Good Games for Bridal Showers

Games for Theme Showers

Personalize the shower activities for the bride-to-be. Create games that coordinate with the kind of themed bridal shower you are throwing. Classic games, like Pictionary and charades, can coordinate easily with a themed shower — simply write down suggestions for drawings and actions that relate back to the main subject matter. For example, spa and beauty themes could include drawings of makeup or the acting out of getting your hair colored.

Ideas for your themed shower games can come from anywhere. Modify standard games to fit the theme or invent your own. Get started with the suggestions below.

Kitchen Shower

A kitchen shower is one that will stock the bride’s pantry. Games you play may include:

• Spice It Up: Pass around spices that are numbered (labels off). Have each guest write down their guess for each spice. Give the person with the most correct guesses a prize and the bride all of the spices.

• Mad Bakers: Divide the guests into teams. Give each person a tube of decorator’s icing. Pass around a photo of a wedding cake. Have the bride leave the room and tell guests they must do their best to decorate the cupcake with the same design as the cake. Using a timer, let each person on the team decorate for 30 seconds before passing the cupcake to the next person. Let the bride choose the winning team.

• What Is It?: Buy some cheap but uncommon kitchen utensils. Have guests guess what each does in the kitchen. Guests could write down their answers or shout them out. At the end of the written game, give the person with the most guesses right a prize and the utensils to the bride. If you choose to let everyone shout out their guesses, simply hand out the utensils to the person who shouts out the right name/use first.

Lingerie Shower

A lingerie shower will include demure and racy gifts from the guests for the bride to wear on her honeymoon. The garter relay is a great game for this type of shower.

Divide guests into teams and pass out garters. Each team will split in half and then face each other about ten feet apart. Members must put a garter on and race to their teammate across the way. They must take the garter off and help their teammate into it. The first team to finish is the winter.

Garden Shower

A garden shower can fall under two categories: outdoor party or stocking the garden shed. The outdoor party game could be a simple scavenger hunt for various types of flowers, plants, tools or leaves.

A shed stocking party could be held indoors or outdoors, so a game suitable for both is appropriate. Making a bride’s bouquet can be done using faux materials, like silk flower stems, or outside using live stems. Set a timer for guests to make up their own bouquets using the materials you offer. Let the bride choose the wining bouquet.

Spa and Beauty Shower

Nothing is more relaxing than a spa shower or day of beauty. Focus your games around these activities. Your games might include:

• Towel Challenge: Print off directions for making a small towel cake. Buy enough materials to make two to three cakes. Divide guests into teams. The team who completes the cake first is the winner. Do this at the beginning of the shower and use them for centerpieces or decorations for the rest of the event.

• Lipstick Ladies: Buy a bunch of cheap red lipstick. As each guest arrives, have them put the lipstick on and “kiss” a small sheet of paper that has a random number on it. Only the shower hostess should know whose lips are whose. Tack each up to a poster and let guests guess whose lips are whose. The winner could get a small goody bag filled with makeup items.

• Weighty Wallets: Women tend to carry an entire beauty arsenal in their handbags. Use a scale to weigh their purses. The guest with the heaviest purse is the winner.

Good Games for Bridal Showers: Kits

A busy maid of honor may not have time to create her own games. Instead, she may want to buy a few kits or games that provide plenty of fun without the fuss.

• BlindWine Party Game: This is the perfect game kit for a bride and groom who are wine enthusiasts. Not only does it provide the entertainment for your shower, but the drinks, too! Just keep sampling sizes small and be sure guests get plenty to eat.

• The Lively Shower Game Kit: This kit comes complete with instructions and materials for four different games. You can personalize up to three lines on each game card.

• Shower Her With Love: Bridal Shower Game Kit: Two games, pencils, prizes and advice cards are included in this pink heart themed kit.
• Pink “Blushing Bride” Shower Game Book: Get nine activities and three tear-out games in this simple book.

Weddings are expensive for the bridal party, so do not pay for games if you cannot afford them. Instead, use free bridal shower game ideas.

Shower Game Tips

Throwing a wedding shower often means stress for the hostess(es). Follow these simple tips to help the game portion of the shower go smoothly:

• Follow guests’ cues. If your guests seem uninterested or bored, quickly finish up the game and move onto something else.
• Plan an extra game. Sometimes games are over with before the shower has even started. Have an optional game ready to go in case this happens at your shower.
• Ice breakers are helpful. You will want to have a few simple "getting to know you" ice-breaking games prepared at showers where people may not know each other.
• Buy plenty of supplies. Have enough game cards, pencils and supplies for everyone.

Preparation for the games is key to making them successful. After all, it does not matter how good games for bridal showers are; if you do not know the instructions or have the materials ready to go, they will flop.