Bridal Shower BINGO

My daughter's teacher is getting married in July and before the end of the school year I threw her a SURPRISE bridal shower with a couple other moms.  First, I've never thrown a bridal shower and second, I've never thrown a surprise party.  Especially one that involved 40 kids!  I was a bit nervous.  Long story short...It was a successful surprise and a GREAT party!

I looked all over Pinterest and didn't find a lot of ideas for throwing a bridal shower that involved kids so I had to get creative.  Kids love games so we played two games to start: Bridal Shower BINGO and Pin the Veil on the Soon-To-Be Bride.

I looked everywhere online and couldn't find a Bridal Shower BINGO game that I liked and could afford on our limited budget.  So I made one instead.  It took some serious time but in the end I was so happy with how it turned out!  I made 20 unique BINGO cards using 24 different wedding images.

BINGO Card

BINGO Caller Cards

We used BINGO Cover Chips but you could also cut up small squares from cardstock to use as covers.  And I bought a few prizes from Dollar Tree for the winners too.

If you'd like to purchase the PDF BINGO files for $5 you can pay my PayPal account and I'll edit the name on the files and email them to you.

Click this link: www.paypal.me/CReeves/5

Be sure to leave the following information in the comments:
1. Your email address
2. The files you're requesting (i.e.; Bridal Shower Bingo)
3. The bride-to-be's married name (to personalize the BINGO cards)


My turnaround time is 1-2 days :)

Next we played Pin the Veil on the Bride-to-Be.  We enlarged a picture of the bride-to-be, gave her a sticker tiara, and laminated the picture.  Then we made small tulle veils to "pin".  Sorry I don't have pictures of the veils.

Lastly, we had the kids write their words of wisdom for the soon-to-be bride and groom.  

We also put together these cute centerpieces.  I can't take credit for any of it.  Another mom who's super talented did all the flowers and Ring Pops and they looked amazing!  We were allowed 30 minutes to set up for the party so this was no small feat!  PS - She also made the "Pin the Veil" game :)

If you want to see some of the other ideas I considered, check out my Bridal Shower Pinterest board.  There are some cute Wed-Libs printables and coloring pages.

Best of luck!

Valentine Bucket Fillers

I've had such an amazing response to my Bucket Filler post that I decided to update it for classroom Valentine's Day / Friendship Day parties!  We are doing this activity in my 1st graders classroom at their Valentine's Day party.  If you are a fan of Bucket Fillers, you have to check it out!

FIRST we will read the book "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud.

Have you heard of Bucket Fillers?  Bucket filling is using actions or words to show someone kindness and respect, as opposed to Bucket Dipping which is saying or doing something unkind to another person.  This concept is being incorporated in classrooms across the country, seemingly in response to the bullying epidemic.

SECOND each child will get a "bucket" (red Solo cup) to decorate with Valentine stickers and Sharpies. They'll put their name on the outside of the bucket.

THIRD the kids will cut out their heart compliments.  

FOURTH the kids can sign their name on the back of the heart compliments. We will also pass out blank hearts for the kids to make their own compliments.  The paper is red but the scan makes it look pink for some reason.

Small Hearts

Large Hearts

Now they're ready to fill each others buckets by selecting a compliment to place in their classmates' buckets.  Afterwards, they can look through the "drops in their buckets" that they received and read the compliments from their friends.  We will talk about how when you fill someone else's bucket, it makes you feel good and you end up filling your own bucket as well!

If you would like to purchase PDF copies of the "heart" files for $2 you can pay my PayPal account and I'll email them to you.

Click this link: www.paypal.me/CReeves/2

Be sure to leave your email address and specify that you want the "heart files" in the comments too!  My turnaround time is 1-2 days :)

Happy Valentine's Day!