Wedding Dress: Before the shower, purchase several rolls of white toilet paper. At the party, divide the guests into two or more groups of 3-5 people. Each group must choose a model for their wedding dress (mothers of the bride and/or groom work wonderfully). The goal is for each group to design and fashion a "wedding dress" out of toilet paper. Accessories are allowed (earrings, bouquets, trains, headpieces, wedding ring, etc.), but they must all be fashioned out of toilet paper. Once the groups are finished, the bride must pick the winner of the contest. This is my favorite bridal shower activity. And brides love this contest for the wonderful photo-memories it provides The Wedding is over. Tell the guests and bride to pretend the wedding is over and it is the wedding night. The motel/cruise boat/etc. that the couple is staying in loses all electricity and the bride must prepare for her wedding night in complete darkness. Next blindfold the bride and hand her a suitcase. He must put on everything in the suitcase. Put items in it such as sunglasses, men's underwear, big bra, work gloves, or anything else that may bring a laugh. (She puts all this on then snap a picture for memories.. ngredients Stationary Pens Box or Basket To Play Give each guest a piece of stationary and have them each write down what they feel is a recipe for a good/happy marriage. When everyone is done, fold the "recipes" in half and place them in a box. Have somebody pull them out one by one and read them out loud. As they are being read, have everyone try to guess who wrote each recipe. There really is no "winner" except for the bride-to-be that is if she takes and follows the combined advice.

I think your final menu sounds great! That zucchini cake will stand in for a sweet dessert just fine. Most of the items can be made ahead too - except for the biscuits, and they can be partially assembled with the wet ingredients added to the dry ingredients at the last minute. Potatoes are not needed - you've already got several garden ingredients spotlighted: spinach, zucchini, strawberries, lemons, fresh mint, etc.

