For D1’s shower, D2 sent the invite and I paid for the shower. We didn’t ask the bridal party to pay for it, but they were all very helpful in prepping the place. I hosted it at a hotel in their private dining room. We invited D1’s girlfriends, local friends and close family friends (from other areas). We asked people not to bring gifts because we had an engagement party and there was the wedding in the near future.
The groom side had a shower for D1 over Thanksgiving. Everyone brought a gift and gift opening was the main event. D1 enjoyed the festivity, along with making a hat with the bows and ties.
We did a joint family shower for D. She only wanted one and MIL likes to make events about her so this worked well. SIL also attended. We invited family, close friends of MIL and me, and the bridesmaids. We did quick easy games from Pinterest no one including me (who hates games) complained. We had 45 attend, invited 50.
I’ve been invited to a shower next month. Shower in Michigan, bride lives in Texas. We were asked to ship gifts to her home, but bring a card with a picture of your gift and a recipe.The shower will be a brunch at a country club. Her fiancée will also attend.
My DiL and her friends organized a potluck bridal shower at a community room – DIL really didnt want a shower, but the friends were dying to throw one. E-vites worked great and made it possible to send updates to guests. It was friends, a few family, maybe 30 people? There was a trivia game about the couple, ( I won! ) a thing where you could find fake engagement rings all over the place (person with the most got a box of choclates), and we spent time introducing ourselves and how we knew the bride. The rest of the time was just eating and talking. It was quite informal. My son and DH came at the end to chat and be there for opening gifts (which were emphasized to be optional and small)
It’s never wrong, imho, to celebrate happy occasions. You can avoid the “gift grab” in many ways, and still have fun.
Do you have one of those paint bars near you? You know the places where you do a painting as a group? Around here, you can reserve a place for an event like a shower. That might be fun for this niece and guests.
