Are Pampered Chef bridal showers tacky?

Q: We've heard of people doing Pampered Chef bridal showers and were thinking of doing them for our bride's wedding shower. Are they considered "okay" from etiquette standards? What do people think?
A: At first glance, parties like Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, Lia Sophia, Tastefully Simple, purse parties, or "toy" parties, can be a nice change of pace from other bridal showers. For one, it helps lower the cost of the party and be the entertainment for the shower. However, the general consensus is that these parties are bad etiquette and shouldn't be done.

Most of these showers work this way: they are much like a typical party except the bride has picked put a registry or wishlist for guests to purchase from. The guests though can pick items for themselves too. 

Some tips to consider:

• Is the bride crazy about the products? If the bride has never even heard of a PartyLite candle, her shower might be the wrong place to introduce her. And, of course, she might have strong feelings about the products-many people have a surprisingly strong love/hate relationship with some of the items being offered for sale.

• These parties tend to put the guests on the spot. Yes, we all know that at wedding showers, the guests bring gifts but guests have freedom to buy the gifts wherever they want to-usually by having these type of showers, the guests typically buy something from the party going on which limits the choices. What about those guests who wanted to give fine china or make an item personal?

• Many people in general have strong feelings about these home parties. We all know people who always turn down invites to the parties simply because they don't like the products, don't like sales pitches, or have another personal preference (like preferring MAC cosmetics over Mary Kay.) These guests might be conflicted and feel like they have to attend and buy something.

• If the bride does like the items, she could always set up a registry. Party companies like Pampered Chef and Longaberger allow brides to set up gift registries so brides can still get the items they want without the party or the sales pitch.