Just to clarify...

It occurred to me that the concept of a "baby shower" may be uniquely American. It has nothing to do with washing an infant--it's a party where expecting parents are given lots of gifts. It's also common to have wedding showers in which a couple is given gifts prior to their marriage. Now that I think about it, there's something a bit strange about giving gifts before, rather than at or after, the big event, but I guess we're always looking for an excuse to have a party.

The other thing is that we didn't surprise our friends at the shower itself--the party is for them and we didn't want our surprise to make it about us instead. So we got the surprise out of the way early--which also gave us time to spend with them without 50 other people--and now we can be relaxed about it at the shower tonight...