Bridal showers are a great time for the ladies to get together and shower the bride to be with gifts that celebrate the role she is soon to be taking up as a wife. Bridal shower gifts can follow the theme of the bridal shower itself. A morning coffee or brunch bridal shower might inspire gifts for the morning like coffee, robes and more. An afternoon tea and dinner party can inspire leisure time and evening activity bridal shower gifts.
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AmericanBridal.com Tip: Time Out Boxes As Bridal Shower Favors
So ya wanna make your own bridal shower favors do ya? The good news is that it’s easy to do. The bad news is that you have to come up with nifty ideas that are going to wow, inspire, or give your bridesmaids a chuckle. Worry not! The following are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing. You can use these ideas, add to them, or create new ones.
These unique bridal shower favors are called Time-Out Boxes, for when your friends need to give themselves a “time out”. Whether they need to call a time out because they’ve been naughty, or just because they need a break is their decision to make. Make each bridesmaid the same Time Out Box, or create a different one to match each bridesmaid’s personality:
Note: Cover a shoe-box with cloth and ribbon, or buy pre-made fancy gift boxes for these.
1) Spa Therapy Time-Out Box: Add a few sticks of incense, maybe a nice hand or foot massaging lotion, a candle, and a relaxing CD.
2) Instant De-stressor Time-Out Box: Chocolate, a hand-written “permission slip” to relax and let go, a couple of bubble bath beads, and a mini bottle of liquor.
3) Brain Exercise Time-Out Box: Crossword puzzles, sudoko puzzles, a sharp pencil, a rubix cube, a library card application, and a few hand-written quotes thrown in for good measure. You can find quotes online.
4) Perky Pick-Me-Up Time Out Box: Tea bags, citrus scented candles, an energy bar, a handwritten note with instructions on pick-me-up stretches that can be done quickly and anywhere.
Hopefully these ideas will spark your imagination! If you think your friends can handle it, feel free to turn these Time Out Boxes into something a little naughty. It’s easy to make your own bridal shower favors and with a little imagination you can come up with all kinds of wild and crazy kits.
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Wedding Showers Unite Two Families
One of the great parts about getting married is the co-mingling of two families, two sets of traditions and a lot of internal family rituals. Wedding showers can celebrate this and help blend the traditions of both sides of the family before the wedding ceremony.
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Bridal Shower Favors That Tell The Future
While you prepare for your wedding day, it’s possible your friends (if they’re still single) are asking themselves some pretty serious life questions. Will I ever find the “one”? Will I ever get married? Will my mother ever stop nagging about the clothes I wear? Being the good friend that you are, you’re probably thinking it would be pretty awesome if you could provide all the answers for your friends. The good news is you can! Well, sort of. Most people have heard of the Magic 8-Ball, but if you haven’t it’s a nifty toy with magical powers. No, really. Ask it anything you want and it’ll give you an answer. Help all of your bridesmaids map out their futures by giving them each one of these bridal shower party favors. The Magic 8-Ball is portable and can be used anywhere, and for anything. For example, your bridesmaid might ask the ball, “Will I ever be rich and famous?” and the Magic 8-Ball will have an answer for her.
Okay, I know you’ve got this figured out and, unless your bridesmaids were raised in a cave with bears, they won’t be overly mystified by these unique bridal shower favors. You can’t say they’re not interesting though! At the bridal shower party, have a little fun and take turns asking the Magic 8-Ball some of your deepest, most secret questions! Warm up your abs because you’re going to do some laughing.
Don’t be thrown off guard with these mysterious bridal shower party favors, expect it to give you one of these common replies:
Better not tell you now
Cannot predict now
Concentrate and ask again
Don't count on it
It is certain
It is decidedly so
Most likely
My reply is no
My sources say no
Outlook good
Outlook not so good
Reply hazy, try again
Signs point to yes
Very doubtful
Without a doubt
Yes
Yes - definitely
Before you give out the gift, tell your bridesmaids and maid-of-honor that you got them something to guide them through the rest of their lives. Now, look into the ball and ask your question.
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Engraved Bridal Shower Favors
These days, you can get just about anything engraved or personalized by why would you want to stick with the same old tried and true traditional bridal shower favors when you can have really neat things engraved? Okay, maybe a lock for your gym locker doesn’t exactly fall under the “neat” category, but it’s definitely practical and every time your bridesmaids get their sweaty gym sneakers our of their lockers, they’ll think of you!
Bridal shower favors don’t have to be expensive gold-plated candle holders or engraved pewter jewellery. The average everyday person wants something useful that serves two purposes: It has to have some meaning and practical value. Bonus points if it makes them laugh! Alright, that begs the question…what kind of engraved or personalized bridal shower favors should I get? Below is a partial answer to that question. Keep in mind that “practical use” can be very loosely defined:
1) Engraved or personalized wind chimes;
2) Belt with engraved buckle;
3) Personalized toilet paper rolls;
4) Personalized wallet;
5) A set of engraved coasters;
6) Personalized board games;
7) Personalized photo Rubik’s Cube;
Maybe you know someone who had the neatest bridal shower favors that you want to copy their idea. Maybe you’d like to come up with your own bridal shower favor ideas. Through a combination of suggestions from friends and online searching, you should have no trouble coming up with some unique bridal shower favors for your bridesmaids.
