I'm hosting a bridal shower
 

So, my sister-mother (sometimes GreekChatter but not for a really long time) is getting married in the fall and I'm hosting (co-hosting, really, with her mother) a shower for her at the end of the month.

Food, venue, favors are taken care of. Well, I think so. We're holding it at her mom's house and her mom and I will be making the food. So, it's TBD, really. But the invitations are sent out so we'll have it together by then, hopefully.

I'm doing small favors that just say "thanks for coming" and are little candy packets, and then small vases filled half with tea lights and half with jellybeans decorated with ribbons in the wedding colors. First question: is this lame? I don't know - I'm trying to DIY and keep it simple, but since I'm not particularly a "shower" person, I'm at a loss for whether or not this stuff is cute or stupid.

I also am making prize baskets - six, in fact:
- Sparklers/Firecrackers/USA stuff since the shower is 2 weeks before the 4th of July
- A bottle of wine, two glasses and a corkscrew
- A beach towel, flip flops, sunscreen and aloe gel
- Bath & Body Works foot creams and lotions with the little shea butter socky things
- Bath & Body Works shower gel, lotion, two candles and a loofah
- Cake decorating supplies (a little booklet plus tips and bags) and cute cupcake cups, plus a box of cake mix and icing

Second question: Are any of these eyeroll worthy? They'll be in cute baskets with the cellophane wrappers and ribbons on the top in the colors of the wedding.

I left a bag at Michaels, hopefully I can get it back tomorrow. I'm super bummed about it. Once I get that, I'll have all the supplies for the favors and baskets.

Third, and probably most important question: The bride really likes shower games so we'll definitely do them. I figure we'll do four shower games and raffle off the remaining two baskets. Is four too many to do for a two hour shower? I'm almost thinking it might be, but for me, one game is too many.

I have a few ideas, but I'm just not sure. If you like games, are there any that you remember were really fun? For one shower I went to, everyone bought a (new) pair of undies for the bride and we hung them up and she guessed who brought what. That was fun but this shower is going to be A. Pretty big if even two thirds of the people who were invited come and B. The only shower she's having, so it'll be family, friends, and coworkers. I don't want to do anything embarrassing.

Also, should I get nametags for people? I know nametags are total lamesauce but there are going to be a lot of people there that don't know each other.

I'm so lost - I go to showers just to give the bride a present really - I never really enjoy the games or festivities. I should have insisted on switching with the other MOH and done the bachelorette party instead. ;)

I should add: I'm actually quite happy to throw this shower. While I'm not a shower person, I really want to do something nice and have a nice time for my sister-mother, who's probably one of my best friends ever on the planet. So, none of this is me complaining, really, at least, not about throwing the shower. :)

1. I think you should change the date so you can come to Indy and see me that weekend instead. :)

2. I like the gift baskets idea for prizes. I'd let people choose which one they win though because some will appeal to some guests but not others. OR, one shower that I went to had raffle tickets as game prizes. Then guests could put half the ticket in a container to try to win the basket they wanted. They gave a bunch of tickets for some game winners but did a lot of "Who traveled the farthest?" "Who has the most credit cards in their wallet?" "Who has been married the longest?"... whole list of that kind of stuff, most keys, birthday closest to bride's, groom's, anniversary closest to wedding date, etc. Am I making any sense at all? LOL

Nametags could be a good idea. I'm terrible with names and appreciate when they are worn for that reason.

I've done the undies game at bachelorette parties, not so much at showers. Do some google searching. When I was throwing a baby shower for my brother, I found lots of games online. Bingo is always a good one too... you pass out blank bingo cards and people fill in the gifts they think the bride will get. As she opens things, they cross out those squares until they get a BINGO. Especially good at big showers so there's something to do while they open ALL those gifts.

LOL - I can't - this is the third scheduled weekend. When I realized when TLC was, I'd just sent out the invites. I had a sad. I'd skip but it'd be a pretty lame shower with no games or favors.

This actually does make sense - I'm trying to decide. It would definitely be a "pick your own" because they're all about the same price for the baskets (although the fireworks one came out super cheap but is sure to be a crowd pleaser).

I've found some online. I think bingo might be great.

