I'm doing a shower (bridal) next weekend for my best friend - I missed the one that the ladies from her church threw because it was F2F weekend (so not regretting it, I heard about some of the games, plus, y'know, F2F). No guys or liquor (given the guest of honor and the crowd in question), but since I'm in charge, no games with stains or tasting anything - only the kinds of games that wouldn't irritate the crap out of me, and since I'm hostess I officially won't be playing, so my ugly competitive (even at games that don't matter) side won't come out. But no more than 10-15 minutes for games. Mostly noshing, chatting, and some presents. And hopefully everyone enjoying themselves and not being annoyed by forced frivolity.

It almost feels like showers are being defined by them sucking. You tell me that V's getting close to popping her sprog, and everyone's to come and give her kid-related gifts and celebrate the upcoming mommyhood and have a general rollicking good time (because we're all very happy she's having a kid), I call that a shower. I don't see how it fails the sniff test. Some have games, some don't, and like any party nothing's perfect, but they average fun, like most gatherings of or for people I love tend to, in times of joy.

Lots of health ma for your sister, smonster.

I have a knee-jerk bad reaction to baby showers, but that's because the last two I was involved with were drama-fueled stress bombs.

When my friend H was pregnant with her first we threw her a Tupperware Shower.

By which I mean a Pure Romance party. Our friend N hosted the party at her house, but we made H the hostess so she got the free stuff from the purchses of the party comers. And we had baby-themed cocktails, lots of yummy finger foods, and H just wanted diapers since her mother and her MIL each threw a shower already. We made onesies with iron ons (mostly Ramones and funny song lyrics) and hung out. It was fantastic.

Most of the showers I have heard of lately have been the co-ed likkered up variety. No games except normal party type games of horseshoes or billiards or whatever. And baby/wedding type presents. More like adult birthday parties.

Vortex, I'm just thinking that if you did call it a shower, wouldn't that be a good thing?

I deliberately did not because I didn't want expectations of typical shower activities (i.e tasting baby food). I wanted people to come wish my friend well, and bring a gift if they wanted to.

Vortex, your not baby shower is what I remember baby showers being.

(i.e tasting baby food)

Which is what my mother got stuck doing today. There were also mushy candy bars in diapers that we were supposed to try to identify. I did not participate.

There were also so many gifts that I thought we were never going to get out of there. But we finally did and now I am home with TCG!

Anything baby poop or food related is gross.

I like shower gift bingo as a game because it's something for the guests to do while the endless gift unwrapping happens, it creates a break as people win and get their prize (so the GOH isn't the only one unwrapping something). I also like diaper/wipes raffles.

I think the key to having fun showers that people enjoy instead of endure is A) GOOD FOOD AND LIKKER! and 2) Having good party prizes.

I like gender specific showers. But I also like co-ed showers. Equally.

But I also like co-ed showers.

There were 70 people there today. I can't even imagine if it had been co-ed. I'm suddenly very glad that my grandmother raised me with the superstition that baby showers are bad luck, so I have a good excuse to never have one.