Bridal Shower Themes
Themed parties are a great idea in bridal showers. It is an excellent idea for helping guests decide what kinds of things to bring. You should strongly consider having a theme. It will the party more fun and the bride will receive items that she needs. Be sure to include the theme information in the invitation.
All Year Round
Gifts are often given with only the current season in mind. This shower focuses on the entire year and all its seasons!
Gift Suggestions:
Each guest is assigned a season (or month) and brings appropriate gifts. Ideas include:
- Spring
- Gardening Tools
- Lingerie with Miniature Flower Designs
- Anything in Light Pastel Colors
- Summer
- Beach Towels
- Cotton Sheets
- Light Lingerie
- Fall
- Giant Umbrella
- Dark-colored Lingerie
- Personalized Door Mat (muddy feet are beginning to appear!)
- Winter
- Flannel Pajamas
- Teddy
- Bear Big, Fluffy Towels
Decoration Ideas:
Find some great interesting calendars to display around the room. If you are using a season theme, consider creating a collage with little items or photos from each season. This can also be done for a month theme, but would take a bit longer.
Room to Room
Designed to help the bride fill each room of her new home.
Gift Suggestions:
Each room commonly found in a house/apartment is assigned to a guest(s). The guest then brings a gift that might be found in that room. Ideas include:
- Kitchen
- Cookbooks
- Pots/Pans
- Coffee Maker
- Bathroom
- Towels
- Toothbrush Holder
- Scale
- Bedroom
- Lingerie
- Sheets
- Blankets
- Living/Recreation Room
- Throw Pillows
- Magazine Subscriptions
- Board Games
Recipe Round-up
For the bride who has almost everything. This does not ask for monetary gift purchases.
Suggestions:
Not all showers have to involve store-bought gifts. A great idea would be to have a potluck dinner and have each guest bring something and its recipe. You might choose to assign each guest a part of the meal such as appetizer, salad, main course, dessert. Include a recipe card in the invitation and at the shower collect the cards in a recipe box for the bride.
Bathroom Basics
Every women can always use more accessories for the bathroom.
Gift Suggestions:
Find out if the bride has a color scheme in mind and pass that information on to the guests. Ideas include:
- Towels
- Toothbrush Holder
- Scale
- Soap Dish
- Robe
- Travel Kit
- Make-up Bag
- Anything Bathroom-y
Decoration Ideas:
Buy some pretty bath beads or soaps and place them in glass dishes around the room. Centerpiece idea is a gift basket for the bride filled with little bathroom soaps, powders, and other little items in the bride's bathroom colors. Run a long length of tulle through rolls of toliet paper and hang it around the room. Have one roll of t.p. for each drape in the tulle.
Other Ideas:
Shower favors might be some bath beads wrapped in tulle or bath salts in small jars decorated with ribbon.
Around the Clock
Focuses on helping the bride be prepared for all day every day.
Gift Suggestions:
Each guest is given a certain time of day (morning, afternoon, evening, or specific hour) and the gift that they bring would relate to that time. Ideas include:
- Morning
- Coffee Pot
- Gourmet Coffee
- Towels
- Bathrobe
- Afternoon
- Gym Bag
- Organizer
- Gift Certificate for Dinner
- Massager
- Evening
- Slippers
- Bath Soaps/Oils
- Blanket
- Sheets
Decoration Ideas:
Lots of clocks can be placed around the room. Decorative clocks (grandfather, cuckoo) are excellent. Take pictures of the bride during an average day and display them around the room with the time indicated.
Food Tips:
Have the food served at you shower progress through the day as well. Start with mini-portions of breakfast foods, then lunch, dinner and finally dessert. Another idea is to bake a round cake and use cake decorating gels to draw a clock face on the top of the cake.
Romantic Gestures
This theme centers around a future evening of romance for the bride and groom.
Gift Suggestions:
- Scented Candles
- Bubble Bath
- Champagne
- Lingerie
- Sheets
- Designer Soaps
- Romance Novels
- Anything Romantic
Note: If focusing on lingerie, be sure to include the bride's measurements in the invitation.
Decoration Ideas:
The decorations for romantic gestures should be soft and soothing. White lights and tulle (netting) are a perfect addition to this shower. A bath gift basket could serve as a centerpiece and could later be given to the bride.
Food Tips:
This theme is best for a dessert or tea shower. A simple way to make any dessert elegant is to serve it well. Cut out hearts out of construction paper and place them on a plate. One large heart could be placed in the center or several smaller hearts around the edge. Take a small wire strainer (a regular spoon also works) full of cocoa powder or cinnamon and gently tap the edge while moving it around the plate. Try to get an even dusting of powder. Now remove the heart(s) and place your dessert on the plate. You might want to prepare the plates ahead of time and just place the desserts on them right before serving to guests. If serving a punch with ice in it, see if you can find server heart ice cube trays. Before filling the tray with water, place a strawberry in each cube spot. Then freeze. It will be a beautiful addition to the punch bowl.
Other Ideas:
Favors for this shower theme could include candles, bath beads in tulle, or a small satin satchel of potpourri. This theme is perfect for an evening shower. This is also wonderful to incorporate with a Valentine's Day theme. If it is near Valentine's Day, the stores should have lots of excellent decorations and special foods/candies to make your planning easier.
Culinary Delights
Stocking a kitchen is a large job. This theme is designed to help the bride get a good start.
Gift Suggestions:
Find out if the bride has a color scheme in mind and pass that information on to the guests. Ideas include:
- Cookbooks
- Pots/Pans
- Coffee Maker
- Dish Towels
- Measuring Cups/Spoons
- Silverware
- Dishes
- Anything you might use in your kitchen
Decoration Ideas:
Hang utensils or groups of utensils around the room. Fruit baskets add beautiful color and can be used as a centerpiece.
Food Tips:
The food category is wide open for this theme. Anything from a large sampling of different appetizers to a meal would be appropriate. Another idea would be to have each guest bring their favorite dish (or dessert) for a potluck shower. A fun game that can be incorporated would be to have the bride try to make her "wedding cake" from scratch with no recipe! A guest should write down the ingredients and type it up and present it to the bride later as a remembrance.
Other Ideas:
A perfect and inexpensive shower favor is a wooden spoon with tulle tied in a bow around it. You could include some hersheys kisses tied around the spoon with a note reading "a spoonful of kisses for you." Cookies in colorful plastic wrap also serve as the perfect favor for a kitchen shower.