Ice Breaker Games

Ice Breaker

This is a great game to get things started at the shower, especially if you have quite a few guests that don't know each other well.  Have each guest stand up and say their name along with something they love that starts with the first letter of their first name, for instance "Hi, I'm Denise and I love desserts".  Then the next person has to tell theirs plus the previous ones - "Hi, I'm Sarah and I love sunflowers, and this is Denise and she loves desserts".  It gets really confusing toward the end but the game is a lot of fun and the guests will remember each others' names.

Introductions

This is a variation of the previous game and is also a great way to get things started.  In the invitations ask the guests to bring a non-perishable food item that begins with the first initial of their name - for instance, Mary could bring macaroni and Tammy could bring tomato soup.  Once all of your guests arrive have them introduce themselves as they present their food items to the bride-to-be. 

Toilet Paper Bridal Gown

Divide the shower guests into groups of 3-5 people and give each group a roll of toilet paper.  Have each group choose one of their members to be the "bride" then the rest of the group creates a wedding ensemble out of the toilet paper for the "bride" to wear.  Using only the toilet paper each group should create a wedding dress along with any accessories they'd like to include such as a veil, train, bouquet, earrings, etc.  Once the groups are the finished have the "brides" give a fashion show.  The real bride-to-be gets to select her favorite dress  and the winning bride gets a prize.

Newspaper Bridal Gown

Variation of the above game using newspaper rather than toilet paper.  Give each team a stack of newspapers, pair of scissors and tape and follow the remaining instructions above.

Toilet Paper Veil

Another variation of the Toilet Paper Bridal Gown for use if you have a limited amount of time or toilet paper.  Give each guest a roll of toilet paper and five minutes to create a bridal veil.  Let the bride-to-be pick her favorite veil and give the creator a prize.

Wedding Scramble

Make a list of words associated with weddings and marriage like husband, wife, bridesmaid, groom, bride, wedding, honeymoon, etc.  Scramble the words and give each guest a piece of paper with the scrambled words on it.  Allow the guests 2-3 minutes to figure out what the scrambled words are and the person with the most correct answers wins.

Don't Say "Bride"

As each guest arrives give them a safety pin, clothes pin, or corsage to wear on their shirt and tell them they are not allowed to say the word "bride".  If a player catches someone saying "bride", that player gets to take their pin.  The guest with the most pins, or corsages, at the end of the game wins.  This game could be playing using any word, such as "groom" or "fiancé".

Memory Game

Prepare a tray or platter of kitchen utensils and other related household items in advance of the shower.  Tell you guests that you're going to have a memory game next and have the bride, or mother of the bride, bring out the tray and slowly walk around the room so that each of the guests has a chance to look it over.  Once she's left the room, ask the guests to write down what she was wearing in as much detail as possible.  The guest with the best, most accurate description wins.

And The Bride Wore...

This is a variation of the above game where, after you've played a few games, you have the bride-to-be discreetly leave the room.  Hand out copies of a list of prepared questions such as:  What color were her shoes?  Was she wearing a watch?  Did she have a belt on?  What other jewelry was she wearing?  The guest with the most correct answers wins.

The Apron Game

This is another variation of the memory game.  Pin as many newly purchased kitchen utensils as will fill to a full sized apron - spatula, potato peeler, can open, measuring spoons, etc.  Have the bride-to-be wear the apron and walk around the room for all the guests to see, then remove the apron or leave the room.  Hand each of the guests a pen and piece of paper and ask them to write down as many items as they can remember.  The guest with the most correct answers wins and the apron and utensils become a gift for the bride.

Who Am I?

Prior to the bridal shower prepare 3x5 index cards or large blank shipping labels with the name of a famous person, actress or singer on them.  Pin or stick one of the "tags" to each guests back when they arrive without letting them know their "secret" identity.  Allow the guests to ask yes or no questions of the others to try to determine who they are.  The first person to figure out their identity is the winner, of course you could also give prizes for second and third places if you'd like to lengthen the game.

