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I've never heard it called a Sip n' See, but I'm VERY familiar with this sort of "baby shower". In Germany most people celebrate a baby's homecoming when it has actually arrived. A lot has to do with the fact that up until recently Germany (at least East Germany - that's where I'm from and all the Germans I know are too) didn't have ultrasounds so if there were complications with child birth the parents didn't have to explain the story to EVERYONE that attended the shower and return all those gifts.
Also the culture there isn't as consumer driven, half the time people here have baby showers, engagment showers, bridal showers, etc etc is for the gifts; and in Germany these "sip n' See" parties aren't about the gifts, its about the people. People bring food for the new parents and maybe a little something for the baby/parents.
I've heard of people arranging sip n' see over the course of a week or two - so that people can drop by when they have time. And so the new parents aren't overwhelmed with everyone coming at once.

Hope this sheds some more light on the subject.

Oh and one more thing, instead of baby showers being primarily about the women dad to be, in Germany the husbands of all the wives attend as well, and even dad to be's friends come over. It's a family style invite. Which I like much better - let the men know that they are part of this baby's life ... it takes a village - including the men. :)

I know someone from the South who has Sip 'n' Sees whenever she has a new boyfriend: invites friends over for drinks and then, the next day, gets their feedback on what they saw.

I grew up in small town Mississippi and a Sip 'n' See was a standard on the party circuit. It was considered bad form to have a baby shower after the first baby - so a Sip 'n' See allowed for a party to be held in honor of the new baby (who would make a very brief appearance). Also prior to a big wedding, the mother of the bride might host a Sip 'n' See for guests to peruse the many wedding gifts which were arranged carefully with cards to show who gave the gift. We did not have a lot of entertainment venues in our community, but give us a death, wedding or a birth - and we could have a party to knock your socks off. I kind of miss those days. I have attended one Sip 'n' See in Houston and it was hosted by a Mississippi girl in honor of a friend who had her 5th child.

Sip-n-see's are extremely common in New Orleans where I live. Recently though, one new grandmother put a twist on the theme when...she called it a "nuzzle-n-guzzle." She prefers beer to tea!

I have spent most of my life in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia and have never heard of a "sip-n-see." I guess I've missed out.

Oh these are what every good little southern belle has--usually if people run out of showers to give for a wedding (linen, lingerie, china, kitchen already taken), a sip & see happens so people can come over & look at the gifts. There's a man in Birmingham whose job is just to set up tables and gifts in the most attractive way for viewing. The last one I went to had almost 100 women, sipping their sweet tea and chatting. The food required is finger things, and at least two sweets.

me too, elvira. i've lived in n.c. most of my life and never heard of these.

I have only been to one sip n' see back home in Dallas, and it was to peruse the wedding booty for a friend (very Dallas). Much prefer the idea for a baby, and love it as an alternative for a second child's baby shower.

lived most of my life in the Carolinas and never heard of sip 'n see. must not be so "Southern".

I grew up in south Georgia and have definitely attended a Sip 'n See or two. My experiences with them have been on the bridal side of things, as mentioned by previous commenters. I have friends in Atlanta who are also familiar with them, so I wouldn't categorize it as a rural thing. Food and drink at a Sip 'n See is pretty much like Southern shower food -- a pretty punch or minted tea, cheese straws, cookies, homemade mints, sugared pecans, pound cake, chicken salad, etc.

I'm Jewish and we don't really have baby showers. It's considered bad luck to celebrate a child before it's born (sort of like 'don't count your chickens before they've hatched'). Most Jewish parents do something similar to what nickel525 talked about after the birth of the child.

I like this idea much better than the over-the-top consumer-driven baby shower that yields you a bunch of toxic plastic crap from Babies R Us that was made in China.