Dorm Shower...is that a thing now?

[Katmandu]

Gift grab. I don't care how "nice" someone is, it is an odd scenario. I have also noticed lately that moms, sisters and grandmas are hosting showers for the Bride/Mama to be. I thought that was tacky too, but some friends have made no bones about it..."giving a shower for darling , hope you can make it!"

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by lovespink88

ETA: Is it bad that when I read the thread title I was concerned because I thought "um, what dorms DON'T have showers?". Hey, it's Monday...

I was thinking something dirty, for some reason. I don't know what.. but yea..

Originally Posted by adpiucf

No tackier than a baby shower or a bridal shower.

A baby shower, I can understand. There is SO much to buy, and the entire ordeal is very expensive and overwhelming. Plus, the expenses obviously don't stop once the baby is born. It's nice to help out a family member or friend in that case. I say this, and I don't even want anything to do with kids!

IMO, bridal showers are dumb. I hate the idea that I have to buy someone a wedding gift at the shower, and then another gift for the wedding. To me, you should only get one gift from me. That's why I try to avoid bridal showers like the plague!

Originally Posted by IndianaSigKap

//swerve//

I was just ranting about this to a sorority sister on Saturday night. I received a baby shower invitation from a distant relative who is having her third child in less than 6 years. She has one of each already, so she does not need gender specific items nor infant most infant needs other than diapers. I am tired of this entitlement of "I am having a baby buy me things". Showers were intended to help first time parents out by giving them a head start on setting up the nursery.

And while I am ranting, full blown bridal showers for third time brides. Really? You didn't get enough items during the first two marriages? I have no problem with an engagement party to celebrate the couple or a bachelorette party to give the bride one last wild night out, but having a bridal shower? Again, bridal showers were designed to help newly married couples set up households with essentials. If you have been married multiple times, and your spouse to be has too, then you both already have households to merge.

//back into the lane

Yes! My stepdad's nephew has been married 3 times! The last woman he married comes from money, but it was her first time getting married, so she wanted the whole big production. My mom, of course, was pissed because now they had to spend another few hundred dollars on another shower gift and another wedding gift.. not to mention all the other added expenses that come with attending a wedding.


Two other gift/money grabs that I discovered when I went to school in PA that I absolutely hate: Stag 'n drags and dollar dances.

For those who don't know, a stag 'n drag (which I originally thought was a party that you go to alone and drag someone home with you.. ) is a party prior to the wedding. The couple invites anyone and everyone they know (sometimes even people who aren't invited to the wedding), there's a cover - usually $15-25 - and you get to play games, drink, eat, and socialize. The point is to raise money for the wedding.

Dollar dances occur at the wedding. At what seems like the most imopportune time, the fun music stops, slow music is played, and people line up to pay a dollar to dance with either the bride or the groom. Again, the money is used toward the wedding or the honeymoon.

I was once at a wedding where the dollar dance lasted 45 minutes. It was terrible.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

IMO, bridal showers are dumb. I hate the idea that I have to buy someone a wedding gift at the shower, and then another gift for the wedding. To me, you should only get one gift from me. That's why I try to avoid bridal showers like the plague!

Bridal showers used to be much more specific - a kitchen shower, a linen shower, etc. Usually gifts that were MUCH less expensive than a wedding gift. Now everything has kind of gotten mushed together and that's why people's hides are chapped at having to buy a $60 deviled egg plate for the shower.

[ZTAngel]

A friend of mine was married recently. She basically expected that everyone would throw her a bunch of showers. This included an engagement party/shower, a couple's shower, bridal shower and bachelorette shower. Yes, all four. Ridiculous. I got roped into helping plan and pay for the engagement shower. Since I was her only bridesmaid who lives in the same state as her, I planned and paid for her bridal shower at my house. Gifts from me were expected for every shower on top of it. I never received a thank you for her for the engagement shower. Not verbal nor a written thank you. I received a voicemail for the bridal shower thanking me and she mumbled something about owing me a hostess gift (which she never ended up getting me). Additionally, I never received a written thank you for that either. That's the thing that gets me the most about showers. People who do not thank every person who gave them a gift. I also hate when the thank you notes arrive months after the gathering. I made sure to send my thank you notes out within a week after my bridal shower and my baby shower. I figure that if people take the time to get me a gift that I could take a few minutes out of my day to write a thank you for it. Needless to say, I'm not quite as close with this friend anymore. I just couldn't get past the tackiness of the whole situation.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by Katmandu

Gift grab. I don't care how "nice" someone is, it is an odd scenario. I have also noticed lately that moms, sisters and grandmas are hosting showers for the Bride/Mama to be. I thought that was tacky too, but some friends have made no bones about it..."giving a shower for darling , hope you can make it!"

Come to think of it--the last two baby showers I attended were hosted by the families! These people are from Texas, too--they should know better! The parents in the first case actually registered for Burberry clothing for a baby. Wtf.

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

The parents in the first case actually registered for Burberry clothing for a baby. Wtf.

I can just imagine the looks on their faces the first time the baby has a diaper blowout while wearing said Burberry clothing!

I was once in a Gucci store where there was a Gucci baby carrier and shoes on display. No price tag (i.e., if you have to ask, you can't afford it). Again, can you imagine the parents' reaction when the baby has a diaper blowout while in that thing?

</threaddrift>

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by aephi alum

I can just imagine the looks on their faces the first time the baby has a diaper blowout while wearing said Burberry clothing!

I was once in a Gucci store where there was a Gucci baby carrier and shoes on display. No price tag (i.e., if you have to ask, you can't afford it). Again, can you imagine the parents' reaction when the baby has a diaper blowout while in that thing?

</threaddrift>

You mean the nanny's reaction?