IM SORRY...DO I KNOW YOU?

Ok, let's be honest for a number of you the moment you receive an invite to a shower you brain immediatly goes to that place that thinks, "Yay....another present to buy and take to a party where I know very few people and don't really get to talk to anyone anyways because we are too busy watching someone open presents!" wah wah waaaaaaahhhhhh!

There are two worst case scenarios that could happen:

1. Nobody shows up....

2. People show up and CAN NOT WAIT TO LEAVE.

Your first scenario can be caused by numerous reasons... Examples might include conflict in scheduling, sick kids or family members, out of town, no money to bring a gift and too embarrassed to not bring one, or that the party looks boring.

photo credit to clipart.com
 

There is any easy fix for this: First of all ask the person you're throwing the shower for to give you their top 5-10 people they absolutely would hate to miss the party, then email those guests and throw out a couple options on dates that have been pre-approved by the guest of honor and yourself for them to vote on and you go with the date that works for the majority. You also have to give the party goers an incentive. Something to make them not want to miss out on this for any reason. Perhaps it's a surprise that nobody except attendees get to see, or in my case I find that bribery goes a long way. Generally anyone who shows up and participates gets their name in drawings for some cool prizes ranging from handmade gifts to $10 gift cards to local vendors. This obviosly isn't guaranteed to make every invited guest show up but it definitely can up the numbers for you. Getting them there is the hardest part so you have to make it worth their time....or at least for the ones that don't see honoring the bride or mommy to be as worth it enough.

For the second scenario you just have to remember that these people didn't just come out to watch someone open gifts. They want to be included in the fun. Keep them involved, get them out of their seats everyonce and a while, and make sure if the guest of honor is going to open presents you have given the guests something to do at the same time so they don't get bored.  The biggest compliment I get from my events is when guests come up afterward and tell me that they were not expecting to have so much fun. I am always trying to do something new that MAKES the guests socialize with each other even if it's not people they would normally go up and talk to.

 On the next few posts I am going to list out some different games and ideas for parties to get your guests involved. So get ready!