Bridal Shower Games
While every bridal shower does not have games, they are a great ice-breaker and lots of fun. It is especially good to play games if the guests do not know each other well. Typically, you play 2-4 games at a bridal shower, depending on how much time it takes. The winner of the game is usually given a small gift from the hostess as a prize. If there is a tie, the prize goes to the guest that has not won a game yet or if neither guest has won a game, simply ask the bride-to-be to choose a number between 1 and 50. Whoever is closer wins the prize.
Supplies
Remember to have enough pens and papers for all the guests. It is also helpful if you have hard surfaces available for the guests to write on. A magazine would work well. Pens that don't work are common and tend to slow down the party, so test out pens before they are needed. If you buy new pens, roll them around a bit until the ink begins to flow.
Prize Ideas
Prizes for games are not usually elaborate, but are instead fun things that the guests can use. Some suggestions include:
- Potpourri
- Candles
- Picture Frames
- Bath Soaps
- Food Goodies
- Flowers or other items that decorated for the shower
Shower Gift Bingo
This game is definitely intended for large showers. Prepare blank bingo cards, but write "marry" at the top instead of bingo. Each guest fills out a blank card with gifts that they think will be received at the shower. Whie the gifts are being opened, guests should check to see if they wrote that gift on their card. If they did, it should be crossed off. When a person gets five crossed off in a row, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, then they yell "marry!" and are the winner.
It's in the Bag
Gather 10 common items from around the house (toothbrush, tube of lipstick, remote control...) and place them in a bag. Pass the bag around to the guests and give them about 30 seconds to feel the items. Then when they pass the bag on, they write down as many items as they think they have identified. It is helpful if you can come up with 2 of each of the 10 items, so that you can pass two bags around at the same time. The person with the most items identified is the winner.
Spice Rack
Take about 10 different spices that you can find in the kitchen and cover their labels with paper. Number each bottle. Be sure to write down which spice goes with which number. Place the bottles on a tray and pass it around to the guests. The guests then try to guess what spice is in each bottle and write it down. After everyone has seen the bottles and guessed, then read the answers. The person who has the most spices correct is declared the winner. The hostess then gives the guest a small gift as a prize. This one is great if there will be older women at the shower, however, younger women may be frustrated with it.
Scrambled
Take some common wedding words (15-20) and re-arrange them.
Example: oromg - groom
Copy the list of scrambled words and hand one to each guest. Give them a certain amount of time (suggested: 2-5 minutes) to try and unscramble as many as they are able to. Read the unscrambled list to the guests. The guest that unscrambled the most words is then declared the winner. The hostess then gives the guest a small gift as a prize.
Off Limits! or "the Safety Pin Game"
Each guest is handed a safety pin when they arrive. After everyone arrives, but before introductions, briefly explain to everyone what the pins are for. Usually there is a certain word, such as wedding or honeymoon, or action, such as crossing the legs or ankles, that are off limits. If a guest catching another guest doing something off limits, then they take that person's safety pin. If the person has more than one pin (from catching another person(s), then all of the pins are handed-over. Later in the party, usually just after the bride has opened her gifts, each guest is asked how many pins she has. The guest with the most pins wins.
They're Playing Our Song
As each guest comes in, get them to write down the song from the first dance at their wedding and their name. If the person is not married, they can write down "the song" from their current relationship or can just pick their favorite love song. It's OK if people have the same song. Later, the hostess will read each song one by one and the guests will write down who they think that song matches up with. Make sure everyone is given a chance to think and analyze a bit before moving on to the next song. After all the songs have been read, the hostess will read the songs again and reveal who it belongs to. Guests get 1 point for each correct answer and 3 points is they guess the wedding song of the bride. The person with the most points wins. The hostess then gives the guest a small gift as a prize.
And the Bride Wore...
After one or two games have been played, the bride casually leaves the room - telling no-one. The hostess then announces that the next game is "and the bride wore..." Take out your pre-made list of 10 questions about how the bride looked. Examples: Was her hair up or down? What color were her shoes? Was she wearing a bracelet? The guest who answers the most questions correctly wins.
Bridal Bingo
Create your own set of bingo cards except don't use numbers but instead, use things pertaining to weddings. Instead of having BINGO across the top, use the word BRIDE. An example would be to have all the items in the "B" column be "items bride wears at wedding." The items in this row could be garter, veil, gown etc. There needs to be a master list to call from. The normal bingo rules apply. For Example: A caller pulls out B - gown and guests look under the column 'B' to see if they have gown. If they do, they mark off the square. The first person to get a line horizontally, vertically, or diagonally is declared the winner. This one takes quite some time to prepare.
Who am I?
Write down names of famous women, fiction and non-fiction, on large pieces of paper. Make sure that they are written large enough for everyone to read. When each guest comes in, tape one name to her back, without letting her see who it is. Then each guest asks other guests yes or no questions about her character. Ex.: Am I a movie star? Am I a cartoon character? Do I have long hair? Am I a singer? etc. The first one to guess her character wins. This can be played all through the shower and between other games. Examples of characters are the Bride of Frankenstein, Barbie, Lucille Ball, Cher, Madonna, Anne Bolyn, Wicked Witch of the West etc. You will have a lot of fun picking who gets which character. A variation of this would be to have the guest get a new sign once they guess who they are. In this way, the game would continue throughout the entire shower. The person who guessed themselves the most times would then win. This game is great because it gets guests to interact with each other.
Name Game
Take the first name of the bride & groom (include last names if they have short first names). Write this down on a piece of paper and give one out to each guest. Instruct them that they are to try to find words that can be made from the names. Then give them a certain amount of time (you can decide on time) to write down as many words as they can think of. At the end of the time people total up the number of words they have and the one who came up with the most combinations wins.
Example: Susan - Alexander
deer . dear . sand . land . sale