know the mother-to-be.
Play 2-4 Shower Games. It is good to play games at the beginning as ice-breakers. Remember some guests may not know *anyone* but the mother-to-be.
Let everyone go get whatever food may be available and then once everyone has been served, the mother-to-be can begin to open her gifts. Be sure to have someone write down each gift and who it is from. It will make sending thank-you notes a lot easier.
People chat and usually leave a few at a time. Make sure the mother-to-be gets to say goodbye to everyone and the hostess thanks the person for attending. If the hostess has shower favors, they should give this to the guests upon leaving.
Dice games have been played since centuries. So old is there origin that the historians do not know the inventor for sure. However, from whatever is available it can be safely said that dice games originated in different cultures around the same time. Illustrations of the games have been found on Egyptian tombs and the ancient Greeks also played the games.
In fact the Chinese dominoes are considered a variation of the ancient dice games. Apart from being a source of entertainment these games were used in the past for other major purposes like for determining future rulers, predicting future events and dividing property. ‘Cleromancy' is the name given to the activity of casting die or small objects in order to predict the future. The initial dice was made up of pebbles, fruit stones, human or animal bones, sea shells etc.
Today, dice games form a part of the gambling excitement. While the common man uses standard dice, casinos use casino dice. The standard die is cubical in size with dots punctured on each side, counting one to seven. The numbers of the opposite side add up to seven. The standard dice has rounded edges to make it roll easily. The casino dice is more perfect primarily because its money that is involved! The hole punctured are filled with another substance to make each side weigh equal. the casino dice has an equal chance on landing on either side. Other kinds of dice are crooked dice, loaded dice, polyhedral dice.
The most exciting of the dice games played in casinos is ‘craps'. Craps can either be ‘street' crap or ‘bank ‘crap. However, generally, this games involves shooting die to gat a seven or an eleven which is considered an automatic win and is called ‘craps'. Another game that is played using three die is Grand Hazard. The underlying concept of the game is betting on the outcome of the roll of die.
Shooting of the dice is integral part of some dice games. The activity decides one's fate in the game. In craps, the player with the dice shoots the dice to a blackboard. The dice hits the blackboard and fall back. The side on which the dice falls is plain luck. However, some players use ‘rhythm rolling' to control the outcome. By this technique, the player holds and rolls the dice in a manner to get the desired numbers. But this technique requires skill and practice.
Another manner is rolling the dice. Rolling the dice, however, can be manipulated. The player can hold on the dice and throw in a calculative manner to get a desired number. However, the players usually cannot manipulate in the casinos under heavy surveillance.
People who do not play dice games can have fun even collecting different kinds of die. Collecting die can be fun regarding their different shapes and sizes. The die of various casinos even have the name of their country branded on them.