Socializing and opening presents are at the center of showers, and when games and activities are planned with care and attention, guests will have a genuinely enjoyable time. The best activities are ones that the guest of honor will appreciate: maybe a funny multiple-choice quiz about her childhood, or a creative project made by all the guests. Keep in mind, an icebreaker works best when guests are arriving, whereas more time-consuming activities, such as a wine tasting, might be best after everyone has eaten.

For a shower quilt, set up a table with squares of fabric in compatible shades (draw from the colors of the wedding or the couple's home) and fabric pens. Ask each guest to write her initials or a message on a square. After the shower, a friend or family member can embroider the letters or words.

Fill a bowl with cards inscribed with each of the twelve months after the wedding; on the back write an idea for an outing with the bride -- for example, "Meet for brunch" or "Get a pedicure together." (Each month can have more than one activity.) Each guest picks a card and writes her name on it. Arrange the cards by month into a booklet, so the bride has a year's worth of dates with all the important women in her life -- and a unique record of everyone who attended her shower.

Assemble a dozen or so photographs of the bride, showing her at different ages. Mix them up so they're not in order. Give pencils and paper to everyone, pass the photos around or display them someplace where everyone can see, and have guests write down their guess as to how old the bride was in the picture (she has braces, so that must have been in junior high). A prize goes to the person who gets the most ages right.

In the shower invitation, ask each guest to bring small items that have some significance in her relationship with the bride -- photographs, ticket stubs, cutouts from magazines, and so on. Set up a craft station with an expandable scrapbook, scissors, glue sticks, double-sided tape, stickers, glitter, pens, markers, and other supplies. During the shower, guests can take turns designing their pages to be added to a scrapbook for the bride as a keepsake.

Ask guests to bring a few photos of themselves and the bride. Hand out pens and paper and, at the shower, have them write captions for the photos. Place the photos in an album, and affix the captions underneath. Pass the album around for guests to look at.

As they arrive, give each guest a name tag, and ask her to tell you, in a few words, how she's connected to the guest of honor. Under the person's name, write an abbreviated version of her response -- for example, "BFCR" for bride's first college roommate. As guests mingle, they can try to guess what the abbreviations stand for.

This idea is especially fitting if you're having a culinary or kitchen-themed shower. Hire a professional chef to give guests a simple cooking lesson based on the bride's favorite foods. Afterward, everyone gets to sit down and enjoy the wonderful meal they helped prepare.

Have a jewelry designer help guests create custom accessories. Set out beads (in the wedding colors) and jewelry-making supplies. With the designer's help, guests can make a bracelet, necklace, or earrings -- perhaps to wear to the wedding.

Hand out pencils and slips of paper, and have guests sit in a circle. Ask each person to think of three facts or anecdotes that describe her relationship with the bride or groom -- two true and one not. Have each guest tell her stories (while trying to keep a straight face).The others write down which statements they think are false. The guest who identifies the most tall tales, wins.

Invite an instructor to teach a basic dance -- waltz, fox-trot, or two-step. Or if the couple is having special music at the wedding, say Israeli or Brazilian, you can tailor the lesson so guests learn how to do a circle dance or samba for the reception.

Type up multiple-choice quizzes with trivia about the bride and groom. (Ask relatives for anecdotes from their childhood and teen years.) For example, "What is Steve's all-time favorite cereal?" or "Which famously bad hairdo did Maggie sport at age 6?" Give each guest a quiz and a pencil. Reading the questions aloud makes the game more entertaining. Whoever gets the most answers right wins a prize.

For a spa-themed shower, treat guests to the services of a manicurist or massage therapist. In addition to giving luxurious treatments, the professionals can provide tips and techniques for do-it-yourself pampering.

Learn more about the bride and the groom by playing a round (or two) of love bingo.

1. Print grids of 16 squares onto card stock. Number squares randomly, 1 to 16.

2. For paddles, glue a craft stick between two card-stock rectangles; write the bride's name on one side, the groom's on the other.

3. Number 16 cards 1 through 16; on the back of each, write something about the bride or groom ("hates bugs" or "Madonna fan"). Each player gets a bingo board, paddle, and candy "chips." The leader reads the cards; with the paddle, players indicate whom the statement is about. If correct, they place a chip on the square with the card's number. Whoever gets four in a row first wins.