Bridal Showers - dud dud dud dud dud

No no, think of it this way -- get the CATS something fancy. Get the bride a McDonald's gift certificate.

You have vastly misunderstood what the Bridal Shower Etiquette Handbook meant by "suggest gifts for her pussy." Consider your honor revoked.

Wait, hold on, did I miss this thread? Congratulations! :-)

As for bridal showers... the duddest of duds. Unclassic isn't even appromixating my sheer hatred for bridal showers. Especially over the course of the past four years or so. God, they were only tolerable when I was a young teenager blissfully moving through life, but every single time I've gone to a bridal shower in the past four years I've thought, "Dear God, how much more stereotypical can this be?" IF I were EVER to get married, I would NOT make my bridal shower a predictable and tiring affair. I would make it fun for everyone attending and I would CERTAINLY NOT insist on making ME the center of attention. It'd be more like a birthday party, in fact, in that it'd be more low-key, more casual, and I'd make it to where everyone was comfortable and enjoying everything.

(But of course I'd have to actually foresee myself getting married in the first place, and barring any miracles, I don't. So this will just have to be an idea, a brainstorm, a wild notion dreamed up by someone not even remotely close to being "marriage material".)

Now baby showers, on the other hand, can go half and half. Half of the baby showers I've gone to have been fairly entertaining, and the other half have been as dire as the bridal showers. I've actually really enjoyed myself at some of the baby showers I've gone to in the past. The more intimate affairs where the expectant mother was a sweetheart and beaming with exuberance for all were/are the best. I just feel like cheering her on as she progresses through her pregnancy! I'm actually going to be attending a baby shower tomorrow, for one of my friends from HS (eek). I suspect that if it proceeds the same way that the bridal shower proceeded, this will be one of the baby showers I will NOT be enthused over.

Ok, so I would say "point taken" and beg for forgiveness on a post made when I was rather decidedly sleepy, but I've just come from a baby shower where the focus was not on the expectant mother or the baby-to-be but rather on the expectant father's extremely rowdy and worryingly loud family. They forced it upon themselves with their shouting and shrieking. After this, I've decided to change my answer up above. I would much rather have a shower where the shower-ee is obnoxiously "me me me me me" than have one where people are so out of control that they cause others to have massive headaches.

Dear sweet Jesus. I need an Aleve. And a lie down.

For a headache?!?! Um, I'm, um, going to scoot far, far away from you now....

No, it's ok. No need for explanation, now that I know there's some sort of context to your comment. Ok, am scooting back now....

(And now we return you to your regularly scheduled thread.)

the last one, over christmas, was interesting in a sociological way...it was all these people that i'd gone to elementary school with and hadn't seen for like 10 years or more. very strange to see how differently my life has turned out than the average two paws girl.terrible games, too.

The first one was thrown by my two aunts. There were raunchy games that embarrassed the grandmothers and it was generally sweet.

the second one was by my future mother-in-law and was mainly a chance for her work/church friends to show each other up with gifts and for her to bask in the glory. The cake there was incredible and fancy and I just had to sit in the middle of the room while china and silver were bestowed around my feet.

like I said, in both cases, purpose served.

Nick, you obviously missed Ally's post - asking for gifts for the cat means you should be shot in the face, repeatedly!!!

I am sure that there are people here who will disagree vehemently, but I think that putting your friends/family in a position in which they are expected to buy you shit just because you *want* it, and not because you in any way *need* it, is dud.

If this one sounds like crap, quincie, I wouldn't go; and if you suspect the Maid of Honor for cat madness, make up an excuse so it's not an outright diss to the bride.

Often older, more established couples will have showers that cater to specific things maybe outdoor gear, sports equipment, what have you.

It's just tradition which you can choose to participate in or not. If you feel pressured by other people's expectations, that's your fault not theirs. fuck 'em.

Hey, I don't give a shit about nice china, but some people do. Fine. You want nice china? BUY YOURSELF SOME NICE CHINA! Don't ask your friends to fulfill consumer desires that would otherwise be beyond your means.

mega X-post

I used mine when I was married and we had company. It was a nice touch. Now, I use it for my everyday dishes. I mean, why the fuck not?

Anyone who forces people to buy really expensive stuff is clearly wrong, but does anyone really do that? Can't you just not buy stuff, not attend the shower, or buy/recycle something yourself?

I enjoy going to my friend's bridal showers & having an excuse to be girly and silly without being judged, so when my MOH started planning mine I was over the moon. but then my guestlist was too large (25 people + bridal party) so I cut it down to about 15 + BP. and now about 8 or 9 have cancelled and it's making me unreasonable depressed. I do a lot for my friends.. why can't they suck it up for a couple of hours so I can get the experience? even my Mom asked 'do I have to go?' because it's at my aunt's house (i.e. my mom's ex-husband's sister).

and people keep cancelling to ME instead of the MOH so I keep getting what feels like personalized rejection over and over :P

so that's a dud!

i don't even care about the gifts, it's just nice to look around the room and see that I have friends who care about me for reasons other than (a) my fiance, who is undeniably awesome or (b) free party with lots of booze. there's even going to be booze at the bridal shower! :P