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Putting Some Romance Into Bridal Shower Favors
Want to give your bridesmaids something really different? Get out the bridal shower favor tags and write a note on them inviting your bridesmaids to read the cheesy romance novels you bought for them! Try to find the juiciest, meatiest, raunchiest romance novels you can find. Paperback is much cheaper than hard cover. Depending on the number of bridesmaids you have, it might even make sense to join a book club. You’ll get a bunch of free books (you’ll have to pay the shipping costs though), and usually the purchase of a few more books at full cost will fulfill your membership requirements. Just a thought. There are also many second-hand book stores that sell romance novels in excellent condition. Books don’t have to cost a fortune and you can turn this idea into cheap bridal shower favors if you give yourself enough time to do some comparison shopping. Harlequin is one publisher who offers a line of erotic fiction including the following titles:
1) The Twelve Dancing Princesses written by Nancy Madore
2) Naughty Paris by Jina Baccar
3) Broken by Megan Hart
4) Getting Some by Kayla Perrin
5) Lying In Bed by M. J. Rose
Of course, this is just a partial list of books and erotic fiction isn’t limited to Harlequin Romance novels. Visit any bookstore (in person or online) and look for the erotic fiction section. You’ll probably find it under “Adult – Romance”. If not, don’t be afraid to ask. While you’re at it, check and see if there are any titles available on the clearance shelf. Hot, spicy, sexy romance novels make great bridal shower favors!
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Gags And Gadgets As Bridal Shower Gifts
Whoever said girls were made of sugar and spice and everything nice didn’t meet my friends. It’s too easy to fall into the tried and true traditional bridal shower favors when there’s a whole world of gadgets and gags out there! These days, you can buy anything from a swearing parrot to pole dancing kits. If traditional bridal shower favors are completely out of the question, consider the following unique bridal shower favors:
1) Pink drill set
2) Humorous tee-shirts (pre-made or DIY)
3) Funny undies/panties
4) Squirt Guns
5) Silly String
6) A subscription to Playgirl or a calendar
7) Caricature drawings of either the bridesmaid or the bride and groom. Get photographs and
take them to a local artist, someone who specializes in caricature drawings.
It’s easy to find stores that sell gag gifts. If there isn’t one near where you live, do an Internet search using keywords like “funny gifts” or “gag gifts” to give you an idea of what’s available, prices, etc. Sometimes the things you see online inspire your to create your own homemade bridal shower favors. The key to pulling off gag gifts is knowing your bridesmaids. If there’s one who you know is going to be offended, be careful in what you give as a bridal shower favor. Otherwise, the bridal shower gift is only limited by your imagination.
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The Bridal Shower Party Favor Game
Bridal shower favors don’t have to be overly expensive; in fact, the whole concept should be fun and light-hearted. What you want to do is bring everyone together to share a few laughs, enjoy each other’s company, and take something away from the experience that they’ll cherish forever. So instead of stressing over the perfect bridal shower favors, why not turn the whole thing into a game. This game works best if one of the bridesmaids, or the maid of honor, coordinates it. It’s really simple, fun, and everyone will take away a good experience from it. Here’s how it works:
1) Ask each bridesmaid, and the bride-to-be (as long as the party isn’t a surprise!) to each bring a wrapped gift.
2) Set a price limit.
3) It’s up to you if you want to have the gifts theme-based. Is the party theme-based? If so, try to keep the gifts within that particular theme.
4) At the party, someone needs to be at the door to greet guests. For all the guests who have a gift, their name goes into a hat.
5) Put all the gifts on a table in one spot.
6) At some point in the evening, after a light meal and a few drinks, begin the game by pulling a name out of the hat. That person gets to choose from any of the gifts in the pile. They have to open the gift in front of everyone before sitting down.
7) The next name is drawn from the hat and that person gets up and chooses a gift. She, too, must open the gift in front of everyone. At this point, she can trade gifts with the person who went before her.
You can only trade your gift once! By the end of the evening everyone who brought a gift should be going home with a gift. This way, everyone goes home with inexpensive bridal shower favors and memories of a fun evening.
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Sweet Bridal Shower Favors
There’s nothing that says you absolutely have to give bridal shower favors, but it’s a nice way to thank your friends who’ve been there for you. If your bridesmaids have a sweet tooth, consider giving candy-coated bridal shower favors. Forget the expense of buying individually boxed and personalized mints (you’ll pay a lot of money to get three mints in a box!). Here are some ideas for cheap bridal shower favors that’ll help keep your bridesmaids’ blood sugar at an all-time high:
1) Be generous with jelly beans! Fill a clear plastic candy bag with jelly beans and insert the package into a white mesh lingerie bag. Stick a pretty white bow on it. Now your bridesmaids will have something sweet to nibble on while they wait for their delicates to finish in the rinse cycle.
