Baby showers and bridal showers are part of the experience of being a woman. I get it. It's nice that we have these traditions to give the bride-to-be or mom-to-be things that she'll need in this new phase of her life.

And yes, it's nice to watch her open the gift you gave her to see her reaction.

But I really don't like to spend an hour or two watching someone open gifts. It's mildly interesting at best.

Have you been to a shower where the guest of honor spent more than two hours opening gifts? Have you thought about ducking out early? I think it's time we stop this part of the tradition.

You end up spending more time on the gift opening than you do on talking to friends, eating food, and even playing baby shower games.

I have several friends who have said they don't enjoy being the person opening gifts in front of everyone. It's kind of stressful. You have to be polite and act like you're overjoyed for every gift. And I feel stupid if I don't immediately know what something is. Like when Rachel on Friends opened her baby shower gifts and didn't know what some of them were. It's embarrassing.

They also don't like being the center of attention. My best friend was pregnant at the same time as me. She did NOT like people staring at her as she opened her gifts. She had a small shower so she was able to manage opening gifts from just a few people.

There are some options for those of us that hate the gift opening ceremony of baby showers (or bridal showers). You can have a display baby shower where all of the gifts come unwrapped. Or you can do a gift card only baby shower where you just ask for gift cards or cash.

You save a lot of time if you don't open your gifts in front of everyone. It'd be nice to get an extra hour to just talk to everyone and eat more food and cake!