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!

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