A gift bingo for the shower: each square is something from a typical registry, and guests mark the squares as the bride opens her presents. Print as many different cards as you have guests.
Bridal Shower Bingo
| B | I | N | G | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Silverware set | Vacuum cleaner | Slow cooker | Laundry hamper | Shower curtain |
Coasters | Picture frame | Coffee maker | Bed sheets | Cutting board |
Vase | Serving platter | FREE | Wine opener | Knife set |
Dish towels | Cookware set | Kettle | Monogrammed anything | Date-night basket |
Salad bowl | Waffle maker | Dutch oven | Bath mat | Food processor |
Card 1 of 30
Bridal Shower Bingo
| B | I | N | G | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cocktail shaker | Oven mitts | Champagne flutes | Blender | Apron |
Cast iron skillet | Kitchen scale | Dinner plates | Mixing bowls | Candles |
Measuring cups | Stand mixer | FREE | Toaster | Spice rack |
Rice cooker | Pillows | Baking dish | Cheese board | Cookbook |
Luggage | Throw blanket | Duvet cover | Bath towels | Robe |
Card 2 of 30
The bride opens a gift, someone announces it ("Dutch oven!"), and every guest with that square marks it. First line wins. It is the simplest party game there is, and it fixes the one dull patch of a shower: the half hour of unwrapping that only the bride and her mother really enjoy. With bingo cards in hand, the guests at the far table are watching for cheese boards instead of checking their phones.
The squares on this list are the staples of a home registry: small appliances, cookware, linens, glassware and serving pieces, plus a few that come up every time whether they are on the registry or not (candles, a picture frame, "monogrammed anything"). The last square is deliberate. At almost every shower somebody gives something with the couple's initials on it, and the laugh when it is called is worth the square.
Spend five minutes matching the list to the actual registry. Delete squares the couple didn't ask for, add anything distinctive they did (a pasta maker, a specific espresso machine), and keep at least 30 squares; 48 or more is better, and the generator says so when you go below that. If you know a big-ticket gift is coming from the bride's parents, leave it in: the whole room marking "luggage" at once is a good moment.
Hand out cards and pens as guests take their seats for the opening, not at the door. Bridal showers usually have a game or two before the gifts (the "how well do you know the bride" quiz, the toilet-paper dress), and a card handed out early is a card left on a chair.
Play one line first; it falls somewhere around the fifteenth gift with a list this long. Then keep playing on the same cards for four corners and finish with a frame (the whole outer edge, 16 squares) if the pile is large, or "most squares marked when the last gift is opened" if it isn't. Announcing the next pattern each time someone wins keeps everyone in the game instead of folding their card after the first bingo.
Match the theme: a nice tea towel, a small bottle of olive oil, a set of cocktail napkins, a candle, a packet of good coffee, a bar of soap from a local maker. Wrap them identically and let winners choose blind. One prize can be a job: the winner gets to help the bride cut the cake, or reads the first thank-you card aloud. Keep it light; the bride is the only person who should go home with a haul.
Cards are 5 x 5 with a free centre square. Edit the list, add your own squares or change the card size above; the cards update as you type.
The mechanics are identical: gifts are the calls. The difference is the list. Bridal registries are kitchen, bed and bath; baby registries are nursery and diapers. This list is the kitchen-and-home version; the baby shower list is the other.
A group gift from the bridesmaids is usually one big item: call it as whatever it is (a stand mixer is still a stand mixer). An envelope is a free call: let everyone mark any one empty square. Say this rule before you start so nobody feels cheated by a card that got away.
Some couples open gifts privately. In that case switch to the "spot it" version: hand cards out and have the bride read the gift list aloud in any order from her thank-you list, or play reception bingo instead, where the squares are moments rather than gifts.
The list has 50. Any 25 or more lets every guest have a card with a different set of gifts; 48 or more means the cards look properly different too, and the generator tells you if you trim below that. If you cut it heavily to match a short registry, keep at least 30.