How to Make Bridal Shower Gift Opening Less Boring

If you have ever attended a bridal shower, then you know that the gift opening portion can get a bit boring after a while (for us, it’s about the 6th or 7th gift mark) 

This is not because you and the guests don’t care about the bride or the gifts she is receiving, it’s just simply a tad tiring to sit and watch someone unwrap gift after gift for a long period of time. 

But because it is proper bridal shower gift etiquette to have the bride open all gifts in front of her guests, you may want to find a few ways to keep this portion of the shower from becoming a snoozefest.

Here are our four favorite ideas for filling the time and keeping guests entertained:

Play Some Gift-Opening Games

The easiest way to make bridal shower gift opening less boring is to sprinkle a few fun games into the mix. Keep in mind that these games should either be related to the gifts in some way or simple to play while also paying attention to the bride.

Our top pick for gift-related games is the age-old ‘Bridal Bingo’. Not only are the rules super simple, but this game also forces guests to pay attention while the bride is opening her gifts.

Don’t know how to play? Here’s a quick run-down on the instructions:

• Pass out blank Bridal Bingo game cards along with a pen/pencil to each guest approximately 5-10 minutes before the bride begins opening her gifts.
• Instruct players to fill out their bridal bingo squares with gifts they believe the bride will receive (feel free to provide an answer key that includes registry items to help guests out), in whatever order they prefer.
• When the bride opens a gift that a guest has written, they should cross out the corresponding square (make sure they’ve also crossed out the free square in the middle)
• The first player to get 5 squares in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) wins!

If you’re looking for more of an interactive game to play while the bride opens her gifts, we highly recommend ‘Who Am I?’ We love this option because it gets the bride involved as well!

Never heard of it? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to play:

• Pass out blank Who Am I game cards along with a pen/pencil to each guest approximately 5-10 minutes before the bride begins opening her gifts.
• Once everyone has a card, ask them to record a specific memory they have with the bride (can be funny or sentimental). Collect all cards before the bride begins opening gifts.
• As the bride opens her gifts, read each memory aloud one by one and have her guess who it belongs to (3 guesses max!)
• If the bride can’t guess the correct guest, that guest wins!

Make a Bridal Shower ‘Bow-quet’

We’re all about following bridal shower traditions and the bridal shower ‘bow-quet’ is definitely one of our favorites. Besides providing a source of entertainment during the opening of gifts, it doubles as a prop to be used later down the line.

If you’ve never heard of it before, this ‘bow-quet’ is made out of ribbons and bows from the bridal shower gifts and is later used at the wedding rehearsal as a practice bouquet for the bride. 

Aside from the ribbons and bows, here is a list of supplies you’ll also need to make your bridal shower bouquet:

• A heavy-duty paper plate (or 2 thin plates doubled-up)
• Scissors
• Scotch Tape

For a quick and easy do-it-yourself tutorial, head over to this post on Something Turquoise.

For a more detailed and sophisticated step-by-step guide, check out Paper Plate Fun’s post.

Find Ways to Involve the Guests

What better way to make opening gifts at a bridal shower less boring than to get the guests involved in the process! Seriously, just because the focus of attention is on the bride herself doesn’t mean guests can’t have a little time to shine.

So how exactly do you go about doing this? Here are a few fun ideas:

• Set a kitchen timer for 5-10 minute intervals, whoever’s gift is being opened when the timer goes off wins a little prize!
• As the bride opens gifts, have the guest whose gift she is opening stand up and tell the group how she knows/is related to the bride (or groom).
• If there are any heirlooms or particularly sentimental gifts being given, have that guest give a bit of history or background story on it.
• Pick a random gift from the pile and have guests guess what it is (not the giver of course!). If anyone guesses correctly they win a prize!

Host a Display Shower

One final way to make bridal shower gift opening less boring is to eliminate it entirely by hosting a display shower. For those who don’t know, a display shower is when guests leave their gifts unwrapped so they can be put on display for all to see.

During a display shower, the bride and her guests can take their own time to look over the gifts and see who gave what by reading the corresponding labels and tags. This also allows for the bride to deliver individual and more personalized ‘thank yous’ to each and every guest.

While this type of bridal shower is on the unconventional side, it is the perfect option for the bride who doesn’t like being the center of attention or the one who isn’t interested in interrupting the party to open gifts.

Last, but certainly not least, is the fact that a display shower is environmentally friendly as it cuts out the need for wrapping paper and gift packaging.