Monday, August 11, 2008

bridal showers...who first thought of them? who was the one who came up with the idea of trying to part everyone of twenty hard earned dollars, to buy gifts for a friend that they'd probably get from relatives? who thought it would be fun to stress for weeks about making sure to get tablecloths that will match, not only the napkins, the theme, and the living room couch, but also to match whatever color shoes the bride-to-be will be wearing? and I'd really love to have a chat with the person who first initiated the idea of the wrapping paper hat. who looked at the mounds and mounds of shambles of wrapping paper, newspaper, and tape and thought it would look pretty on some one's head? of course it's fun to sit and pretend to be refined young ladies, when we're really all waiting for the relatives to leave so we can talk about the real memories, the ones we'd never dare tell anyone else...it's a pit stop for the young bride in her whirlwind of gown shopping, apartment hunting, real-life preparation (real life-ness is dependant on how much the young couple is being supported) and to sit with old friends and talk and reminisce, and enjoy the sweetness of friendship, without husbands hovering in the background, trying to signal frantically to their wives that they want to leave now, can you please hurry up and finish talking, and no i can't talk to her husband, i have nothing to say to him. it's a chance to kick back, and pretend we're fifteen again, when our biggest worries were how to skip class and cross the waterfall without being caught, to see how long we can play the game of not tucking in our shirts, and (sometimes) even giving thought to our schoolwork. when friendships were much easier to maintain, because everyone was walking on the same path. before this one was moving to Israel, and this one was having a baby, before this one moved to the city, and that one went to community college...

7 comments:

frumskeptic said...

"who was the one who came up with the idea of trying to part everyone of twenty hard earned dollars, to buy gifts for a friend that they'd probably get from relatives?"

I never understood this concept. When I go to bridal showers each person buys a present on their own and then there is an activity where the girl opens the gifts and takes a pic, of herself, the gift and the giftgiver. Its just so much more fun.

Whats the fun of sending in a check and some other girl pickign everything out?

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

I only went to one shower so far, and soon I'm gonna be in charge of making one for my friend, our HS put is in groups of whose gonna be in charge of whose shower. But I don't really know anything about it.

FrumSkeptic: that sounds much better when each person gives individually.

The shower I went to had a whole bunch of wrapped gifts that people bought, and they made a game of it. Where one person would get a card saying what the gift is, with 3 descriptions their not allowed to use, and they had to try to describe it so that the bride to be can guess what the gift was, and after she guessed then she was able to open it. They were all cheap stuff, but convenient. Some were private joke stuff. It was fun.

frumskeptic said...

babysitter,

how did your HS group you all?

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

FrumSkeptic: they divided us up into groups on about 5 maybe. It's based on who are friends were, or who we knew significantly well. After 4 years of HS it was easy to know who was friends with who. Afterall, when we had school shabboses we requested who we wanted to share a room with.

frumskeptic said...

I like the idea of that, but what happens if people get into fights, or move or just dont feel like throwing each other bridal showers.

Do you realy feel its the place of the school to group you guys? I mean its your HS administration, they shold stay in HS.

atleast thats how I feel

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

well it might not have been the HS administration, could be some girls from my grade helped out in putting together the groups. But yea, its not an obligation. If for some reason someone can't be in charge then there are a few others still left in the group, or their other friends can help out too that are not from our school.

frumskeptic said...

Ok, I see. that makes sense then