Getting Goofy - How to Give Great Bridal Shower Gag Gifts

Gag gifts can be a fun way to give gifts, especially at a bridal shower. The key to giving a good gag gift though, is to know your recipient. Before you give any gift that might be construed as inappropriate, think about the guests that will be in attendance. It is fun to get goofy and give great bridal shower gag gifts.

Most brides will probably appreciate the humor in a gag gift. Since many bridal gag gifts tend to be on the naughty side, know the bride and her personality. Also, before breaking out any gifts that might be offensive, find out who might be at the shower. It may not be such a great idea to give that edible underwear if great Aunt Edna will be at the shower. The shower may not be a good time for laughable gifts; then you might try to hold a separate “girls night out” or bachelorette party where such gifts will be more appropriate.

If you do decide on giving gag gifts during a bridal shower, one fun way to do this might be to host a gag gift exchange party. This is a great way to get all the guests involved and better yet, everyone walks away with a party favor they will always remember. On your invitations instruct each guest to bring a wrapped gag gift. Consider having a spending limit so each gift has the same value. Before the gag gift exchange begins, count the number of guests that brought a gag gift and label slips of paper with a number for each guest. Next, have each guest draw a number and place all of the gifts in the center of the room. Start with the person that drew number one. That person is allowed to pick any gift from the center that they choose. They will un-wrap the gift and show it to everyone. The person that has number two has the choice to either take away the un-wrapped gift or un-wrap a new one. Each person takes a turn doing this. If the participants are having a great time, it will be fun to watch them “ste al” gifts from other guests during the game. After the last person has un-wrapped a gift, the person that went first has the option to keep the gift in their hand or take any gift from any person in the room.

There are many variations of this game. Guests can opt to give the bride their gift instead of taking it home with them. You can also establish categories that the gifts should fit into, such as movies, clothing, food or music. If you want to steer away from the “naughty” items, make sure you make that clear on the invitation. Some hosts may also choose to change the rules a little by allowing a gift to be stolen only two or three times during the course of the game. This is a good option if the time is limited.

There are many fun and silly gag gifts that are perfect for the bride-to-be or to use for a gag gift exchange game for a bridal shower. Many party stores and specialty shops carry funny gag gifts. It is also easy to order silly gag gifts from online companies. Here are a few suggestions that might keep shower guests laughing well after the shower is over.

Marriage Survival Kit: You can purchase kits like these from stores, or you can put one together yourself. Things to include might be a book on how to get along with your spouse, aspirin, massage lotion, a book about new things to try in the bedroom and racy lingerie.

Lingerie: If you know the bride’s size, lingerie can be a perfect gag gift. Look for something that the bride would not buy for herself. You might also try to find the groom a matching pair of boxer shorts. There are also many styles of humorous underwear and panties for both the bride and the groom.

Coupon Books: Make a coupon book for the bride-to-be to give to her new husband. Think of things that will make both of them laugh. Maybe include a coupon for a massage or a bubble bath. You can even include coupons for a movie night, dinner at a favorite restaurant, a candle lit dinner at home, a chore around the house, or even one night of watching what she wants to watch on television. Get creative and these coupons will be a big hit.

No Money Honey? No Problem! Ten Money Saving Tips for Your Bridal Shower

Planning a bridal shower can be an exciting event, but it can also be a relatively expensive one. Between trying to get the invitations out, plan for the food, purchase wedding shower favors, and still pick up a nice gift for the bride, you and your pocket book may feel quite overwhelmed with the whole process. Fortunately, there are several ways you can save some serious cash when you throw your next bridal shower.

One of the first ways to save money is to hold the shower in your home. With the proper decorations, you can provide the casual, festive feel a bridal shower should have, but hold down the cost of renting a location or paying the long tab at the restaurant where you held the shower.

If you don't want to have your shower at home, you can still save some money with our second tip. Hold your shower in a public place. For example, if you are holding a spring or summer shower, and your city has some nice parks, call the local parks and recreation department. You can usually reserve a shelter for no cost, and let nature provide the beautiful backdrop for your shower.

