Youve planned a shower for a bride-to-be. Youve covered the decorations, place and guest list. What about games? Games keep the party flowing as well as serve as an icebreaker when guests dont know each other well and keep your guests mingling. One rule of thumb is to not choose games that will not embarrass your guests or the bride. Try to plan games around the ages of the guests, the size of the venue and any theme you may have chosen.

There are a multitude of websites and books available to get you started. Here are just a few ideas to get those creative juices flowing:

Pass the Parcel is a fun icebreaker. Buy a gift, perhaps a candle or luxury body wash. Wrap the gift in several layers of wrapping paper to correspond with the number of guests. Put some music on and ask the guests to pass the present to the person sitting next to them. You may choose left or right. When the music stops, the person holding the gift gets to unwrap one layer. Repeat playing music and passing the present until the last layer is removed. The person holding the parcel then gets to keep it. To add some additional fun to this game, as each guest unwraps a layer, they might tell an anecdote about either the bride or groom.

Memory Tray is another great icebreaker game. Purchase about fifteen new items, including a tray and a tea towel. Select small kitchen utensils such as a garlic press, paring knife, cheese grater and measuring spoons. Choose those small utensils that are a must for a kitchen that one cannot do without. Spread the utensils on the tray and cover with the towel. Pass out a sheet of paper and a pencil to each guest. Remove the towel from the tray and let them look at it for about two minutes then cover with towel again. Then guests have two minutes to write down everything they can remember. The guest who remembers the most items receives a small gift and the bride gets to keep the tray, utensils and towel.

Lastly, purchase several gifts, ideally one less than the amount of guests. These should range from inexpensive and joke gifts to some nicer presents. Wrap the gifts in boxes of varying sizes and set in the middle of the room. Have the guests pull their chairs into a circle. If you have less than fifteen guests, set a timer for ten minutes, longer if you have more people. Hand the bride-to-be a set of dice and have her roll them. If she rolls doubles, she may select a gift from the pile. Pass the dice around and as guests roll doubles, they may select a gift until all the gifts are taken. The gifts are not to be opened yet. Now the real fun begins! Guests may take a gift from another if they roll a double, therefore trading. Continue passing the dice until the timer goes off. Whatever gift a guest may have at that point, they may keep. The fun is watching one another unwrap their presents. Often the gift most sought after turns out to be a joke gift!

These are but a very small sampling of fun activities you may plan for a bridal shower. The variations and possibilities are infinite. Most important is to have fun!