I am hosting a bridal shower for a friend of mine, but I am on a really tight budget. I am having it late in the evening so we are only having desserts, but I need ideas on desserts, games, and anything else. Please help me.
By Overwelmed from Noblesville, IN
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I got married last year and had a super fun bridal shower. My chief bridesmaid was a pro!
Firstly, she and the other bridesmaids organized everyone to bring something to help reduce the costs. From a bottle of a soft drink or wine, to making a punch (always a hit and there is always a lady with a secret special recipe). We made some alcoholic and some not (and kept them separate so no mistakes occurred). To some girls who liked to bake brought this or that. Or chips and dip for some other people who were not the cooking type. It was simple then to cater for everyone and cost everyone very little. A personal phone call was all that it took and everyone was happy to bring something little. (I also had asked for no gifts which made this easier, but some people brought little things for me as well.)
My bridesmaids made me a hair piece by sewing some tulle to an old hair clip. It worked a treat and wasn't too gaudy or over sexualized compared to commercial stuff.
As for games, one of the best things she did cost nothing but time. She interviewed my husband-to-be and asked him a series of questions about me/us on video (she just used a digital camera and borrowed a laptop to play it on at the party. You could use a TV though). She asked silly stuff like 'name of first child,' 'where did you meet,' 'what would Lisa say when..,' and then asked me the same question before playing the video of him answering. It was hilarious (admittedly he is a clown) but it made for such a good and cheap game. If you can't video, you can just ask the hubby-to-be and record his answers too and read them out.
A clean but cheeky game...if you have a smooth floor then this game is hilarious. Make a start and a finish line. Line up two ladies and tie a pair of stockings around their hips using one leg (make sure you buy 'tall or extra tall' stockings), and leave the other stocking leg hanging down between their legs (in this stocking leg you must have already put a tennis ball or similar in the toe). Then they are to only use the pendulum between their legs to push a chocolate bar across the line. It's hilarious to watch and cheeky but not smutty.
Just a few ideas...
More ideas...
You could do a "decorate your own cupcake" or something as an activity with a theme of the bride's personality or wedding cake ideas. (Maybe you could bake the cupcakes and have ready made icing and some different sweets or decorations.)
Another fantastic, cheap, fun game is to break the girls up into 3 or so groups. Have them select a model and a 'compare' (sp?) and give them 10 minutes to make a bridal gown for their model using 5 items. Give them all the same stuff. But suggestions - 3 black garbage bags, 6 rolls of toilet paper, scissors, and a roll of masking tape. Then have each group model the dress in a fashion parade at the end with the 'compere' announcing this years latest look, and have the bride or the host (you) choose the winner.
These games are cheap and fun. Remember silliness is mandatory.
Another game I've seen was a treasure hunt through the house, but it think this was more smutty and probably more expensive.
Cheers,
Lisa (ok, I'll stop now)
PS. Just remember, everyone is there for the bride and they will have fun and get involved! :) Don't stress and ASK FOR HELP!
Have everyone bring their favorite dessert and a handwritten recipe for the bride. I did a shower for a relative several years ago, we divided the group into twos or threes, gave each duo a roll of toilet paper and a roll of scotch tape. They were to "design" a wedding dress for the bride.
A family recipe book is a wonderful sentimental idea for a wedding shower. ask each member of the wedding party, bride and groom to ask their family members to contribute a favorite recipe in order to hand down these recipes to the next generation of the family and to keep the recipes alive in the family. Handwritten recipes are Priceless, and copies of these recipes can be made and inserted into the family recipe book, you can have someone to design the cover or have a photograph made of the family to be the cover page, a dedication page can be made by one of the family members to the bride and groom and it will be a treasured item in the kitchen of the newlyweds
So many sites on the web for games.
We did the wrap a gift and send it around. We used different mediums to make it more fun...such as a sock, rubber bands, ribbons etc and pass it around and everyone takes off one layer until it gets to the last layer and that person wins the prize. Fun and enjoyable. Bingo...everyone loves bingo and you can check out the web for the cards.
Finger foods such as cucumber sandwiches, veggie tray, fruit tray, cookies, shrimp (if it is on sale), and cake of course.
Good luck to you. (Check out the web for games. Loads of them there.)
Have everyone make something. We always do this when we have a bridal or baby shower. Someone can make the decorations from plastic canvas. I myself made some for a baby shower, several people had me make them for the showers they were hosting. All I did was ask them to pay for the plastic canvas, yarn, ribbon and tiny bells for the baby booties.
I do a lot of dinner parties because I love to cook and have people over.
One of the things that I do for everyone for dessert is cheesecake bites. They are really easy and go a long way. I get plastic shot glass cups. I put some graham crackers on the bottom, then my cheese cake mix, then my fruit and it is done. One large cheese cake recipe will make about 50 of these or so. You can also do like I do and not make them all the same fruit. I do some cherry, some strawberry, some chocolate, some pumpkin and coffee, it all depends on your taste.
I also will make wraps. They make a lot and they go a long way as well. What I do is buy several packages of wraps. I put a can of black beans and a can of pinto beans in a food processor along with one 8 oz brick of sharp cheddar cheese cut up, and one 8 oz brick of softened cream cheese cut up, then I add about 9 to 10 cut up garlic cloves and about 1/2 to 1 cup of fresh cilantro. I grind this until it is a paste. I spread it out on a wrap like peanut butter. I add whatever cooked veggies and meat seasoned the way I like them, into the wrap. Fold it in half, place it in a hot dry pan until browned on one side, flip it brown on other side. Remove from heat and cut into 4 triangles.
Here is what I put in them; I put cut up chicken tenders. I buy them raw and slice them into small strips. I season them with salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, cumin, chili powder and oregano. I saute them in a small amount of olive oil til crispy brown, then remove. I cut up green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers, usually a mixture of all of them so maybe one of each. I slice up some onions, some yellow squash and zucchini, also will add eggplant too. I will dice some carrots and celery too. I saute the sliced peppers and onions first in some oil, then add the sliced eggplant and squash, continue cooking then add the carrot and celery and cook until soft. I also add mushrooms cause I love them so much.
The reason for so many veggies is they go a long way. With this one recipe you can make about 50 to 60 wraps. You cut them into 4 pieces and you would have about 200 or so quarter pieces of wraps. So if you do not make them all you can freeze this mix or just serve it as a veggie side dish. Also, it can be made into a chip dip as well. Place the rest in a food processor with a can of garbanzo beans, some fresh garlic and some cream cheese, add some chili powder and cilantro with some cumin, mix until it is a good paste. This is a great dip as well.
I make things like this all the time. I am a trained chef and went to college in Georgia. These are all recipes that I make on my own. I hope that you like them as much as I do. I have many dinner parties and one thing that I am always reminding myself of is the fact that I do not need to feed everyone a full course meal, just offer food. I do not know if you are looking for any great drink ideas, but if you are, let me know and I will give you some of them as well.
Thanks and have a great Bridal shower. I had mine last year as well. It was great. Good luck.
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