Bridal Shower - Opening/Not Opening Gifts?

1. 50 guests is giant for a shower

2.no matter how boring you think it is, guests expect it.

3. the 'don't wrap but display' thing seems a little mercenary

Sorry ;-(

Just bite the bullet. Have two of your BMs or family members help you so it moves quicker.

Guests expect it and will not care to bring unwrapped gifts.

C, people come expecting you to open gifts. Just have a team of people ready to roll so you can get the process moving fast.

My usual set up is MOH/host writes down gifts and who it's from, BMs work to pass you gifts and then pick them up once opened, announced and thanked, bride/groom can each have a gift and alternate unwrapping.

This usually helps everything's progress quickly.

Bite the bullet. If you're into bridal shower games, play bridal bingo with it so that people have something to do while you open presents.

I actually went to a shower yesterday that had unwrapped gifts. I was definitely side-eyeing the shit out of it at first because there was a really awful poem on the invitation (I really wish tacky poems would die), but people seemed to appreciate it and there was more mingling than I've seen at previous showers. The bride still sat down with the gifts and opened the cards with them and said thank you individually to everyone. There were definitely NOT 50 guests though. That's a lot. There were maybe 25.

I don't think I would want to do this at my own shower but oh well. It didn't bother me in the end to be a guest.

Gotta go with option C. Sorry!

Uggh :p

50 does seem like a lot but it's actually small for us...the last 5 or 6 bridal showers I've been to had 75-100 ppl...that's just how we roll :/ Some open gifts (and it sucks so much lol) some don't, but they'll usually have music/dancing.

I am extremely nervous about having to do this, but like pp's have said, you kind of just have to bite the bullet and do it. Also, I'm having a big shower, like you, so it will be hard, but I think to make it less awkward you could do bridal shower bingo? I've seen this on pinterest, you make bingo boards with different gifts from your registry (or typical bridal shower gifts) and then guests can mark off as you open until someone gets bingo - and they win a prize, like a bottle of wine or something? Could make it less awkward and like people are just staring at you as you open gifts.

I didn't open any at mine but I was at a brunch at a restaurant. I opened them when I got home. Also, most of the showers I have been to didn't open their gifts there either. I didn't think it was weird.

The ones where gifts were opened were very small showers with minimal people. No one wants to watch you open 50 gifts. That would take a long time too.

Unfortunately, I think you will have to open the gifts. I have never heard of someone waiting until later to open them...I think the guests expect it, and want to see what you got.

I had 20 at my shower yesterday. My MOH wrote down the gifts as I went to help me with writing thank you notes. My aunts (who hosted) alternated handing me the gifts and taking them away as I opened them. It went pretty fast, and I was able to thank each person individually. There were a few gifts that we passed around because everyone wanted to see them - for example, my mother made me a handkerchief keepsake with a billion beads hand stitched into the lace (beautiful, and I will post it in my BAS when I get a chance).

Ok. Yeah I considered bingo or some other game to get people more involved/entertained while it's happening. Definitely open to that.

What about this: I open gifts while another subtle game is going on so people can poke there heads up and watch when they want, or choose to be focused on something else/socialize....I guess I'm trying to make the opening gits part a little more casual at least so it's not as awkward haha

I hate opening gifts which is one of the reasons I declined a shower. I was just at a baby shower that was "green" where they requested not to wrap gifts. It is a little odd though.

We're doing brunch/lunch at a restaurant too.

Like I said, I've been to some showers that do open and showers that don't, probably 50/50. I personally prefer the ones that don't bc I don't need to be praised for my gift and I really don't care about the other gifts people give...sorry if I sound like a jerk haha. But I know some people really enjoy that so I don't want to be rude, either. I want to show I'm appreciative because I am.

We had about 45-50 people at my sister's baby shower. To keep things moving, she opened gifts really quickly, and we also played a timer game, where whoever's gift she was opening when the timer went off got a small prize (candy, coffee, a couple of giftcards, etc.). Kept people engaged at least until their gift was opened.

ETA: I've been to a shower with the no-wrap/display table thing. The bride just walked around and looked over everything, surveying it. It was odd AF.

I had 150 guests at my shower once upon a time. If you have bridesmaids, in assembly line style, ask them to unwrap the gifts and tape the card to the box (after having another one write the name of the item on the card). Ask another, if you have one, bridesmaid to make a list of the gifts and giver to cross reference for ease in sending thank yous.

At the midway point, have the meal.

If you are drawing names or other games for prizes, you can punctuate the gift opening with those as well.

I had about 80 people at my shower and it took about 40 minutes to do the gifts. It was great because I got to talk to people and enjoy their company rather than sit up front for over an hour opening gifts. I had my MOHs request that people "save the trees" and don't wrap the gifts. But I still opened them all by reading the card and telling everyone who its from. It cut the time in half. And people still got to see all the gifts. A lot of people just put a ribbon around the gift, just no wrapping paper.

But I would definitely open the gifts in some way. A display table seems weird.

I've never had a shower thrown in my honor, but I know at birthday celebrations, my family thinks it's incredibly sweet that I take the time to read the cards and thank them personally for a gift before moving on. I definitely judge brides and expectant mothers at showers who rush through opening their gifts to the point that they aren't expressing their gratitude to the person who brought it, even if they will send a thank you note later. I feel as though having the gifts already open and in a pile, this in-person thank you will be lost, unless you plan to peek at all of them at some point during the shower so you can thank guests you're talking to for the specific gift they brought.

I totally understand the feeling! I've wondered if I can avoid the gift-opening part as well I like the unwrapped gifts idea, because at the bare minimum it will save you time!

ETA: The way I've heard the unwrapped gifts idea working, is to still go one by one through the gifts to say what you got and thank that person in front of the group

I vote for C.

Or D. don't have a shower.

The reason I vote for either of these is, the gifts are the whole point of the shower. If you don't open them, then there is no point at all. I would be put off by receiving a shower invitation asking me not to wrap my gift and just come and stick it on a table. I would skip the shower and just give you a gift at a random time if I felt like it.

Your host should assist you with gift opening