Throwing a Shower (Part 2)

Invites, Decorations and Games


You have selected the date, the time, and the place. That's quite an accomplishment but you still have a long way to go.


If you are hosting a shower in a restaurant, you can either have it in the main dining area or try to find one with a separate banquet area. Check with the restaurant to see what they allow in the way of decorations. As for food, you can either allow the guests to choose from the restaurant's menu or you can prearrange to have a choice of two or three meal options. As well, take your guests into consideration. A specialty restaurant may not please all appetites nor would a spicy Tex-Mex restaurant please older guests. It's up to you if you want to play games or rely on the guests to converse and make their own good time. The restaurant shower is the easiest of showers but can be the most expensive, remember, you cannot invite guests to a gift giving event and expect them to pay for their own meal.


The remainder of this article will deal with the house or hall shower.


Now you must invite the guests. If the guest list is small and you are familiar with most of the invitees, a simple phone call will suffice. With a larger, more unfamiliar guest list, mailed invitations are best. Make sure to include the bride and groom's names, the date, time and location, and most importantly, a phone number in which to RSVP. I once co-hosted a shower and the Maid of Honour invited over fifty people and did not ask for RSVPs. It made food preparation difficult. Please, avoid this mistake. You may or may not wish to include the hosts? names on the invites.


In the meantime, you have to decide on decorations, games, prizes and favours.


Only budget can limit the decoration decisions. You may wish to buy streamers and balloons in the wedding colours, or you may wish to go all out and have a florist decorate. If you plan to go the streamer route, take a trip to a local party supply store. Here you can pick up all sorts of decorations as well as paper plates, plastic cutlery, tablecloths, plastic cups, etc.


Are you going to play games? You don't have to, shower games aren't universally popular but I think they serve an important purpose. They get the guests talking. If you decide to play games, how many? Do you want all the guests to walk away with a prize or only one game as an icebreaker to open the shower?


With games decided, you must have prizes. A dollar or discount store is a treasure trove of prizes. From coffee mugs to pretty candles to little frames to silly pens, you can find tons of great prizes at a very good price. If you wish to wrap them, tissue paper is an economical alternative.


In my opinion, favours are optional, even more so than games. If you do decide to have favours, again, check out the Dollar Store. Any guest would enjoy tapered candles in the wedding colours. Visit a craft store and buy candy molds and make chocolate in a wedding theme. Wrap them in freezer bags tied with pretty ribbon. Jellybeans wrapped in tulle are also great. If the budget doesn't permit favours, don't worry, no one will miss them.