Bridal showers are long known for gift baskets, games, lingerie, and some fun sexy and suggestive gag gifts for the couple. One of the most common gift baskets or wishing well items are cleaning supplies for the bride and groom’s new home together. While cleaning supplies are certainly useful and can help offset some beginning household costs, they can be a bit boring.
It can be more fun to include a poem with your gift basket that highlights the products and items inside the basket. Here is one of the traditional common poems:
It is only fair that we let “her name” in on a little SECRET. ” (his name)” may be FANTASTIC but wait
until she finds out that he is not MR. CLEAN. He’ll expect her to be a DYNAMO in the kitchen
and he thinks all women should MOP & GLOW. At night he’ll wake you up at DAWN to SNUGGLE
up close. We all AGREE that “her name and his name” will have a very happy LIFE together. Our wish for
you is that your home be filled with JOY and you remain as happy as ever in the FUTURE.
Words in bold are items that can be found in the basket. This is a cute way to make a boring gift more fun.
However, if you really want to spice things up for the party, get people laughing and guessing at the products, consider making the poem a bit more suggestive and/or cryptic while using ordinary products. For my sister’s bridal shower a year ago, I bought a laundry basket and filled it with items she would need in her home. Items included brillo pads, toilet paper, paper towels, toilet bowl cleaner, glass cleaner, spices, deodorant, soap, body poof, toothpaste, ammonia, air freshener, and furniture polish. I purchased specific cleaning product brand names for this bridal shower game so that I could write the poem using the brand names and not just the product name (e.g. Glad instead of air freshener).
What made this ordinary gift fun and unique was the poem that accompanied it that turned into a game. The bride was given the poem and gift basket and asked to read the poem aloud. The guests and the bride had to figure out which item from the basket matched the words in italics. Not only was this entertaining (and a bit embarrassing for the bride which is always fun at a bridal shower party), it was also a useful gift that while ordinary became something unique just by the poem and the way it was presented. All of the guests including the groom who showed up got into this!
Here is the accompanying poem and directions that were attached to the gift basket I made for my sister’s bridal shower (names of the bride and groom have been omitted for privacy). For the purposes of this article, next to each hint instead of the number indicating how many items she had to find, I have included the specific items she was to look for. Note that she did not see this and only saw the number 1 which indicated that there was one product to find associated with that clue.
Directions to the bride to be:
****HINTS are in Bold Italics with a number indicating how many items you have to find for that clue. There may be more than one clue per sentence per item. Some sentences have more than one item for you to find. Some are easier than others. Read each line (aloud!!) and then find the item that most makes sense for that clue.
Dear xxxxx,
You are about to be wed to a good man named xxxx, who will make you his wife and then take you to bed. He’s half Italian spice (Italian spice) and a little bit Irish (Irish spring soap). He’s Charmin (Charmin toilet paper) and Brawny (Brawny paper towels), a real “sponge worthy” (a pack of sponges) guy. But my dear Sister, my innocent Dove (Dove deodorant), before you get married by the Parson (Parson ammonia) in July, here are some words of wisdom from I.
1.
Always keep your “rim” clean (toilet bowl cleaner) with this.
2.
A few drops of this will help keep your “china” squeaky clean and grease free (dish detergent).
3.
Don’t let xxx scour for the rosebud in your wiry wooly bush (brillo pads).
4.
This bubbling foam will help clean scum build-up (Scrubbing Bubbles soap scum cleaner).
5.
Every three months to keep your box smelling fresh, change this deodorizer (baking soda) so xxxx doesn’t say “poof” (body poof).
6.
If you use this to douche and clean out your cooch, Fred may find himself in a pickle (vinegar).
7.
A little spunk never hurt anyone except perhaps Bill-don’t pull a Monica on Fred and use this to prevent and remove stains(laundry stain remover).
8.
If he should spill, these wipes ()Clorox cleaning wipes) will come in handy-to sanitize and clean up your candy.
9.
If you are anal this may help loosen your tight ring and if nothing else you will clean fingerprints off (windex–long known for helping to remove rings that are tight on fingers).
10.
Keep these cloths around to prevent Fred’s wood from getting dusty (Pledge dusting cloths).
11.
Keep his tool on spray and his Aim (Aim tooth paste) will be always be Fantastic (Fantastik cleaning spray).
12.
A shake now and then will keep his Comet (Comet cleaning powder) from getting too Softener (fabric softener).
13.
Always use protective equipment when thrusting with Foils (aluminum foil).
14.
When you feel as if the magic has been erased (Mr. Clean Magic Eraser), turn up the Dial (Dial liquid hand soap).
15.
Keep him on Edge (Edge polish) with a good grip, then tease him a little with a swab(cotton swabs) on his tip, kick it up a notch (Emeril cooking spices) before he explodes (Bam!)
And if you should fight, don’t break out the Kleenex (Kleenex tissues) and cry. Remember the Tide (Tide laundry detergent) will turn and all will be well. The new Light (lightbulbs) of tomorrow will bring fresher air (air freshener).
I am Glad (Glad bags) you are getting married and wish you a good life. Now that you know these things, you will make a good wife. I wish you a life full of happiness, Bounty (Bounty napkins) and babies galore as you and xxxx Pledge (Pledge spray) your love evermore.
Note that each item she was to find had a number next to it (instead of the actual product as I have written here for this article) so that she would have a hint of what to look for. In some cases I used the product name, in others I used the brand name, and in other hints the product use was the hint. You can alter the poem to fit your individual needs and the bride and groom’s personality (as well as your comfort level with suggestion). While this poem is suggestive, you may decide to not take this route. You can still use the poem but change or omit some of the sentences to suite your needs.
This poem and bridal shower gift turned into so much fun for all the bridal shower guests. Even my grandmother got into figuring out what products belonged to which hint and laughed until she cried at the suggestive nature of the hints and the irony that these suggestive hints were attached to a cleaning product!
Either way, this normally ordinary and boring bridal shower gift will become a creative, fun, and unique game for all of the guests and the bride at the bridal shower party, and will be a gift the bride to be will long remember.
