4 Creative Bridal Shower Games

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I've been named Master of Games at three bridal showers now. Apparently this is the job to give out-of-town bridesmaids, but I'm not complaining. It's fun to think of creative games to play. Since it's wedding season and such, I thought I'd share with you guys four of my favorite bridal shower games. These are pretty creative and have really been a big hit with the guests.

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Love Bingo

Click on the picture below for the original post I wrote with directions and such.

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A Wedding Crossword Puzzle

THIS SITE (<--click) has a free online puzzle maker! You can make crossword puzzles or a word search puzzle. All you have to do is enter the clues and answers, and the site creates the puzzle for you. Then, you download it, print, and make copies for the guests.

This is a great game if you have a party where not all the guests are familiar with the wedding details or know much about the couple's love story. Some answers can be easy (the bride's name) and some can be hard (the month the bride and groom went on their first date). 

Everyone will learn a little something and have fun! You can play this as a race, where the first person to complete it wins, or you can just pass out the puzzles and give everyone a couple of minutes and then go over the answers as a group.

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Right Left Love Story

This game I played at a shower for soon-to-be sister-in-law. It's something I'd seen before at Pampered Chef parties I've hosted, but I never thought about doing something like this at a shower. It's called the "RIGHT LEFT" game. 

I bought 2 small presents, wrapped them, and gave them to two random people around the circle of guests. Then, I read the bride and groom's love story out loud. Every time I said the word "right," the presents were passed to the right. Same for "left." Whoever ended up with the presents at the end of the game won the prizes!

Basically what I did was copy the bride and groom's love story that they wrote on their wedding website into a Word document and revised it so it used the words LEFT and RIGHT as much as possible. If you don't have a love story written out, you can definitely write one yourself.

As an example, here's the first line of the story:
This is a story about how bride's name found her MR. RIGHT.

And here's the last paragraph I wrote:

Under the twinkling lights, Mr. RIGHT bent to one knee and asked Amy to marry him. He said he knew it was the RIGHT thing to do and that he loved Amy so much he was LEFT with no choice but to marry her! He put a ring RIGHT on the ring finger on her LEFT hand and made it official. Now all that's LEFT to do is wait! And that's the story of how Amy met her MR. RIGHT.

Everyone had a lot of fun with this game, and they got to learn a bit more about the love story of the couple.

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And the Bride Wore...

This one's easy and fun. 

Before the shower, ask 8-10 questions (or more!) about the bride's appearance. Then, at some point, have her slip from the room without anyone noticing. Maybe while everyone's finishing up from cake or getting ready for presents. Ask everyone to fill out the questions just based on their memory. Then have the bride come back out. You'll be surprised by how much you've missed!

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Have you ever been in charge of games at a bridal shower?

What are some other creative bridal shower games?

Runners Tell All Linkup: Poop

"Runner's Tell All" is a monthly linkup for runners of all ages, skill levels, and experience hosted by Sunshine to the Square Inch and The Lady Okie. Each month we'll have a different topic, and you can find all the topics listed here. We are accepting two sponsorship spots for each month, who will receive a sidebar ad on both blogs as well as entry links in the giveaway. 100% of your sponsorship money will go directly toward running-related giveaways. Find more information on sponsorship here. **May spots are filled. We're open for June!

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Before I jump in, I have to tell you something. I promise this is a real story.

When I told Jordan the topic of this month's Runners Tell All and how it was about a bad training run or race story and what I learned from it, he gives me a look and says, "Oh, so are you going to talk about poop?" Holy crap! (Pun intended.) I had just been about to say, "I'm going to write about poop." We are made for each other, you guys.

Okay, now onto my story.

So, yeah. Poop. 

If I had a dollar for every time I had to stop in the middle of my run to sprint to the nearest bathroom, I'd have enough money to buy my own personal Port-o-Potty. Which honestly probably needs to happen at some point. Let's just say that running and my bowels do not get along. This race sign pretty much sums it up perfectly.

The most terrible runs that stick out in my memory are, surprisingly, not the ones where I was dry heaving or the ones where I got cramps or the ones where my knees were hurting. No, my most dreaded nightmare of all runs are those where I feel the inescapable need to find a bathroom as soon as possible. It's pretty much the worst feeling ever. 

You can't run toward the bathroom, because that makes it worse. But you can't walk either, because that takes too long. So you're forced to wobble like a penguin while clenching your cheeks and rating nearby bushes using a scale of "is this big enough to squat behind so on one will see me?" I have problems.

