Bridal Shower Games..... Fun or Not?

I personally am not a fan of bridal/baby shower games.

When I have hosted (& when showers were given for me), we've played the Timer Game. When the bride (mom-to-be) is opening her gifts, a kitchen timer is set. The door prize winner is the giver of the gift being open when the timer goes off.

It seems to depend on the guest list. If there are guests who may not know many people, or anyone, playing a game makes them feel more comfortable b/c talking to strangers is hard for a lot of us. However, if it is a group of people who know each other well, then you can skip it. If it is a group of young people and adult beverages will be served, skip it. I bet you can find some fun games on line, so it's not just the same-old-same-old.

Good luck!

I have always loved them and find when they aren't done it's kinda a lame thing - more like "give me gifts" instead of "come celebrate with me"

I like the games to at showers but only if it is one or two. We played a bridal bingo at one shower and while the bride was opening her gifts you marked off the squares on your card, if she got a wok, towels ect. that was fun.

I find them dumb & a waste of time, i'd rahter eat drink & socialize...

The last baby shower I went to we played games for almost an hour. Such a waste of time. It's like we're little kids that need to be entertained. Personally I hate them.

no games at my shower, but the bachelorette party..... that was a riot! it's all about how diverse the audience/participants would be.

I don't really like game either, we never really had them when we got married 34 years ago and when our son got married 8 years ago. I am hosting a baby shower in July for a friend and trying to figure out the same thing, have games or not!

Ugh, I never really liked them either. We are hosting one this weekend and the only thing we are going to do is write down all of the "Brides Comments" as she opens gifts.. Then we read them back as though it is her wedding night..

I did not even want to do this one, but my Aunts all think it is Hilarious..

I think it depends on the games. I've done some which are downright stupid and I wished we could leave, and I've been to some which were a blast. I think the ones I like the best were the ones that got us talking to each other at the beginning of the party. I always feel awkward at the beginning of a party anyways. Like guess which romantic couple you are. Or the bingo where you have to find the grooms mother or someone who has a needle and thread in their purse. Those kind of games get me out of my corner and talking to people. Plus I don't feel any pressure to finish them. If I want to sit and talk to someone I can, if I want an excuse to start a conversation I can.

I think they'd be fun after enough wine. Like the toilet paper dress game? I could totally enjoy that with enough gewurtraiminer beforehand.

Otherwise, yep, party games usually suck. Especially the annoying "how well do you know every particular about their romance?" games. I sometimes feel like saying "Don't make me have to jump through these stupid hoops just so I can give you a gift and say I'm happy you're getting married."

ps-- yep, very non-controversial. Though it could end up becoming so!:)

I personally find the games kind of silly. Some can be downright awkward - especially if you don't know many people at the shower!

There were games at my shower but I always prefer just talking and eating.

Not big on games but the purpose is to make the recipients feel more part of the shower. An alternate suggestion is Memory Cards. We supplied a note card at each place setting and requested each guest to write down a favorite memory of the bride and/or groom and these memories are read throughout the gift opening.

Okay, well I'm lame, cuz I like the games! ;) I think it's a nice diversion for those who don't know a lot of the people well and might have a hard time chatting, but I only would do a select few and make sure they are more fun than lame, but that can be hard too! Most of the time should be spent eating and talking and opening presents, but games can pass the time and add some levity. And I do think the writing down of the opening and repeating them "on wedding night" fashion is funny too, especially if the bride doesn't know about it before hand...I must have the sense of humor of and old aunt! ;)

I always thought it was fun to play them - but if you find an old girlfriend to chat with, that is always much more fun! And if you think about it, when you get ready to play the games, the hostess is always trying to shush everyone and get the games started, and she has to keep repeating herself over and over. I guess we must all like eating and talking best!!

I just hosted one yesterday! And we had games, but it was a "couples" shower, so it might be a little different than yours. I am not a fan of "bridal" showers.

We had trivia games mainly because that is something the couple likes to do themselves. But everyone had a great time from what I can tell. We had a multiple choice/fill-in-the-blank trivia game which loosely related to the couple--people played in groups. And a "newly-wed" game with all the recent and soon-to-be married couples-about 5 of them. And also a large cube with 6 pictures of where the couple had been, and people had to guess the landmark and city. So some games were organized and some were just sitting around for people to play.

So there were distractions around, but you could chose what to participate in. I think this works best. The prizes were all games and toys from Marbles, so they also tied into the theme.

And we skipped the opening of gifts entirely--I think that is usually the most boring part. Why are people all oohing and ahhing over gifts they requested! And that all the guests already saw on the registry!

Also it doesn't hurt to have some beer and wine around! I think even the guys had fun:)

Good luck!

I love shower games! Its a good way for a group of usually unrelated people (work, church, family) to relax and get to know each other. They are tradition and I dont much care for these couple showers and all these other new twists that Ive seen lately.

I'm not a fan of games per se. We have a little tradition of giving a large bucket of cleaning supplies w/ each one individually wrapped, and there's a funny little reading that goes along with it...When you discover that your man's not "Mr. Clean" and they open up the Mr. Clean, that sort of thing. Its pretty funny, you don't need to know anyone, and its short. If you google it I'm sure you could find it.

It depends on the crowd. I love the games, but I have been to a few showers were no one was interested and it really killed the mood.

I'm fine either way. :)

I love games! I think the trick is to come up with ones that aren't lame and childish. Try this; the competitive people really get into it and the ones who don't like games don't have to be bothered. Everyone gets a wooden clothes pin. If you say the word "baby", the one who caught you can take it away. The one with the most pins at the end of the party wins a gift. That was a fun one. Another was a quiz where you fill in the blanks to nursery rhymes--not everyone knows the same ones. Just a couple games is ample.

Know your audience. I think this totally depends on who is there and what their likes and dislikes are. When my husband and I got married I had few female friends so we decided to have a shower as a couple and invited lots of family and friends.We played the toilet paper bride game having teams of about 4 people design wedding gowns and I got to choose the winning team. We also carved pumpkins after we opened gifts as the shower was on Halloween. I also went to another shower about a year and a half ago that went on WAY too long as the aunt of the bride (hostess) played game after game after game. Also consider if you are doing any kind of game where the guests have to reveal their knowledge of the couple as part of the festivities that certain guests inevitably are much more knowledgeable of the couple than others. While I feel that some people throw in the games to make it worth their while to have given a gift that is not why anyone is there to begin with. It really is a chance to celebrate with the bride (or possibly the couple) prior to the big day when there are presumably a lot more people there and less opportunity to interact with them

I just put up with them ... baby shower games too! I like the Bachelorette party better personally.

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I just put up with them ... baby shower games too! I like the Bachelorette party better personally.

LOVE games! It's fun, it's sometimes TMI !!!, & it's a great icebreaker.

The key is the dynamics of the group & games geared appropriately.

What I find lame are the prizes.....just give me a potted plant, please! I especially love when the plant is representative of the wedding....Gerber daisies are very popular! I'm not into trendy or gimmicky when it comes to the flotsam/jetsam of Dollar Stores....& I'm allergic to most scents. Peace!