And with the BINGO thing, just about everybody could win a raffle ticket to put in to try to win one of the baskets too.

Yeah that seems like a really great idea. Since there are so many different age groups and walks-of-life of women that will be there I'm trying to appeal to as many groups as possible. The shower gel, foot stuff, and wine baskets might appeal to everyone but the fireworks, cake decorating, and beach baskets probably skew toward different demographics.

Although I would love to have any of them. So, in addition to getting my bag (that has all my ribbons and the cake decorating stuff) I'll look into raffle tickets. Say everyone gets three to start and then different amounts for different games.

My favourite shower game is the peg game - you give every guest a couple of clotherspegs to wear on their clothes, and then ban a couple of words for the afternoon, i.e. "bride", "wedding" and maybe the bride's name. If someone says a banned word, whoever calls them out on it gets to take a peg. The person with the most pegs at the end wins.

It makes people get creative - talk about the upcoming "nuptials" or the like, and is a great ice breaker

I just barely remember my sister's bridal shower but one thing I do remember was a game of fun facts about the couple. The person who got the most right wins. It led to lots of funny stories when people get the answer wrong: "No no he proposed at the park! Oh he was so nervous, let me tell you about it..."

The only thing to be careful of is to pick questions that aren't common knowledge. Like "Guess her first thought when she saw him." instead of the basic "Where did they meet?" If they are just factual questions, then whoever is closest to the bride is a shoo-in to win. That's what happened at that shower--I won because she was my sister so I knew where they met, where he proposed, etc. ;)

Feel free to ignore my man opinion. ;)

The tea light jelly bean vases strike me as something that would collect dust or be thrown away. The less permanent stuff you send people away with is usually for the better.

Something cool you might think about adding to the wine basket is a wine deck. It's basically a deck of cards with different kinds of wine with facts, origins, mood pairings, etc. on the back. Someoe hgave me one a few years ago, and I use it all the time.

/man opinion

We did something similar to this at my friend's shower. Her best friend asked her fiance all these different questions like "Do you prefer lake or mountain?" And then at the bridal shower friend had to answer them. For each one she got wrong, she had to put a large marshmallow in her mouth but couldn't chew or swallow. It was really funny trying to get her to talk with her mouth stuffed full of marshmallows :D Some of the questions were harder and some were easier.

I was at a shower recently, and one of the games was really pretty great: One person thinks of a word relating to weddings or marriage that starts with an A; then the next person repeats that word and adds a word beginning with B, and the third person repeats the A and B words and thinks of one beginning with C. You work your way around the room and through the alphabet (returning to A again if you get through Z). If a person messes up any of the words that preceded her or can't think of a word for her letter, she's out. The last person standing is the winner.

Yeah, those are going to be little centerpieces so I'm not really concerned with whether or not they're useful after the fact - folks that want them can take them but since I'm only making 10 of each it's not like everyone will get one sent home with them.

I'll look into the wine deck.

No offense, but I hate this game with a purple passion. I always end up hurting myself on the clothespin and to be honest I think it has a chilling effect on conversation (plus people get really freaking obnoxious about it).

I think I can work on something like this, maybe a combo of this, and below.

This sounds exceedingly difficult.

ETA: Are four games too much for a shower with 40ish people at it that's 2 hours long? I want to leave plenty of time for chit chat and food and gifts, just not sure how many games to have (or how long they will take).

Yeah, I've played that game at baby showers and I think it's lame.

The showers I've attended have been low on the games. The most recent one I went to consisted of a cocktail hour, then lunch, then one interactive game (a trivia game about the couple), and the prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd were gift cards. Then the bride opened her presents, we oohed and ahhed and left. There were about 30 people at that shower. The favor for that one was a cookie cutter related to the wedding's location (it's a destination wedding).

I went to a wedding this past weekend, and the DJ had the bride and groom play a game after the MOH and Best Man's speeches. He had both of them take off their shoes, and switch one shoe with the other person. Then he asked them questions like, "Who made the first move?".. "Who wears the pants in the relationship?".. "Who takes longer to get ready before going out for the night?".. "Who, after tonight, will be the first to say, 'I'm not in the mood'?".. and the bride and groom would have to raise a shoe, either theirs or their spouse's, which they thought best answered the question. It was actually really funny.