All THAT to say, here is what it's taken me nearly four years of trial and error to learn: I should eat and drink as little as possible before running.

I read an issue of Runner's World once that said before a marathon you should eat, like, 3,000 calories or something ridiculous. Okay, it probably wasn't that much, but it was a crazy high number. I love RW, but no. I'm not a personal trainer or a running coach, so this is probably terrible advice, but I seriously eat barely anything before a run or race. I just can't handle it. Before my marathon, I think I ate a small bowl of oatmeal and maybe half a plain bagel with nothing on it.

Here's my point: In terms of fueling, you have to decide what's right for you. No one else can decide that for you. Just because someone else stuffs themselves doesn't mean you have to. Conversely, just because someone doesn't eat anything doesn't mean you shouldn't eat a lot. This is a process of trial and error.

If you're really having bathroom-related trouble on training runs or at a race, you might consider keeping a food log. Write down what you ate, when you ate it, and when your workout was. Then, after your run, ask yourself: How did you feel? Sluggish? Energized? Did you have to pee or poop in the middle of your run? Over time, you'll be able to see a pattern and know what kinds of things to avoid so you can train and race your best.

I still have issues every now and again, and before a race I usually have to poop like five or six times (it's the nerves!), but it's gotten much better than it used to be. Thank goodness.

So that's my advice! I hope it helps. If nothing else, you probably learned something you didn't know about me and my bathroom habits. You're welcome.
And if you have ANY questions about this topic, feel free to ask. Don't be shy!

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NEXT MONTH'S TOPIC
(Wednesday, May 21)
Share a running picture. It can be from a training run or race.
Just show us a picture of you running and tell us about it! This should be fun.
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April Giveaway

This month's winner will receive $35 to spend on RoadID.com. They have some great gear you should check out, one of which is these ID bracelets you can get personalized with your information to wear while you run. A couple of people mentioned these during last month's linkup sharing favorite running gear. I'd like one myself. We need to be safe while we're out on the road, and RoadID is the perfect place to get fixed up!

Be sure to check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Cat's blog | Road ID

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Runners Tell All Linkup Rules

1. You MUST leave a comment on the person’s blog who linked up directly before you. This is not a linkup for the sake of linking up. This is a linkup to build community and spread the love and encouragement to your fellow runners! Don't be lame.
2. Only link up posts related to our running prompt. Do not share links to unrelated running posts or to your blog’s homepage, or we will have to delete your link. (I've done it before too, so I'm not joking.)
3. Please link back to either Beka or Amanda in your post so others can come here and join in! Or grab the button below and add it to your post.

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Overheard

Before marrying Jordan, I had no experience with boys who played video games. My brothers didn't play video games, and I never dated any boys who played (I also hardly dated, but that's a discussion for another day).  It was strange at the beginning, but over the past three years of marriage, I've gotten more used to this rather odd (to me) hobby. Now, understand: I'm not completely used to it, but I'm getting better. At least, I like to think I am.

But one thing I don't know if I'll ever get used to is the randomness of a startling eruption of shouting followed by a strange sequence of dialogue as Jordan and his friends try to avoid the calamity of certain video game death. (The dialogue, in case you didn't know, occurs because they all have microphones and talk to each other during the game. Jordan wears  headphones, though, so I only ever hear what he says.)

The following is a verbatim transcription of one such exchange (at least Jordan's side of it). I was sitting calmly in the living room answering emails, when all of the sudden I heard...
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The ghost. THE GHOST. (<---He seriously shouted this so loud that it scared me, and I choked on my sip of water, which is when I decided to open up a Word doc and type out everything else he said after that.)

You've got to shoot him, man. Well, he teleported. All right, we've gotta go get our crap.

Crap.

Awesome. 

That's good. 
We've gotta run and get them. 
It's gonna take all three of us. We're gonna have to do it one at a time. 

No, wait. Three at a time.

Snipers!

He's down.

I need help.

TASER COMING DOWN.
We gotta hurry! Come on.

Oh crap there's a lot of them.

Coming.
There's another one over there, but I'm almost out of ammo.

I have five rounds left.

Out of ammo.

I'm getting tased!
The taser, dude! He's three feet from me!

I'm down.
This is over.
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The end.
So... I guess he died? Those boys and their video games. Am I right?

P.S. 5 Funny Things I've Heard Jordan Say
P.P.S. Are you linking up for Runners Tell All on Monday? Get all the details here.