Relationships June 22, 2017
Because supporting your BFF and her special day should not have to feel like a chore.
The moment has come… and you can no longer procrastinate on planning the bridal shower games.
The problem is, you are a drawing a blank. You want it to be easy, interactive, unique — or at least hilarious enough to be worthy of Pinterest.
But never fear — contrary to popular belief, there are a few group activities that both your great grandma and youngest niece can enjoy.
Summary: Pictures and descriptions are passed around a table until the ending result is totally different from what you originally drew.
Prep: Index cards numbered from 1-how many guests you have, and enough pens for every guest.
How to play: This explanation will sound complicated, but it is literally the exact hybrid of Telephone and Pictionary. Every guest gets a stack of index cards (if you have 12 guests, each gets 12 cards). Have the cards numbered according to how many guests you have, so in this case, 1-12.
On card #1, have each guest secretly write a sentence having to do with a wedding, one that next person can draw. An example can be, “(Bride’s name) tripping on her veil” or “Best man catching bouquet.”
Everyone then passes their stack one person to the right. After seeing the last person’s description on the card, you move it to the back and attempt to illustrate what they wrote in thirty seconds. When time is up, the stack is passed again. Card #2 goes to the back, and the guest writes down a description of the image on card #3.
This goes on until the stack is passed back to its original owner. Each guest can then go around and explain the progression of the group’s interpretation of their sentence, as pictured above. Thus, hilarity ensues.
Summary: It’s the game of charades with a little twist.
Prep: Small pieces of paper, pens and a container of some kind.
How to play: This is basically charades on steroids, and it’s one of the most competitive bridal shower games. Every guest gets six small pieces of paper, on which they write any six nouns having to do with a wedding (church, love, bride, etc.). Once everyone is done, these all go into a bowl. Separate the guests into two teams.
Each team gets 30 seconds to guess as many nouns as their representative can explain (they can use words in the first round, just not the word on the paper). Here’s the catch: when you run out of papers, you repeat the process — but the team representative can only act out the words.
When you run out of papers again, the team representative can only say one word. Whichever team has more points after round three wins sweet, sweet victory.
Summary: Basically it’s just jeopardy.
Prep: Corkboard or poster board, post-its.
How to Play: The creativity is totally up to you. You can have categories solely based on the bride, based on the bride and groom’s relationship, or bizarre wedding fun facts. Answers could be similar to, “Guardians of the Galaxy in 3D, January 2015” with the question being “What was John and Jane’s first date?” The winning team can receive a prize of some sort.
Prep: Whoever finds the object in their purse the fastest wins.
Materials: In the invitation, request every guest to bring their purse.
How to Play: Have the host call out things they would normally find in their purse like so: “In my purse I have an… empty lipstick tube!” Whichever guests can find the item in their own purse first wins.
If you’re looking for prizes for the “someone wins every five seconds” games, baked goods in baggies do the trick. (You can also work up to naming more unseemly items, such as used Kleenex or gum to tease your less organized friends). The bonus? Exempting the prizes, this activity is 100% free.
A literal “bucket list” makes for a great bridal shower game. Image via Instagram/@signdesignbykenzie
Not all bridal shower games need to be competitive — unless you want to suggest the greatest bucket list idea of all time. This creative idea from Pinterest gives guests an opportunity to show off their creative side — and gives the newlyweds much food for thought. This idea works perfectly for large groups as well.
Although bridal showers can be one of the most stressful events to plan, the finished product will be so beautifully sentimental that your aunts will happy-cry about it for years to come. And if you need any advice on surviving the subsequent wedding, you know where to go.