You could carry this same idea over to the shower. Give everyone two notecards, one that says the bride's name, and one that says the groom's. Then ask a question, wait until everyone is ready with their answers, and all at once have everyone hold up their desired notecard. Everyone who has an answer that matches the bride's gets a point. The people who have the most matching answers at the end will receive tickets for the raffle.

Yeah, I dislike the games as well. Inevitably, the women who like to host showers chock full of games are annoying and bossy. The trivia game at the shower in April was like, 10 minutes tops. There was a sheet on everyone's place setting with the questions.

I love showers!! I had so much fun hosting my sister's bridal shower. I did a "tea," and my sister loved it.

Four games does sound like a lot. I would think one or two, at most.

Enjoy the experience. :)

If you want to cut down on games and only play one or two - any more than this could be overkill for a 2 hour party - I would suggest handing everyone a designated number of raffle tickets (maybe 3) when they walk in the door, and the prize for a game would be an additional raffle ticket.

I honestly hate showers of any kind and avoid them at all costs. But if I have to attend, I enjoy breaking things up with a fun game. I just wouldn't have them take up most of the time of the party.

Yeah I'm thinking four might be just too much. Maybe we could do some "who traveled the farthest" or something to increase the number of chances people have at a given basket.

A little late to the game, but 2 cents from a veteran of what seems like over a hundred bridal/baby showers.

Yes, four games is too many, especially with that many guests and 2 hours. I would suggest just one, with the possibility of a second that can be whipped out if there seems to be a party lull. However, if it is a 2 hour party, you can pretty much expect things to go like this:

First 15-20 minutes after official start time: people are still arriving, saying hello, putting purses in bedroom, placing gifts whereever they go.

Next 20 minutes: people are making their way through the food/drink line. Again, with that many guest, this will take a while.

Next 15-20 minutes: people will finish eating

Next 15-20 minutes: Game 1

Next 30 minutes: presents. Will prob take even longer with 40 guests. One minute per present would not be unusual.

At this point you are 90-110 minutes in. People will want their drinks refreshed, a little chit chat at the end, gift baskets, etc.

If things move along quickly, then you can bring out Game 2 after gifts.

Good luck and enjoy! Designate someone ahead of time (preferably not a hostess or a first degree relative) to take lots of pictures for the bride. The hostesses will be way too busy keeping out the food/keeping drinks refreshed/introducing people/answering the door/etc. to get too many pics, and the relatives will want to enjoy.

PS- Love the gift basket idea and really like the raffle aspect of it.

I stumbled upon this post and thought it might have some cute treat ideas for you.

http://www.everythingfab.com/2011/05...-of-great.html

LOLLLL :p

I dislike games, but I like the raffle ticket idea. One, it gives everyone a good chance to win or not win if they don't want to put their raffle tickets in (some people are embarrassed by winning things) AND because it helps people get to know each other/feel comfortable since showers with HUGE groups of people can get awkward.
Good luck!!

The last bridal shower I attended was several years ago. The bride was the daughter of a friend of my mother-in-law. MIL strong-armed me into driving her there, as the shower was in Brooklyn - I will not drive in Manhattan, but MIL won't drive in any borough of NYC :rolleyes: ... anyway ...

Games are stupid IMO. At this shower, they did a "get into a group of 4, here's a roll of toilet paper, dress up one of the group in a 'wedding dress' with the TP" game. The only people who played were the little girls. And they did the "we asked your fiance a bunch of questions, let's see how your answers match up to his" game, and some of the questions were IMO too raunchy to be stated around small children.

Also, the shower was held in summer, in a private home where there was NO air conditioning. I enjoyed the party, but I was really happy to get back into my car and crank the A/C.

Keep it tasteful, have it in a venue with A/C if it's hot :p and you will be fine.

Why were there even kids there? I don't think small children--or any children, really--are appropriate at a bridal shower.

I think games are only appropriate when the average of the guests is close to the age of the bride. Women who have kids, who are older, etc. have other things to do, and spending in an inordinate amount of time on games, makes the shower kind of painful. When I was in my 20s the games were fun. Now, I'm in my 30s and have probably been to a zillion baby or bridal showers and I get annoyed if there is more than 1 game - especially if it takes more than 15 minutes.

