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.

Update and thanks for the good suggestions I received here. I also did a bit of reading and taking everything into consideration, came up with the following: Mini Croissants, regular and five grain Boars Head tavern ham, shaved Boars Head maple honey turkey, thinly sliced Condiments: several kinds of mustards, regular mayo and mayo with pesto, blueberry and raspberry/cranberry jams Capers, small dill pickles and sweet gherkins Plain and Vanilla yoghurt with organic granolas (plain and dried cherry and almond) and blackberries, blueberries and raspberries as available add ins Tart cherry scones and almond biscotti Blueberry muffins (not very sweet) Scrambled eggs We had a variety of coffees, teas and hot chocolates for the kureig, and individual bottled juices in mango/banana, orange, blueberry blend, greens, etc., and fizzy and still water. One guy got up early and I took him to the local track for a run. The others slept in and they ate around 11:15. Everyone ate some of everything, and I packed up a basket of goodies for their car trip. No one wanted any mimosas or my favorite pink champagne, as they were off to South Carolina where they had another performance the next day. They were all lovely, all very accomplished operatic singers who attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory and absolutely delightful. They all wished they had known we had a tennis court because they all play, and we agreed the next time they come to town we will schedule a round robin tournament with local players. Thanks again for the helpful suggestions! What, oh what would we do without our invisible friends at GW?? Edited for grammar, and happy Mother's Day everyone! This post was edited by kswl on Sun, May 11, 14 at 10:57

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.

First of all, who is "we"? How many people will be working on this? I think this is WAY too many items even if you were ten very experienced people. You write, "I have no idea what I'm doing," so I'm guessing you don't have a lot of experience with cooking for large groups. This is actually much too much even if you use a caterer. You'd have to have way too much food and a lot of waste with so many choices -- at least 55 servings of every item times 21 items. Most will be untouched. So you need to do two things.: First, drastically simplify your menu, and I mean by like 85%. You've already got a candyish appetizer and a special drink that you say the guest of honor insists upon. Then I would eliminate everything else except any one of items 1, 2, or 3; and then also items 11, 13, and 14. Which is: some kind of sandwichy thing, Caesar salad, fruit kabobs, and vegetable tray. Also coffee and some nonalcoholic drink. You can add a simple dessert -- one -- unless you think you're sort of serving dessert first with those goodies. Make sure everything on your menu can be eaten by someone standing with a plate in her hand. Nothing that requires a knife and fork and nothing messy (chili, meatballs, taco salad, yogurt). Second, this is a large group, so unless you all really really know what you're doing, please consider hiring a caterer to do all or at least some of the food. You may be pleasantly surprised that the difference in price is less than you think (the caterer I use actually often costs a bit less than doing it myself). Or you can order pre made platters of things. Sometimes I'll cook, say, a main dish and a dessert and order fruit and cheese trays and salads. For 55 people you should get some help, not necessarily professionals, but even a couple of teenagers. They will help you set up, clear away used plates and cups throughout the party, replenish pitchers and platters, and clean up. It also helps keep your guests from trying to help, which can really detract. At the most recent shower I gave, a brunch for only 19 or so people, I almost didn't bother with a helper, but thank goodness I did: when the first guest tried to get coffee from the percolator, all she got was water -- it hadn't worked right. So the helper ran to Starbucks for cartons of coffee. Unforeseeable stuff like that. The simpler you keep it, the better it will be, I promise. If the hosts are stressed out, no matter how good the food is, the guests are miserable. It will be a lovely party. Have a good time!