So, um, you're not actually supposed to throw a shower for yourself.  Do you have bridesmaids?  Or how about an aunt nearby?  It should really, really be their job.

The bridal shower is supposed to be a surprise, as well.

You can have a list of scrambled words related to weddings. The first person to unscramble all the words wins. For example, yoehmono or honeymoon.

A good icebreaker to get your guests to mingle and talk to each other is to pin the name of a famous bride on each guests' back. They have to try to figure out their identity by only asking yes or no questions. If you do a search on the internet with the keyword icebreaker or bridal shower games you will get many suggestions. Bingo is also popular at bridal showers. The bingo cards have popular gift items that a bride receives such as towels. As you unwrap your gifts, guests mark off the item on their card. The first person to get Bingo wins the prize.

You and your mom should not give the shower. Your bridal party, friend or relative should be doing this. Some churches do tea's for their members. However, you should not be doing it yourself. It is in very poor taste.

cinnamonbears:

The bridal shower is supposed to be a surprise, as well.

As a rule, no, this is not true.

 

Buuuut, as pps said, you should not be involved with any of the planning for this. It is a gift to you, not a party you throw. 

All that the PP said... though I have a different take on your Mom's role.  A lot of the "Super Showers" that I have been to have been privately bank rolled by the MOB. 

And I think that can be a lot nicer then asking young women who are starting out in life and don't have the means to throw a huge shower for 80-120 relatives in a restaurant with a lot of food etc.  A lot of this will depend on what is customary in your family.

Your job as the bride is to just smile and be gracious of whatever parties or gifts your friends and family happen to give you.  Oh and to register too - but after that you're job re: showers, parties etc. is done!

Jim&Jaime:

cinnamonbears:

The bridal shower is supposed to be a surprise, as well.

As a rule, no, this is not true.

 

 

Agreed.  My Maid of Honor threw me a bridal shower last weekend but it was in Maine and I live in NY so I had to know so I can travel.  But other than that, I didn't have any role in planning.

A little support for you:

My mom threw me my bridal shower, it was not the end of the world. I am a nurse and I work 2 weekends a month, to ensure I'd get the right weekend off and that all of my bridesmaids and sisters could make it (3 were out of state and 2 were in college) my mom organized the whole event 6 months early so it would work out for everyone. A few people made comments and my mother took care of it, "Did any of you ask Suzanne (me) and her bridesmaids what weekends would work with all of their schedules?" Unfortunately, my grooms' family almost did not have the bride at the shower. They did not let me and my bridesmaids know until 3 weeks before the shower and by then I was already assigned to work that day. I had a rough time getting someone to cover for me at such short notice. Only one bridesmaid could be there for the second shower to boot. I am sure it looked odd that only my mother, my self, and one friend made it to the shower when my two sisters and 3 bridesmaids cancelled.

Sometimes tradition doesn't work out because life today is not the same as life was when these "rules" were made.

Moral of this story, if your mom has to host the bridal shower to make it work for you ignore everyone that says you can not have your mom hold it.  It is your day, enjoy it.

(Since your party is in 7 days I hope you have your games picked out, but in case not my two favorites are to have someone call the groom and ask him a bunch of Qs: His favorite book, favorite movie, car ect . . then at the party everyone guesses what percent the bride will get right and then they ask her the questions. Also I like gift BINGO, everyone gets a card with names of registered items in place of the numbers. When the bride unwraps a gift one your card you cross it off in an effort to get BINGO!)