When you decide to hold your shower can also save you some money. If you end up holding it earlier in the day, say two o'clock, you will save dramatically. Planning an evening shower means you will probably be serving a meal and drinks to each of the guests. Planning for an afternoon shower, though, means only light finger foods and possible a cake as well. This can save you some serious cash.

Deciding on the decorations is another way to save some money. If you are going with a themed shower, try to make your own decorations instead of purchasing expensive ones. For example, if you are planning a beach party theme, you could create small votive centerpieces with a mason jar, some sand, and some sea shells. The entire centerpiece will cost less than a few dollars. If you had gone with a premade decoration, you may have spent upwards of twelve dollars each.

Another way to save money on your bridal shower is to ask the bridesmaids to chip in on your biggest expense, the food. Once a woman is chosen for bridesmaid, she expects to help with things like a wedding shower. You could have each bridesmaid bring two dishes. You could just have them come over and help you chop vegetables. Anything that might give you a helping hand and save you some money is a good job for a bridesmaid.

A sixth way to save money on your bridal shower is to make your own invitations. Invitations can easily be one of the most expensive parts of a bridal shower. You can make your own embossed invitations for about fifty dollars. You can make your own computerized invitations for the cost of the ink and the paper. When it comes to creating your own invitations, there are hundreds of options. Most of them will save you a bundle over the premade invitations.

An additional way to save money on your bridal shower is to create your own wedding shower favors. You don't have to do something terribly creative here, but finding some inexpensive things that you can assemble into a favor is a perfect idea. For example, you could find a large box of chocolates in fun shapes and slip a few of them into a candy gift bag. For about ten dollars, you have more wedding shower favors than you’re probably need.

An eighth way to save money on your bridal shower is to make sure that you don't purchase premade food. Simple things like chopping your own vegetables or making cheese dip in the crockpot instead of buying it in the container can save you thirty to forty percent.

If you would rather not make your own decorations, wedding favors, or invitations, try getting some in an inexpensive manner. If you know someone who just held a wedding shower, buy their extras. Better yet, buy yours in bulk and sell the leftovers on an auction website. It may actually cover all of the costs of your shower.

The final tip to cut back is one that you want to leave as a final tip. If you have to, cut your guest list down. Try just inviting the family members to the shower or just the wedding party. Remember that not everyone on the wedding guest list has to be invited to the shower as well.

Bridal Bingo and Six Other Fun Bridal Shower Games

One of the most exciting parts of a bridal shower is the fun games you get to play. These games can have a variety of purposes. They can be ice breaker games to help guests get to know one another. They can be games where your guests can win prizes to take home. They could also just be games to help guests enjoy their time at the bridal shower.

One of the most popular games at every bridal shower is bridal bingo. For this game, you will need as many bingo cards as you have guests. Fifteen is a good number of base bingo cards to start with. You will also need a list of the words on the bingo cards. Be sure to cut them up so you can pull them out of a hat or some similar container. You will need to give each guest a card. You could, though, have them share cards if you prefer. That might also be a good way to break the ice among guests who have no connection to each other except the bride. All of the bingo cards should have words on them that are associated with weddings, wedding gifts, or romance. In the center of the card should be a free space that can work with any type of line. The hostess should act as the bingo caller. She should pull the small pieces of paper out of the hat and call out each word. When the guest has a word on her card, she should mark through it with her pencil. If a guest can mark through a complete line of words in a vertica l, horizontal, or diagonal method, she should shout “Bingo.” The host should check her card, and if, indeed, she has gotten all of the words, she will be deemed the winner of that game. The winner should receive some sort of wedding favor prize. There are a number of free printable cards on the internet along with word lists to help you in planning for this great game.

Another fun game to play at a bridal shower is a bridal word scramble. Each guest will be given a sheet with a number of different words related to weddings scrambled on them. Guests will also need a writing utensil for this game. The words should be fairly easy to solve, and obviously wedding related. For example, you could use “edwdngi” as wedding for one of the words. Set a time limit, something like ten minutes usually works well, and the guest who can unscramble the most words in ten minutes wins the game.