I'm a big casserole fan for weekend overnight company or brunch - that way nobody has to get up too early - but especially for a shower like this where you'll be very busy just in general and want as much done in advance as possible. I would serve 2 main dishes - one sweet and one savory - and whatever extras you like - your plan of fruit salad and veggie platter sounds perfect to me. Will there be a cake or do you have to decide on a dessert? I love brunch recipes and I also have a couple of nice egg dishes that require minimal last minute attention and I'll post them too, just for your info or for another occasion! Phew - who knew I had so many brunch recipes in my files! I recently made this delicious granola - and a great big bowl on a buffet next to some of that delicious Greek yogurt would be different and nice, I think. I'm sorry to say that I don't know where I got this recipe - FearlessEm maybe??? MAPLE APRICOT GRANOLA Gourmet, February 2003 Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 hr serving size Makes about 10 cups. 1/4 cup flaxseeds (1 1/4 oz) 6 cups old-fashioned oats (18 oz) 2 cups sliced almonds (8 oz) 1 cup hulled (green) pumpkin seeds (not roasted; 5 oz) 1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds (not roasted; 2 1/2 oz) 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup pure maple syrup 1/3 cup crystallized ginger (2 1/2 oz; optional), finely chopped 2 cups dried apricots (11 oz), finely chopped Accompaniments: plain yogurt or milk; honey or maple syrup Special equipment: an electric coffee/spice grinder preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind flaxseeds in coffee/spice grinder, then stir together with oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, salt, oil, and syrup in a large bowl. Spread mixture evenly in 2 large shallow baking pans (1 inch deep) and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, stirring and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden brown, about 30 minutes total. Cool granola completely in pans on racks, then stir in ginger (if using) and apricots. Granola can be made 1 week ahead and kept in an airtight container at cool room temperature, or frozen 1 month. (Woodie's note - I omitted flaxseeds) BAKED OMELET Whip a dozen eggs with 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup cottage cheese & 2 Tbsp minced onion. Spray/oil 9x13 dish & cover bottom with 1 cup salsa. Sprinkle over that 2 cups shredded mozz. cheese & 2 cups shredded cheddar mixed together. Pour egg mixture over that & bake at 350° til done. The recipe didn't call for it, but I mixed in some cooked, crumbled bacon with the eggs. It was yummy! Think I'll try sausage next time. CRÈME BRULEE FRENCH TOAST (Courtesy of Arthur Schwartz, WOR Radio) 1 Stick Butter 1 Cup Brown Sugar 2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup 8-10 inch round country loaf, or 1 pound French bread or 1 Challah 5 eggs 1 1/2 cups half and half 1 teaspoon Vanilla 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier 1/4 teaspoon salt 1. Melt butter, sugar and corn syrup in saucepan over moderate heat. Pour into 9 X 13 pan. 2. Slice bread into 6 slices and place on top of the sauce in the 9 X 13 pan, press together to fit. 3. Whisk together eggs, half and half, Vanilla, Grand Marnier and salt. Pour over bread. 4. Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours. 5. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes, until puffy and brown. OVERNIGHT BREAKFAST CASSEROLE 2 lbs. package frozen Hash Brown potatoes, thawed 1/4-1/2 cup chopped onions 1 lb. cooked, crumbled sausage (breakfast or Italian style - I use Italian) or cooked bacon or ham 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 8 -10 eggs 3 cups milk S & P to taste Spray 9 X 13 dish with cooking spray. Mix potatoes and onions, salt and pepper together and place in pan. Then spread sausage on top, then cheese. Beat eggs and milk (S & P) together and pour over other ingredients in pan, cover and set in refrigerator overnight. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour at 350*. Posted by cookingrvc (My Page) on Sat, Jul 31, 04 at 15:33 Inspired by some B&B recipes, I created this for our Wednesday morning 'grotto'. It was gone in a flash. HASH BROWN QUICHE -3 Cups (approx) loose-pack, frozen hash-brown potatoes, thawed (I used Oneida Southern Style) -1 small onion, diced -1/3 C butter, melted -1 cooked ham steak, diced 8 oz. swiss cheese, grated 8 oz muenster cheese, grated 2 ¼ C Milk or cream 6 Eggs Salt Preheat oven to 425° Mix together hash browns and onion. Press into 13 x 9 baking pan Drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 25 35 minutes, until starts to brown. Reduce oven temperature to 325° Toss together ham and cheeses and place in hot crust. Mix milk, eggs, and salt and pour into hot crust. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Sue CRUMB CAKE BY SUE (from Sue/Cookingrvc) 1. Make Crumb mixture 2. Make Cake mix 3. Bake cake half way 4. Top with crumbs 5. Bake rest of the way 6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar CRUMBS 1 lb butter or margarine 2 Tsps. Vanilla 4 Cups Flour 2 Tsps. Cinnamon 1 Cup White Sugar In a large pot on the stove, melt the butter and add the vanilla and then mix in the remainder of the ingredients. Spread out with a large spoon and/or a spatula on a cookie sheet to dry out a little. Then make the cake. 1 Box of yellow cake mix. Make according to recipe on the box. Put the cake in a pan 11.5 inches by 17 inches. Bake the cake half way through the baking time (according to the package directions - this will be about 15-20 minutes). Take the crumb mixture and, using a spatula, lift it off the cookie sheet in chunks and, using your hands, crumble it up into big crumbs and put the crumbs on the cake (this will be a little messy) and continue baking until the end of the baking time. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a rack. Wait until the cake is completely cooled and dust generously with powdered sugar. Lots of powdered sugar! Posted by: sheshebop (My Page) on Thu, Oct 21, 04 at 9:55 Want an awesome oven-cooked bacon hors deouvres? Cut your bacon into about 3 chunks per slice. Put your bacon in the oven, and press brown sugar into into it. when browned and nice looking, turn over and press more brown sugar into it. Watch second side close as it can burn. These make the most wonderful appetizers. I can practically eat a pound of them they are so good. David, Lakeguy Here is another good one from Sarah Moulton's cooking live show. Wrap bread sticks with bacon, roll in chili powder and bake on rack until bacon is crisp. They didn't last long at my party. Lori's Dream Fruit Dip 12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup confectioners sugar, unsifted 7 oz. jar marshmallow crème 1 cup sour cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 teaspoons almond extract (or coconut) 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon 2 tablespoons cognac (optional) (or Grand Mariner) In small bowl, with electric mixer, cream the cheese until soft and smooth. Add the sugar and beat until well blended. Add the sour cream and the rest of the ingredients. Blend just until well-combined. Cover and chill several hours before serving. ******************* Scalloped Pineapple Posted by: DanaIN (My Page) on Sat, Oct 5, 02 at 13:34 ½ cup melted butter 4 cups fresh bread cubes 3 eggs ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup white sugar ½ cup Milnot canned milk (evaporated) 20 oz. crushed pineapple in juice; do not drain cinnamon Combine bread and butter, set aside. Combine eggs, sugar and Milnot; beat with mixer. Add bread mixture and pineapple, stir well and pour into lightly greased 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake uncovered at 350° for 1 hour or until set. Posted by: cookingrvc (My Page) on Sun, Nov 7, 04 at 12:49 Had a lot of eggs in the fridge, and a fair amount of cheese, so I put together a crustless quiche in a 13x9 pan. This one was good, I must say. They key is finding the perfect ratio of eggs to cream, which I think I've nailed. As long as there are 1 1/2 cups cream (I guess you can use milk, although I haven't used it straight yet) to 4 large eggs, it is foolproof... Measurements are approximate. I just make sure that the fillings substantially fill up the baking dish before the liquids are added. Can make ahead and refrigerate. Remove from fridge and let sit for 30 minutes before heating in 200° oven for 30 minutes. Large Quiche 4 1/2 Cups cream 12 Eggs Salt & Pepper 1 lb bacon - crisp 1/3 lb ham (I had sliced, but you can get the ham slabs and cut into cubes) 1 large onion - chopped 8 oz swiss - grated 4 oz. goat cheese - crumbled 5 oz. cheedar - shredded Preheat oven to 350° Mix eggs, cream, salt, and pepper - set aside Fill baking dish with fillings. Pour egg mixture over filling. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until center is set.

What great input! Since I have a sweet tooth, I knew I was leaning towards desserts, but I agree with Martha who just pointed out, desserts are what make it brunch instead of breakfast. Although there are no vegans or vegetarians in the group, I wanted to not have more than one egg dish. I'm thinking of leaving the bacon in the quiche and adding onions and red peppers to the sausage and roasted potatoes. Plllog suggested using a more interesting sausage than turkey and I like that idea. Something spicy IS called for! Undecided about the pear mini-muffins. It would be one less thing to make. I don't think they add that much to the menu except a different shape and they would look so cute piled up on my little 3-tier pastry rack. If I do bake them, I'd go with a simple, not-sweet bran muffin with some chunks of pear baked into the top. The suggestions for adding fruit are excellent. I'll probably add the grapefruit and avocado salad. Although some would add ham and other sandwich makings, I'm drawing the line there because these are retired women; they don't eat that much. About the quantity and variety -- I don't mind leftovers. I can't say no to the gingerbread roll or the cranberry jello. These are from friends who really want to help. And because, leftovers! I saw a photo on Pinterest for the grapes and cheese platter -- attached..