2) Gigantic lollipop bouquet. Take three gigantic lollipops and cut the “stems” to different lengths. Fit them into a tall, slim vase, and present them as bridal shower favors to your bridesmaids.
3 ) Marshmallow pillows. Buy your bridesmaids each a high quality pillow case (stitch their initials into the pillow case yourself, or splurge on having them personalized). Fill the pillowcase with oodles of large marshmallows (it’s going to take a lot of them!), but first protect the pillowcase by placing the sugary treats into clear candy bags. Tie up the end of the pillowcase with white ribbon.
These are just a few ideas, but there are so many candy choices out there that it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with ideas for sweet bridal shower favors. Use practical items as candy containers and jazz up the gift with sparkles, ribbons, etc.
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Games People Play
Most of the women who attend a bridal shower have at least one thing in common: they are all there to celebrate the bride get ready for her wedding. When you have that many women, some whom may be meeting for the first time, bridal shower games are the way to go because not only do they get conversation started, they can also help increase the enjoyment of the party.
Three good bridal shower games to get your party guests talking include:
Eat & Tell - Set up a buffet and for each food item type on the table, label them with different topics such as high school, college, first kiss - etc. For each food type a person has on their plate, they have to reveal something with regard to the topic mention (e.g. tell the story of their first kiss, what was their favorite activity in high school and what did they want to be when they were college, etc.)
Play Detective - as guests arrive, give them a note card with the name of another guest. The goal of the game is to discover fun events, information and stories about that person without actually talking to them. It can be hard, especially if some of the guests don’t know each other, but it can be fun to discover one anecdote about the person on their card.
Old Fashioned Truth or Dare (Sans the Dare) - Let everyone have a drink and some snacks and gather them in a circle either in a comfortable area or around a table. For this bridal shower game, the idea is to have fun and laugh, not to really embarrass anyone or reveal deep dark secrets. Some great questions to get the game started are:
Describe one of your most embarrassing moments.
If you were a character in Veggie-Tales, what vegetable would you be and why?
If you could describe yourself in one word, what word would that be?
Cast yourself in a Disney movie - who would you be and why?
Can you answer the question: 'how many hairs are there on Chewbacca?'
Do you have a tattoo? What is it?
What's the goofiest thing you've ever done at work?
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Customs & Bridal Showers
Do you know the tradition and customs behind bachelor parties and bridal showers? For those who like to know, here is a little history lesson.
The bachelor party dates back to the times in Ancient Sparta. Sparta was a city-state in Ancient Greece. At the time the bachelor party was considered the future groom’s last chance to gather money for his future by gambling. After the marriage took place, his wife would take over the finances. Since she ran the home, she also controlled the purse strings.
Bridal showers actually got their start not from celebrating the woman’s betrothal, but because a woman’s father disapproved of the daughter’s choice in husbands. If a father did not give his blessing to the marriage, he did not have to provide a dowry for his daughter’s future marriage. Bridal showers took the place of the dowry in order to provide the bride with household items and supplies to seed her future marriage home with. Our modern concept of the bridal shower did not begin until after the late 1890’s.
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Bridal Shower Gifts
Some popular bridal shower gifts today may include:
A Thin Digital Camera - Digital cameras are getting more and more compact. Every bride to be has a hundred different things to do and to remember. A thin digital camera will fit in her purse and let her take snaps of the different items she wants to remember so she can compare them all together later rather than trying to remember a certain shade or pattern
Comedy Gifts - A gift of comedy can be a funny book, a funny movie, or tickets to a comedy club - planning a wedding is stressful as all get out so giving them something to make them laugh is a great gift
A Day at the Spa - Go in with the other girls and pick up a spa gift certificate that lets her get a manicure, pedicure, hair done and even a massage - talk about shedding the stress and pampering her
Travel and Guide Books - Do you know where they are planning to have their honeymoon? Do they have more than one place they are talking about? Give her some guide and travel books to the different destinations so they can check out the different options and make their planning easier
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Purse Ice Breaker
Put a scale in the middle of the floor and have everyone weigh their purses----whoever has the heaviest/lightest can win a small prize. Commenting over everyone´s weights will get the group talking.
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Quiz the Bride
Before the shower, have the maid of honor or another bridesmaid interview the groom with a series of questions (What´s his favorite TV show, favorite color . . . and ´Newlywed Game´ questions such as "What does he do that annoys you the most?", "If he were an animal, what would he be?"). At the shower, the bride has to try and match his answers.
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Just How Well Do You Know Them?
Have the maid of honor or another bridesmaid prepare a list of questions, either about the bride or the bride and groom. Examples like, "Where did she work during college?", "How did they meet?" and "What´s her favorite TV show?" make for interesting conversation. Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins the prize.
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