My cousin's recent luncheon bridal shower, I traveled 2 hours in the pouring rain and horrible traffic - the majority of the guests had a similar trek. When we got there, the seven bridesmaids made us play an icebreaker game (game 1), then we had to pick out of a hat what table we were going to sit (Do not do this! I wanted to see and chat with family I hadn't seen in over a year and I was stuck sitting at a table with people I did not know and it sucked) (game 2), then salads, then another game (game 3), then lunch, then another game (game 4), then presents, then another game (game 5). By game 5, mosts guests were trying to leave. The shower itself ended up being 4 hours long and then another 2 hour trip home. In a 6 hour day - about an hour and half was spent playing games. I love my cousin, but this is not how I want to spend my Saturday.

I think they invited every female on the wedding guest list, regardless of age. The kids seemed to have fun, and there were opportunities for adult chitchat. There was a separate bachelorette party, which I attended - all women on the wedding guest list who were within a few years of the bride's age were invited. (It was rather more fun than the shower. We hit a few bars, and hot men bought us drinks. ;) )

This is the same bride and groom whose wedding party consisted of the following:

- Maid of honor: bride's best friend from childhood (she was single)
- Best man: groom's best friend (also single, I believe)
- Bridesmaid and groomsman: bride's oldest sister and her husband, with "accompanying baby" (the younger of their two daughters)
- Bridesmaid and groomsman: bride's other sister and her husband, with "accompanying baby" (their only daughter at the time - I think they've had another since)
- Bridesmaid and groomsman: groom's sister and her husband, with "accompanying baby" (their daughter)
- Flower girl: bride's oldest sister's older daughter (2 years old) who got scared during the procession and ran back to mommy

The message was plain: BREED OR ELSE. And breed they did - two little girls. But they seem happy, and that is what is important.

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I like the raffle idea, too, much better than actual games. Something similar would be putting a sticker on the bottom of a plate or chair and that person would win a prize. They did that at a wedding I went to (!), and it was for the centerpiece - like I could take it home on the plane! But I did give it to someone else at the table.

The only reason I like a raffle better than the sticker thing is that the gathering will be fairly informal and that way folks get to kindof choose what they can win (since my baskets are so awesome).

Thanks for your input everyone! I think we'll do one game game, then maybe the gift BINGO if people are bored. Then raffle everything off!

Haha, I thought about doing something similar to give away the centerpieces at our wedding reception. I was going to announce, "We'd like to give away our table centerpieces to our guests. For each table, the centerpiece will go to the person whose birthday is closest to - stop grabbing at the flowers, you August babies! - closest to our birthdays. Mine is at the end of November and DH's is in early December." Didn't do it though. People at many of the tables pretty much discussed and decided who'd take home the centerpiece based on who was local and interested, and a few were left behind.

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^^ One of the interesting parts was that I didn't know many people, but there was a Tri Sigma seated next to me. She got the flowers. Who said greeks don't stick together?

So, I have half of the favors and most of the baskets done - shower's next weekend and things are coming together.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-o...2/IMAG0170.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J...2/IMAG0168.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-M...0/IMAG0166.jpg

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LOL. Well, I went from four to one, and even the shower enthusiasts seem to be on board.

We also got dinner reservations to kick off our bar crawl later that night! :D I'm so excited to see all my college friends again.

The shower was so fun, and the one game was perfect, minus the fact that the bride was super fast opening presents so we would have had time for another. I'm fine with one, and so was she.

It almost rained us out! But it cleared up in time for the shower and we had tents outside so were able to tough it out, minus that it was a little muddy.

I am le tired. 16 hours of driving in one weekend, who thought that was a good idea?

Yes.

I've mentioned my Wedding Freak Friend, who shakes me and our friends down about my dating habits. She, not surprisingly of course, takes it upon herself to plan every engagement party and wedding/baby shower in our group of friends. It's the same event over and over, which leads me to believe that these things--the picture frame signed by every attendee, the ribbon/belly girth game, and the cutesy favors--are exactly what SHE wants when the time comes around.

The baskets are super-duper fun. I especially like the July 4th one!