An additional great game to play at bridal showers involves the names of famous couples. Give guests a sheet of paper with some famous couple halves on them. For example, you could have Michael Douglas as one entry. The other half, Catherine Zeta Jones, is what your guests would have to guess. Some other good entries for this game would be Popeye and Olive Oyl, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Baucall, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Al and Tipper Gore, and Homer and Marge Simpson. Come up with as many as you can. Again, you will need to set a time limit here, and ten minutes seems to work well. The guest who gets the most couples correct wins.

A third great game to play is the “don't say or do game”. This also makes a wonderful ice breaker for your guests. Each guest wears a clothes pin attached to their clothing. The guests are informed that there are three words that they cannot say. Words like “bride,” “groom,” and “wedding” work well. If any guest hears another guest say these words, that guest can demand their clothes pin. At the end of the game, which is typically the end of the wedding shower, the guest who has managed to obtain the most clothes pins wins.

Another good game is the purse scavenger hunt. Guests are given a list of the items that might be found in a purse. Each guest marks off the item as she hunts through her purse. The guest with the most items in her purse wins the game.

An additional game to play at a bridal shower is a version of memory. Guests are shown a tray of items. The tray should have twenty or so wedding related items. Show it to each of the guests for a few seconds. After the tray has been removed from the vicinity, guests are to list as many items as they can remember on a sheet of paper. The guest who lists the most items on the paper wins the game.

One last good idea for a game to play at your upcoming bridal shower is herbs and spices. Place ten paper cups on a tray or a table. Number them one to ten, and have each guest smell the spices and herbs in the cups. Then have the guests write down what they think each spice or herb is. The guest who guesses the most wins the game.

There are a number of different games you can play at your next bridal shower, but remember that the goal of any of them is fun.

Bridal Shower Attire - What Are You Going to Wear?

If you have ever stood in front of your nicely stocked closet, had a number of discarded outfits beginning to pile up on the bed, and still had no clue what to wear to the occasion that you are already running late for, then you should know that you are not alone! As a matter of fact, there is not one woman alive who cannot boast the same difficulty at one point or another. Of course, the other reason why the outfits are piling up could be the fact that a well-meaning spouse or friend took one critical look at the ensemble you were wearing and simply remarked “you’re not wearing that, are you?”. While this indecisiveness appear to be epidemic for New Years Eve parties, the company holiday party, and assorted other celebrations of friends and families, thus far a bridal shower has not really ranked as an event that required a special kind of attire. Nonetheless, don’t you wish somebody would have given you a hint as to what kind of dress would be appropriate? Perhaps it is time for this to change! After all, you have spent a lot of time coming up with the perfect bridal shower theme, so why not go all the way and choose your bridal shower attire accordingly?

For example, if you are planning a bridal shower for your friend who will be going to Hawaii on her honeymoon, why not make the theme, as well as the attire, a Hawaiian celebration? Guests could wear Hawaiian shirts, dresses, perhaps even grass skirts! On the other hand, if the bride will be going surfing, why not dress in the height of California surfer fashion, complete with bleached blond wig and cut out surf board? As you can see, the possibilities for bridal shower attire are truly endless and guests as well as the bride will be able to capitalize on the individuality of the bride, her planned honeymoon, or simply the interests her and the groom share. If you are more formally oriented, or if the shower will be held at a formal location, you may wish to stay with the conservative ensemble of a skirt and blouse, or perhaps a pair of dressy slacks and a nice blouse. Depending on the kind of bridal shower you are planning for the bride to be, it is imperative to communicate the propriety of attire to th e shower guests. As a matter of fact, there are actually some commonly understood “buzz words” that get the point across without getting into too much detail.

If you will be having a fancy party at a luxury restaurant, please be sure to include on the invitation that the dress should be “cocktail attire.” This signals to the invitee that this is the equivalent of a black tie affair, and she will know to get the little black dress off the hanger and pressed. This is especially appropriate for exclusive restaurants or hotels.

If the party is not held at the ritziest place in town but a close second runner up, please be sure to specify “evening resort attire.” This simply means an alternative to the little black dress, such as a nice conservative yet festive dress or skirt and blouse.

Once step down from this occasion would be “business casual” or “resort attire.” This is most appropriate if the party is held at the local country club. Shorts, skorts, and even short skirts are appropriate, if they are properly cut and fit well. This is not the time for the bargain basement mini skirt!