My mom is throwing my bridal shower for me because my MOH lives 6 hours away and will not be attending the shower. She is arriving in town a day or two before the wedding, so she will be attending the rehearsal, etc. My other bridesmaids live near me, but don't have any experience throwing parties or any place to throw one. Everything is very low-key, and the shower is being held at my house on the back patio (which is very large and can accommodate the 20-30 or so people that will be attending. Thank you for all the advice you helpful bloggers have given me, and to all the people who said it is "improper" and bad taste for me to help my mother plan my bridal shower: Shame on you. Yes, I know all about the "proper etiquette" and such, but ultimately it is MY wedding, and I'm just a small-town girl, as are all the ladies that will be attending. We've all known and loved each other for years, and are comfortable enough to throw "proper etiquette" to the wind now and again. For goodness' sake, I'm getting married in a cow pasture! (We fell for each other in one, he proposed in one, so we figured, why not get married in one? My fiance' lives on the largest cattle ranch in the state on the largest continuous stretch of land in the state.)

I certainly don't appreciate the scolding, but please read your original post again.  You never said your mom was hosting.  While that's not ideal, it's certainly better than you hosting.  From your post, the only conclusion we could draw was that you were hosting your own...which essentially you are (and many brides are very involved behind the scenes in theirs), but at least someone else's name goes on the invitation.  This is all a misunderstanding...and it's why you should check in more than every 5 days! :)

Now that that's cleared up, some ideas to help your mom:

Since you've said you're a casual girl, are you feeling more of a summery luncheon?  I loved this when I saw it the other day; she's one of my favorite bloggers and all her dishes are good.  This would be fun as well.  This salad and this one are proven crowd pleasers and do an assortment of sandwiches and you're set.  Here's a list of fun themes.  And a couple punch recipes.

I can't speak to games since they're NMS.

PS - And the reason it's improper is not merely because it says so in some book.  It's because it's a party about gifts.  That's the sole purpose of any shower.  The purpose of a shower is not to celebrate your new love and life, blah blah, it's for people to give you stuff.  Hosting your own "gimme" party isn't polite no matter how you dress it up.  That's the same reason it's not traditionally ok for someone in your immediate family to host, but there are situations, like yours, where it's ok.

cl30092:

..., and to all the people who said it is "improper" and bad taste for me to help my mother plan my bridal shower: Shame on you. Yes, I know all about the "proper etiquette" and such, but ultimately it is MY wedding, and I'm just a small-town girl, as are all the ladies that will be attending. We've all known and loved each other for years, and are comfortable enough to throw "proper etiquette" to the wind now and again. For goodness' sake, I'm getting married in a cow pasture! (We fell for each other in one, he proposed in one, so we figured, why not get married in one? My fiance' lives on the largest cattle ranch in the state on the largest continuous stretch of land in the state.)

Shame for what? Being honest?  

TarHeels&Rebels:

I certainly don't appreciate the scolding, but please read your original post again.  You never said your mom was hosting.  While that's not ideal, it's certainly better than you hosting.  From your post, the only conclusion we could draw was that you were hosting your own...which essentially you are (and many brides are very involved behind the scenes in theirs), but at least someone else's name goes on the invitation.  This is all a misunderstanding...and it's why you should check in more than every 5 days! :)

Now that that's cleared up, some ideas to help your mom:

Since you've said you're a casual girl, are you feeling more of a summery luncheon?  I loved this when I saw it the other day; she's one of my favorite bloggers and all her dishes are good.  This would be fun as well.  This salad and this one are proven crowd pleasers and do an assortment of sandwiches and you're set.  Here's a list of fun themes.  And a couple punch recipes.

I can't speak to games since they're NMS.

PS - And the reason it's improper is not merely because it says so in some book.  It's because it's a party about gifts.  That's the sole purpose of any shower.  The purpose of a shower is not to celebrate your new love and life, blah blah, it's for people to give you stuff.  Hosting your own "gimme" party isn't polite no matter how you dress it up.  That's the same reason it's not traditionally ok for someone in your immediate family to host, but there are situations, like yours, where it's ok.

Great response! 

Thank you for the helpful suggestions, TH&R. I got some great ideas from your links! :) As you know, this is a VERY stressful time with the wedding so close! I may have overreacted a bit. And the reason I am only on "every 5 days" is because I work 3 jobs, one of them as an EMT (where the shifts are 24 hours long). I don't exactly have much time to myself or my laptop.