If you can afford to go all out, go all out without guilt. If you cannot, do not. Simple.
I threw a huge outdoor, summer party a couple of years ago, with 2 live bands, all the booze and food one could eat and had a marvelous time sharing with friends. But…that is a once in a great while event.
All in all, I prefer the focus of any celebration to be on a more communal level, with the greatest “offerings” an opportunity to gather friends and family for sharing and fun, not greedy designs on gift giving/receiving and shallow motive.
These less than stellar motives are obvious, especially with baby showers & weddings, where one invites as many friends of friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. with the obvious motive of getting “more.”
These events I avoid like the plague. If you only want my monetary contribution, not the energy of my company, well, sorry, I won;t be attending as yet another “filler” gift. lol