As you can see, questions of fashionable attire are entirely appropriate when considering attending or hosting a bridal shower. If you are fortunate enough to be hosting one, please take the guests’ guess work out of the equation, and instead let them know how to dress for the occasion! On the other hand, if you are on the guest list of a bridal shower, be sure to ask if there will be a dress code. Most often you will be able to glean this bit of information when taking a look at the location of the event, but in case you are unfamiliar with the venue, a quick phone call to the hostess will clear up any questions and prevent embarrassing misunderstandings.

Five Great Homemade Bridal Shower Favor Ideas

If you are planning a bridal shower on a budget, of you if simply want to create a more personalized feel for your celebration, you might want to consider creating your own homemade bridal shower favors. Bridal shower favors are meant to give each of your guests a small token of appreciation for their attendance, as well as a memento commemorating your special day. Homemade shower favors can make these souvenirs even more enjoyable and special.

Tasty Treats

Sweets are always a hit with a group of ladies! Try making your own chocolate or candy as a homemade bridal shower favor. You can even choose a mold for shaping your chocolate or candy in a way that fits your theme. Then, add a note such as, “Love is the sweet nectar of life.” If you have a famous family recipe, such as homemade fudge, put it in a box with the recipe printed on the outside.

If you are really into baking and cooking, you can make cupcakes resembling your wedding cake. Or, make your own jars of jam and include a note along the lines of “Spread the love…”

Candles

Candles make for a great homemade bridal shower favor. You can create candles in all sorts of colors, sizes, and even shapes if you have the skill. In addition, you can transform your candles into aromatherapy candles by simply adding essential oils to the wax as you prepare your candles. Make a variety of colors and scents to really liven it up. Your guests will have a great time smelling and looking at your many different homemade candles. Everyone loves candles! And, your candles will likely get your guests mingling and enjoying each others company as they move about the room to see what other exciting colors and smells you have to offer. Many online stores carry candle-making supplies and some retail outlets also sell supplies, including special candle making cookers. Be sure to include a special note, such as “Our love will burn for an eternity.”

Flowers, Flowers, Every Where

There are a couple great homemade bridal shower favors you can create with the use of flowers. One option is to purchase small, white bags – similar to the “brown bags” some people use for their lunch. Next, choose some fresh flowers. If you are a gardener yourself, you can add to the unique quality and personal touch by gathering flowers from your own garden. Next, place some petals and leaves decoratively over the bags and place newspaper over the flowers. Set this combination in an area where it can be left undisturbed. Then, place something heavy on top. Let it sit this way for a week. When you uncover your bags, you will have colorful imprints of the flowers left on your bag!

If you are pressed for time, you can place the flower petals and leaves on the white bag and place a piece of cardboard on top. Then, hit the cardboard with a hammer. Be sure to keep the cardboard in place. This method often does not produce as uniform of a flower pressing, but it will do in a pinch! Whichever way you decide to create your bag, be sure to fill it with something fun, such as seeds. You can also wrap a flower bulb in decorative cellophane and place it inside the bag with a special note saying, “Planting the seeds of love.”

Don’t throw away your flowers now, either. Now, you can use packing tape to make stickers from your flowers! Gently lay the pressed flower on the top of the non-sticky side of a clear piece of packing tape. Next, seal the flower in by laying another piece of tape, sticky side down, over the flower. This will leave you with one side still sticky and ready to be used as a sticker!

Paper Fun

Other simple homemade bridal favors packed full of meaning are homemade books marks. Take the time to stencil your favorite love poem onto these bookmarks. You can even laminate them by using clear packing tape. Simply lay the bookmark on the sticky side of the tape and lay another piece of tape, sticky side down, over the top. Then, cut off the excess tape. Or, create small paper fans with your poem written inside. These can also be used to display the menu or the program for your shower.

Personalized CD

With the ease of burning CD’s on the computer, it can be both fun and simple to burn your own personalized CD for your bridal shower guests. Include songs that are special to you and that reflect a bit of your personality. Decorate the CD’s with your own personalized labels. You might even want to add a little message about why each song is special or important to you.