Here are a few ideas for games and fun when throwing a bridal shower.
Create a Sideshow:
Organize a slide show of the bride. Have everyone give you pictures
of her with friends and family dating back to when she was a baby. This
will create a touching, beautiful and intimate tribute to the bride.
Bridal Tea Shower: Elegant
brides and guests will love a Bridal Tea. Invite guest to wear fancy
hats and gloves, or search flea markets and antique shops for hats guests
can wear during the tea. Serve properly brewed tea, along with fancy
tea sandwiches and desserts. Gifts can be from any general category.
Use lace tablecloths and napkins, crystal vases and silver serving dishes.
Use your finest china for serving and rent silver tea services for the
tea. Decorate with lacy parasols and bouquets of fresh flowers. Guests
can go home with assorted packets of tea or pretty tea cups or teaspoons.
Throw a shower for the bride that will make
the bachelor party look dull! Have a girls' night out shower.
Give the bride an unusual list of items she has to collect by the end
of the night. Ask guests to give the bride things that will remind her
of her girlfriends. For instance: daily calendars with quotes on friendship,
gift certificates for lunch with a good friend, etc. To decorate, borrow
friends' wedding veils, or create inexpensive "veils" yourself out of
white netting and ribbon, and ask for management's permission to hang
them around the shower venue. Give each guest a gift certificate for
one free soft drink or cocktail from the bar as a favor, pre-arranged
with management, of course.
Gift Certificate Shower: Have
guests purchase gift certificates from local shops in the bride and
grooms hometown so that they can utilize them throughout their first
year of marriage!
Honeymoon Shower! Have guests bring
gifts for the couples honeymoon. This shower will be a party everyone
will love!
Have a Calendar Shower! Assign
each guest a month of the year (or a week if you're having more than
twelve) and have them fill their calendar with different events they
would both enjoy: Certificate to a golf course or an invitation to a
wine tasting party. If you're the host make sure to bring an oversized
calendar so you can record their upcoming events.
Have a Pampering Shower! Have
every guest bring something to soothe the bride before her big day!
Gift ideas include: massage gift certificate, robe and slippers, bubble
baths and lotions. Serve comfort foods at her shower.
Have a Couple's Shower! Ask each
guest to share stories of their biggest challenges and to give advice
for keeping a marriage loving and exciting. Play a dating game for laughs.
Make the menu interactive, such as create your own pizzas or submarine
sandwiches. Bring gifts the couple can use together, such as his and
hers matching bathrobes and/or towels, outdoor games, indoor board games
or books. Find old movie posters or prints of famous couples throughout
history and display them at the party.
Don't Say "Bride" or "Wedding" Game:
Each guest receives a clothes pin as they arrive and it is explained
to the guests only once: If you catch someone saying the words "bride"
or "wedding" you can take their clothes pin. At the end of the shower,
the guest with the most clothes pins wins a small favor or gift.
The Wedding Alphabet Game: The
host starts with a sentence using the letter "A" to describe a wedding
item or tradition. In the sentence she describes that she went to a
wedding and brought an album. The next guest must repeat this sentence
and add another item at the end of the sentence, and it starts with
the letter "B", such as "I went to a wedding and brought an album and
bubbles." And so on. Anyone unable to add a wedding related item must
drop out of the game. The person who stays alive the longest wins the
prize.
Second Wedding Shower: Since
this is a second wedding for the bride, groom or both, they no doubt
have a fully supplied household and don't need the same items a couple
just starting out would need. Make the shower a night out for couples.
Go for the unusual in gifts! Have guests pool their money to buy the
couple something fun, such as a gift certificate to dinner at a classy
restaurant. Registering them for ballroom dancing or a couple's massage
class are also great ideas.
"Penny For Your Thoughts" Game:
Introduction Game - Have two pennies from the same year, with a different
year for each guest. Example: 15 guests, 30 pennies, 15 different years.
When the guests arrive they are given a penny and the other penny is
put in a jar. When all the guests have arrived, the bride-to-be selects
a penny and the person with the penny with that corresponding year tells
a little about herself, how she knows the bride, and maybe a little
story about the bride. After everyone has spoken the bride-to-be puts
her pennies back into the jar and selects one to win a prize.
"Who Am I" Game: Prepare index
cards with the names of famous people written on them. When the guests
arrive, attach a card to each guest's back so that the guest cannot
see the name, but someone else can. Each guest must then ask the other
guests for clues to the identity of the famous person. To prevent cheating
by clever guests trying to read it in a mirror, place a 2nd index card
over the title to hide it.
"Songs of Love" Game: Make a list
of 15-20 words that represent marriage. Pass out copies for each guest,
then give them 10 minutes to identify a popular song that has the word
in it. The guest with the most songs listed wins. Note: the guest must
know some of the words to the song she has listed.
Who knows the bride and groom game: Come
up with as many questions about the bride and groom and/or their upcoming
wedding you can think of and write about 10-15 questions on a sheet
of paper. Photocopy enough for all guests and have them answer the questions
in 3-5 minutes. Sit the couple in the middle of the room and read the
questions. Have them answer the questions and award a small prize to
the guest who gets the most right.
Strawberries 'n Cream Punch:
Add 1 gallon vanilla ice cream to a punch bowl. Next, add 1 2-liter
bottle of strawberry-flavored seltzer or sparkling water and 1 package
of frozen strawberries, thawed. (Hint: Modify the amount of soda you
add depending on how thick you would like your punch.)
Small Quantities Invitations
