Are bridal showers boring?

karenshopping · April 2011

On another message board, several posters said that showers are boring.

I agree. It was nice to see that I'm not the only one who thinks that.

I've actually only been to one bridal shower--mine when I married my first husband. I don't expect to have one.

If possible, I'd like to avoid ever going to another one. :-)

banana468 · April 2011

Too much forced stuff at a shower is no fun for me.

BUT, I do like going to them as an excuse to see the ladies and to chat amongt them. There are boring parts but if done correctly the women are having a great time during the boring elements.

CassieeK · April 2011

I dislike bridal and baby showers to be honest.

MatthewN713 · April 2011

I also find them boring. My fiance's family is throwing one for me and so I am grateful for their generosity but have made it clear that there is to be one and only one (a family member got married last year and there were three!!!! bridal showers!!!).

jerseydevil · April 2011

As long as there are no games, I'm good. I like being able to socialize with people I haven't seen in a while at them.

hlq2011 · April 2011

I do think showers are boring. I also think that having people sit around and watch you open gifts ceases being fun once you turn, oh, thirteen or so. My first shower felt awkward, and I expect my others to be as well. But I'm grateful for them just the same, and I appreciate the effort my family and friends are going to - and the fact that I'm sure most of the guests find them tedious as well, but are still going to come.

butterflyroy78 · April 2011

I HATE SHOWERS!!!! I made 2 requests of mine: no games and no making me open gifts in front of everyone. I think I lost the second battle, which will make me want to leave my own shower. Seriously.

MatthewN713 · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_pre-wedding-parties_bridal-showers-boring?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:32Discussion:951e5b89-2de3-4887-805e-ced949c9b4d9Post:48614bd9-5c7e-4a98-8ff9-8b3506f18e98">Re: Are bridal showers boring?</a>:
[QUOTE]I HATE SHOWERS!!!! I made 2 requests of mine: no games and <strong>no making me open gifts in front of everyone</strong>. I think I lost the second battle, which will make me want to leave my own shower. Seriously.
Posted by butterflyroy78[/QUOTE]

In terms of avoiding this, does anyone have any input on the ettiquette side of whether or not it's tasteful/not rude to decline opening gifts in front of people? I am in agreement on this and think it would be really awkward, not to mention boring, opening a whole bunch of gifts in front of people. I especially find it awkward when the gifts are then passed around for all the guests to "take a look."

MandK9 · April 2011

I have yet to be to a shower that I've liked. I gave my opinions to my MOHs about how to please make it as enjoyable as possible, but we'll see. I just don't like them.

As for opening gifts, I know I personally wouldn't care if the bride didn't open my gift in front of me, but I know a ton of people really want to see the person's reaction when they open their gift. I agree that the gift-opening part is kinda boring and stretched out, but I have resigned myself to it.

trix1223 · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_pre-wedding-parties_bridal-showers-boring?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:32Discussion:951e5b89-2de3-4887-805e-ced949c9b4d9Post:48614bd9-5c7e-4a98-8ff9-8b3506f18e98">Re: Are bridal showers boring?</a>:
[QUOTE]I HATE SHOWERS!!!! I made 2 requests of mine: no games and no making me open gifts in front of everyone. I think I lost the second battle, which will make me want to leave my own shower. Seriously.
Posted by butterflyroy78[/QUOTE]

I'm with you on the games part. But I have to say that if I took the time to shop for a gift, buy a gift, wrap a gift, drive the gift to the shower only to be told that the bride isn't going to open my gift while I'm there, I'd be pretty annoyed. I think that's actually quite rude to your guests.

LoveMuffins · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_pre-wedding-parties_bridal-showers-boring?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:32Discussion:951e5b89-2de3-4887-805e-ced949c9b4d9Post:695e7055-cda3-4524-b084-9ed94a0a6fff">Re: Are bridal showers boring?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Are bridal showers boring? : I'm with you on the games part. But I have to say that if I took the time to shop for a gift, buy a gift, wrap a gift, drive the gift to the shower only to be told that the bride isn't going to open my gift while I'm there, I'd be pretty annoyed. I think that's actually quite rude to your guests.
Posted by trix1223[/QUOTE]

Ditto.

Plus, it CAN be fun to see what all the presents, as long as the shower isn't too ridic huge.

