Cold Tuesday Morning: Survivor: Lingerie Island

One of my good friends, Kaitlin, is getting married in a few short months and bridesmaids and friends wanted to throw her a lingerie shower. For you readers who may not be familiar with this, its exactly what it sounds like; instead receiving silverware and plates like at a regular bridal shower, the bride-to-be receives lingerie. I personally think these types of showers are sort of on the awkward side, but just let me continue.

Kaitlin is also a HUGE Survivor fan. In fact, Survivor is actually the reason we first became friends. She did not have cable at the time, so my sister had asked if she could come over and watch the season finale with me since she knew I would be watching it anyway. And thus, our Survivor friendship started! Me, Kaitlin, and Jeff Probst.

Due to her love for Survivor, someone requested that her lingerie shower be Survivor themed, and me being the only bridesmaid who watches Survivor on the weekly, quickly jumped on the idea and started I getting excited.

The Invitations.
Survivor 101: Many clues and notes that the contestants on Survivor come in the form of a riddle, and they are usually always a riddle or rhyming.

The Buffs.
Next, I needed to make buffs for all of the guests of the shower, obviously. My mom helped me with this! Thanks mom! This turned out to be a case of trial and error. I had looked up directions online to find how to make a buff, but after we made one following those directions, we found that the material that I had bought was not stretchy enough to fit on someone's head. So, we adjusted and measured squares that were 18" x 24". Then my mom sewed the edges to prevent fraying and then we connected 2 of the edges.
Survivor 101: Buffs are a piece of circular material that Survivor contestants wear on the show.

Naturally, I tried on a buff and played with it!
Survivor 101: The buffs are meant to be worn different ways depending on the needs of the content at the time. They shield the cold, catch the sweat, hold back the hair, and make the contestants look tough. Most importantly, the buffs help to separate the tribes (they each have different color buffs) and create tribe pride.

1. The Pirate
2. The Sweatband
3. The Necklace
4. The Cinderella
5. The Bracelet
6. The Strong Arm

Next, I assigned guests to their tribes, and wrapped the buffs. I wanted to split up specific people so that the tribes had a somewhat equal amount of Survivor knowledge.
Survivor 101: Survivor contestants don't find out what tribe they are on until they arrive on the island. This way, they can't strategize ahead of time.
Seasoned Castaways: "Blue tribe getting your first look at the pink tribe..."

Lastly, for prep, I created some decorations to make shower feel more like Survivor.
Survivor 101: At each tribe's camp, they have a tribe flag (which is actually a banner) with their tribe name labeled on it.

Large Black Banner - Main "Lingerie Island" Banner
Pink and Blue Long Banners - Tribe Banners. These were good to separate the tribes on different sides of the room. I used leftover material from the buffs, sticks, and jute to make these. The Tribe names were chosen based on the theme of the party

Duanku - means panties in Chinese (according to Google Translate)
Lianghao - means bra in Chinese (according to Google Translate)

Torches - These are actual tiki torches that I borrowed from my parents. I removed the oil canister and replaced it with tissue paper to look like fire.

Survivor 101: When castaways get voted out of their tribe, Jeff snuffs their torch symbolizing that they are out of the game.
Seasoned castaways: "Behind each of you is a torch. grab a torch and approach the flame. Dip it in and get fire. This is important, because in this game, fire represents your life."

Wrapped buffs
Pots for the snacks

Survivor 101: Castaways have to boil their own water and they are only supplied with rice for food. Sometimes they are given beans, nuts, fruit, or more hearty food for winning a reward challenge. For our shower, guests were only given chex mix and water (we had just eaten dinner).

Voting Urn, Pen, and Paper. I used stuff I already had and just wrapped them in packing paper and jute.

Once all of the props and decorations were ready, it was time to have the actual party!

The Tribes.

Both teams are looking FIERCE!

We had 3 challenges.

The Knowledge Challenge. In the first challenge, tribes had to work together to answer questions, using a large die, about Kaitlin and Dustin's relationship.
Survivor 101: These types of knowledge challenges are normally played individually, but we thought it would be more fun to compete as a team.
Seasoned Castaways: "Let's get to today's reward challenge."

The Puzzle Challenge. One at a time, a castaway from each tribe had to untie knots to release envelopes. Once all of the envelopes were brought back to their tribe mat, 2 castaways could start putting together puzzle pieces that were inside the envelopes. The first tribe to finish the puzzle wins.
Survivor 101: This is a CLASSIC Survivor Challenge. Knots and puzzles are in many episodes of Survivor.
Seasoned Castaways: "You have got to DIG DEEP!"

The Memory Challenge. One at a time, a castaway from each tribe had to memorize the order of pictures random lingerie objects, then rush back to try to remember the correct order. The first castaway to finish gets a point for their tribe. The first tribe to 4 points, wins.
Survivor 101: When castaways are on the island, some challenges involving mental alertness prove to be very hard due to their lack of sleep, lack of food, and having to strategize 24/7.
Seasoned Castaways: "Survivors ready...go!"

Tribal Council.

Kaitlin opened all of her gifts, and as she opened them, all of the guests gave each one a name.
Lingerie Shower 101: This is a CLASSIC Lingerie Shower activity. It makes it a bit less awkward...

Once all of the gifts were opened and named, each castaway from both tribes voted for which gift was the overall favorite.
Survivor 101: Normally, the castaways vote for who they want to leave the island, but that would not work for a shower. I mean, who wants to get kicked out of a party?...
Seasoned Castaways: "It is... time to vote."

After everyone had cast their votes, I read the votes. THEN, I symbolically put out Kaitlin's torch and everyone commented about how she is leaving the virgin island. hahahaha
Survivor 101: There are many quotes that Jeff Probst says during EVERY tribal council.
Seasoned Castaways: "Once the votes have been read, the decision is final. The person voted out will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

I think everyone enjoyed Survivor: Lingerie Island. I know Kaitlin loved it because we are such Survivor fanatics. The goal was for her to have a great time, and for all of the guests (even if they have never seen Survivor) to enjoy the challenges and theme. It was a success.