Bridal Advice

Purchase red or pink construction paper and cut out small heart shapes.  Give a heart and a pen to each of the guests and ask them to write their advice for the bride on the heart, for example "never go to bed mad".  Give the completed hearts to the bride to keep or place in her scrapbook.

Touch And Guess

Gather some common household items, about ten will do, place them in a bag or pillowcase and tie or otherwise seal the bag shut.  Examples of items could be a toothbrush, spoon, remote control, pen, video tape, spatula, etc.  Pass the bag around to each guest, allowing them 15 to 30 seconds to feel the bag, then have them write down what they think the items in the bag are.  The player with the most correct answers wins. 

What's In The Bag

A variation of the above game where you take new items, such as kitchen utensils and other household items, place each one in a paper bag and staple or tape them shut.  Pass the bags around to the guests and have them write down what they think is in each bag.  Let the bride-to-be open each bag as your guests mark their correct answers.  The player with the most correct answers wins, and the bride-to-be gets to keep all the items.

Collage Game

Divide the guests into teams of 3-5 people each and give each team enough magazines that each team member will have their own.  Also provide each team with scissors, glue and a piece of poster board or large sheet of construction paper.  Give each team the same list of words or items, say 15 or more, that they need to find in their magazines and glue to the paper or poster board.  Instruct the guests that they can either find pictures of the items or spell out the items with letters and words from the magazines - for example, hunk in blue jeans, bouquet, veil, bride, and so on.  The first team to finish wins.

Collage Game II

A variation of the above game where each team is assigned a topic, such as marriage, honeymoon, kids, home, and so on.  The teams are then instructed to make a collage on their construction paper based on their assigned theme.  The bride-to-be gets to pick her favorite collage and those artists become the winning team.  Give all the collage pages to the bride to keep as a memento.

Match The Couples

Local newspapers usually have pictures of couples celebrating their 50th anniversaries alongside their wedding pictures - start cutting these out and saving them for a month or so prior to your shower.  Label the original wedding pictures with letters and the anniversary pictures with numbers, mix them up, and have your guests write down which they think go together.  The guest with the most correct matches wins. 

Musical Bouquet

Play a tape or CD of love songs and ask your guests to stand.  Pass around a bouquet or corsage until the music stops.  When the music stops the person holding the bouquet can sit, then start the music and passing of the bouquet again.  The last person to remain standing is the winner - give them the bouquet as a prize.

Recipe For Marriage

Give each of your guests a piece of stationary or a recipe card and ask them to write down what their idea is of a recipe for a good marriage.  Put all of the recipes in a bowl or a hat (fold them if using stationary) and pull them out one at a time.  Have the bride-to-be read them out loud and get the guests to guess who they think wrote each recipe.  The recipes are a good way for your guests to get to know each other better, and they make a nice memento for the bride to keep.

Mixed Advice

Give each of your guests two slips of paper or index cards.  Have the guests write down a question related to a marital problem on one slip, and the answer to their problem on the other slip.  Put the questions in one hat or bowl and the answers in another and mix them all up.  Have the bride-to-be pull out a question and read it out loud, then pull out an answer from the other hat and read it out loud.  This game creates some interesting advice!

Thank You Notes

Buy some thank you notes prior to the bridal shower and once your guests are seated give each of them an envelope and have them put their address on it.  Once the envelopes are addressed put them in a container and have the bride-to-be draw one and give that person a door prize.  This is very handy for the bride in sending out those thank you notes later.

Social Threads

Hand a spool of thread around to your guests and tell them each to break off as much as they think they'll need, but don't tell them what it's for.  Once everyone has their thread, start them off at one end of the room and have them talk about themselves while wrapping the string around their finger - they can stop when they get to the end of the thread.  This game also works well with yarn.

Balloon Pop

Buy enough 12" latex balloons, in wedding colors, for all of the expected guests.  Cut a piece of paper into little strips and write the wedding date on one and sayings on the others like "too bad, so sad", "no cigar", or "better luck next time".  Give each of the guests a balloon and have them pop it any way that they can, for example by sitting or standing on them.  The guest that gets the balloon with the wedding date in it wins.  

Write us to share your favorite bridal shower games!