I think the level of fun at the shower depends partly on the attitude of the people there, and partly on the ability of the host to just let people have fun instead of forcing them to do un-fun games. =P

jemmini6 · April 2011

I don't hate showers per se, but I HATE shower GAMES. This goes for both bridal and baby showers. If it's done as just a fun get together with good food and company, then I don't mind them. But if I'm forced to play a game about how much the bride knows about the groom or guessing the size of mommy's belly, I'm out.

I also like the present opening at baby showers more because, lets face it, cute little onzies are much more fun to 'ooh and aww' over than a toaster...

pretzelgrrl · April 2011

I agree with Jemmini6 about the cute onesies and other baby stuff...I love baby showers but bridal showers are boring to go to. I will find out soon if being a bride-to-be at a bridal shower is boring...LOL

ginnybean17 · April 2011

wow... ok...

well, mine wasn't boring, and I usually hate games but the games ended up being fun. i think if you go in thinking you'll be bored and that the games are lame, chances are you'll be bored. that's not a great attitude when going to something that's supposed to be a joyous occasion. not to mention that other people put in time and effort in honor of you!

Hellokatie0517 · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_pre-wedding-parties_bridal-showers-boring?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:32Discussion:951e5b89-2de3-4887-805e-ced949c9b4d9Post:d1d20c17-7ab8-4faa-a4f9-5933dfac8aa0">Re: Are bridal showers boring?</a>:
[QUOTE]I think it depends. I've been to showers that were comparable to a root canal, and I've been to showers where I really enjoyed myself. The trend that I seem to notice is that a) the bigger the guestlist, the more boring the shower and b) the more the host tries to 'make it fun", the less successful they are.<strong> Showers with 10-20 people, where you only play maybe one game (or none at all, even better) and everyone has a chance to hang out and visit with each other and with the bride/mom can be great.</strong> Showers with a ton of people and/or where the majority of the time is spent doing activities tend to feel like corporate 'team spirit' meetings.
Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]

Totally agree. The most enjoyable shower I attended was my cousin's bridal shower. There was only 10 or 12 of us and we had high tea at a classy Boston hotel. We basically just had a table amongst other restaurant patrons. Aside from the gift opening, you'd have no idea it was a shower. It was enjoyable just to sit and talk with all the ladies. Plus, no one had to worry about serving us or cleaning -- that was all taken care of.

allisonkbye · April 2011

i think they're fun? i don't go for the games or food so much as i do to give my present to the bride and mingle with people i haven't seen in a while.

LowerEastSiiide · April 2011

It's food, alcohol and gossip- whats boring about that?

Summer2011Bride · April 2011

I agre with the idea that the smaller the better. I attended my MOH's shower this past weekend with about thirty guests, of which, the bride hardly knew any of them. I did have fun talking with the other BM's, but that was about it. It was just sort of awkward overall since the bride didn't know very many people (thrown by her FMIL and all her relatives were invited plus the BM's). I hope mine end up being fairly small, but I have no idea what's being planned for them.

john&julie · April 2011

I'm a fan of showers if the focus is having a good time and not on the games and activities. I'm lucky - my shower hosts don't like games either. Instead they like wine (like me!) and are therefore hosting my shower at a vineyard. The only activity we'll be doing is a wine tasting. Other than that, it will just be about eating, drinking, and mingling - a great opportunity for my friends and family who don't know each other well to get to meet and chat and spend some pre-wedding time together. I hope no one's bored, but I also hope that if someone really doesn't want to come, they won't. I would never want to force that on anyone!

KJ7985 · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_pre-wedding-parties_bridal-showers-boring?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:32Discussion:951e5b89-2de3-4887-805e-ced949c9b4d9Post:d1d20c17-7ab8-4faa-a4f9-5933dfac8aa0">Re: Are bridal showers boring?</a>:
[QUOTE]I think it depends. I've been to showers that were comparable to a root canal, and I've been to showers where I really enjoyed myself. The trend that I seem to notice is that a) the bigger the guestlist, the more boring the shower and b) the more the host tries to 'make it fun", the less successful they are. Showers with 10-20 people, where you only play maybe one game (or none at all, even better) and everyone has a chance to hang out and visit with each other and with the bride/mom can be great. Showers with a ton of people and/or where the majority of the time is spent doing activities tend to feel like corporate 'team spirit' meetings.
Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>I completely agree with this! I'm having smaller showers in fun locations without games, baskets, and all that extra stuff. Keeping it simple is a good plan.

</div>

diehld · May 2011

My cousin did bingo for one of her shower games and ever since then I've loved the thought of opening gifts with bingo... at least then there's a point. I think games are fun... maybe I'm just crazy and I enjoy showers!

Are bridal showers boring?

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