Bridal Shower - Opening/Not Opening Gifts?

I went to one display shower. It was the best!! The bride hired someone to display all the gifts. Guests arrived with unwrapped gifts. While everyone ate the gifts were displayed by room. Living room, dining room, backyard, bathroom etc. After lunch we were all able to get up and see all the gifts displayed instead of sitting there mindlessly as the bride opened gifts. It's awesome if it's done right. If you're just gonna keep your gifts in the box and toss them on a table you're better off going with the traditional shower. If you want to put a little time and effort in the display I think it's great.

If I go the "display" route, I would have someone display them nicely, not just thrown on the table like wrapped gifts usually are.

I can see how some think it may seem weird but it saves trees and it saves time and I would get to spend more time with guests instead of center stage being stared at which I much prefer.

I would be fine with opening each card and thanking each person individually for the gifts to show appreciation. It just seems like a more efficient and eco-friendly way to go IMO.

I've seen people do display showers, but still go through the gifts, say who they're from and what's in them etc. It's become expected as a way to show and thank your guests for their gifts. Someone else mentioned your bridal party should be able to help you out. MOH to write down gifts and your other BMs to organize gifts and pass them to you.

C, hands down. To me being asked to bring an unwrapped gift feels rude and unappreciative. I feel like if you can't even take the time to open my gift and thank me there on the spot then why should I take the time (and money!) to go out and buy you a gift. The moment I saw that on the invite I would almost certainly decline unless it was someone very close where I felt I had to come and I still wouldn't be happy.

Reggie pretty much summed it up.....

I went to a display shower this weekend. The invite had a rhyming couplet, and the reasoning was so that the bride would have more time to mingle with guests (which did happen). There wasn't a display table, though. Towards the end of the shower, a few people kept asking whether the bride was going to open gifts (most were wrapped in clear cellophane), which never happened. I think most people expect there to be awkward, boring gift opening, and are waiting for that as the signal that it's polite to leave.

People don't care about seeing what other people got you. They care about your reaction. So a viewing table is just meh and weird- I can go stroll through Target if I want to look at housewares.

It's like watching kids open presents at a b-day party- their joy and excitement and gratitude is the entire point of the process.

I had about 45 guests and gift opening took about an hour. Like PP'S have said do bridal bingo or something. The whole point of the shower is gifts and if you are too uncomfortable with it don't have a shower.

A. "Presentation" showers are the norm, for both bridal and baby, in my family/social circle. I just went to a bridal shower with lots of games and prizes, a photobooth, and a full (restaurant) meal. Everyone saw the gifts that were brought - we had a lot of time to socialize and no one nodded-off, during the opening. Or compared who bought what ...

My shower will probably be between 50-65 guests and I will have to open gifts. I am thinking of asking my MOH/MIL who I believe will be hosting the shower to try and make it fun by adding Bingo. There are so many cheap and cute things people can give as prizes. Hopefully this makes it less daunting for my guests.

I think you have to open the gifts or risk mildly offending your guests. You could break it up into chunks - open a few gifts then eat then open a few more gifts, etc. Just provide lots of wine and snacks for your guests while you're opening gifts. Booze makes everything better.

I do like bridal bingo!

You may just have to bite the bullet on this one...

Lol...looks like majority says open. Ugghhhh. k. will consult with the bridal party and family. Thanks much for the feedback!

I vote C and you suck it up. I see a lot of brides saying things that they don't want one WW (I don't want a shower but my mom insist, I don't want to open gifts, I don't want gifts, I don't want this or that). Hopefully, you get married once. So this is the first and last time you do this. The purpose of a shower is to shower the honoree with gifts, if the honoree can't take the time to open the gifts we could all just mail the gifts and don't call it a shower. There are ways to open gifts without spending a crap load of time. Esp, with so many in attendance people will understand if you open & look at the gift, glance at the card/from tag and say thank you. This is where drinks come in handy, it makes it a bit more enjoyable. Plus this usually happens at the end of the shower so typically people are starting to leave.

I wish I could avoid the unwrapping since I know I'll be very uncomfortable. However, I know I will/should do it so I vote option C.

In regards to having people helping you unwrap as pp have mentioned - I hate that. It feels like an assembly line to me. I've been a guest at a bridal shower where the bridal party unwrapped the gift and gave it to the bride to announce who it was from. According to the bridal party, it would take a lot of time otherwise. Here's the thing - aside from it being an assembly line. As a guest I was not happy that I took the time to wrap the gifts only to have it ripped apart before it even made it to the bride. Cards and name tags get lost in that assembly line which results in the bride calling out the gift and people announcing which one is theres. Lastly, if the shower is to 'shower' the bride with gifts, I would rather skip a game or two and take that extra time to unwrap each gift on my own.

In regards to the guest list, that's not too many people in my circle. My shower will actually be the first one without that many guests. Yes it will take awhile to get through the gifts but if the guests took the time to get you a gift and show up, they deserve the 30 seconds it takes for the bride to open the gifts. Skip some games if needed to make up for that time.

Either decline a shower or suck it up and open them.

I'd be pissed if I took time out of my day to bring you a shower gift and then you don't even open it while I'm there.

I had about 60 people at my shower and me and FH opened, one bm wrote down what we got, one passed, one took it away after we opened, one took the wrapping paper and made the bow bouquet thing. It took about an hour and a half ish

I understand where your coming from. I hate opening gifts in front of people when all eyes are on me. For a bridal shower the people who come expect you to open the gifts they got you and I dont like to unwrapped gifts idea. Just seems wrong. But its your shower you do what you like the most. I know im going to just do the traditional shower with opening gifts.

Viewing table is weird. Like super weird. If you asked me to bring an unwrapped gift, I would bring it wrapped anyway because that is just odd.

As someone who has been through the shower experience- your guests very much are waiting for you to open THEIR gift, recognize THEIR gift, and thank them in person (as well as writing a thank you card later, of course). I also had a large shower - close to 50 people. The shower hosts can make the gift giving not be so mundane by making games out of it (bingo is a popular and easy one) as well as making sure there's lots of food and drinks nearby, and that its convenient for guests to get up and refill their drinks/plates as needed.