Themes for a Bridal Shower

There are many bridal shower themes from which to choose. Be sure to plan your party well in advance and to ask other friends and relatives for ideas. Also, don't forget to inform guests about the specific type of function they will be attending so they may dress appropriately. Lastly, always have an alternate plan for an outdoor bridal shower in case of a change in the weather.

We like these ideas:

ABC Shower - Each guest is given a letter of the alphabet in their invitation. The gift they buy must start with their designated letter.
Art Gallery Shower – Some galleries are available for special functions. You may need to rent chairs and small tables. Serve wine and appetizers. Gifts could include a piece of art for the couple's home or other decorative items such as candles and candlesticks.
Carnival Shower – Take your guests on a trip to childhood. Play silly games like bean bag toss or fishing for simple prizes. Dress as a fortune teller and read everyone's palm, making sure to memorize happy and/or ridiculous fortunes to delight the bride and her friends.
Christmas Decoration Party - This is a great idea for a winter wedding. Play Christmas songs and serve hot cinnamon rolls, Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. Gifts could include anything for the couple’s first Christmas together, such as Christmas decorations, a Christmas tree, handmade stockings and nativity sets. For an activity at the shower, guests can each make a crafty decoration for the couple’s first tree from supplies provided by the hostess.
Covered Dish Shower – This theme is perfect for an office event. Each guest brings a potluck covered dish for the celebration. The dishes or bakeware are washed after the event and presented to the bride. Unless these items are heirlooms or antiques, they are generally purchased specifically for this occasion.
Elegant Theme Party - This is a great idea for a grand bridal shower. Rent a hotel banquet room or a private room at a restaurant. Serve a meal or meat, fruit and cheese trays with wine or tea. Boxes of decorated chocolates make great party favors.
Entertainment Shower – Tickets to special events, CDs, DVDs and certificates for music downloads are always welcome. Decorate with movie posters for this shower. You can even consider asking guests to come as their favorite television or movie character.
Fiesta Party - Hang a piñata and serve nachos, chilled flavored drinks and sopapillas. Gift ideas could include brightly colored items for the home.
Fitness / Athlete’s Theme Shower - This would be fun event to hold at a park in honor of both the bride and the groom. Serve barbecued hot dogs, assorted juices and trail mix. Gift ideas include gym membership passes, tennis rackets, ball game tickets or other sports gifts for the athletic couple.
Garden Gadgets Party - Host this shower in a lovely garden. Serve chips, vegetable dip, lemonade and iced tea. Gifts could be anything for the bride and groom’s garden and/or yard, such as a rake, hose, sprinkler, seeds or a small tree. Apartment dwellers might like potted plants or flowers, grow lights or even a balcony-size greenhouse.
Gift Certificate Theme Shower - All gifts for this party are gift cards or certificates. This allows the bride (and groom) to pick out what they need to furnish their home. Other gift ideas include entertainment certificates and certificates for dinner at a nice restaurant.
Heart Theme Shower - Everything at this shower is in the shape of a heart for a “lovey-dovey" romantic feeling. This is especially fitting if the wedding and/or shower is in February. Refreshments are served in the shape of hearts and could include cookies, little cakes, a large cake, molded salads and candies. Guests are asked to bring a gift that symbolizes love such as a heart-shaped pillow with the bride and groom’s names and the date of their wedding embroidered on it.
Holiday Shower – Guests are assigned holidays on their invitations. Each brings a gift that reflects that special day such as candles and candlesticks, ornaments or decorations.
Honeymoon Fun Shower - Guests are asked to bring a present that could be used on the honeymoon. This could range from the comical to the serious to the romantic.
Kitchen Stocking Shower - How nice for a bride and groom to not have to go shopping for food when they return home from their honeymoon! All of the gifts at this shower must be food items (nonperishable foodstuffs are best). Check with the mothers or best friends to find out the couple’s favorite food items.
Labor of Love Shower – When the engaged couple already seems to have everything, consider a "service" shower. Guests present the bride with handwritten or computer generated gift certificates offering their special services. These might include, but are not limited to, home cooked meals, house sitting, yard work, computer troubleshooting, addressing thank you notes or household chores.
Linen Theme Shower - The gifts for this theme include towels, sheets, pillowcases, blankets, curtains and rugs. Be sure to include the bride’s color scheme on the invitation.
Lingerie or Personal Shower – Each guest brings a closet organizer or gift of lingerie for the bride. A romantic movie might be shown in the background.
Meal Shower – This theme revolves around serving a special meal. Guests bring gifts related to cooking or serving the feast provided by the hostess.
Months of the Year Shower - Each guest is assigned a month of the year in their invitation. They are asked to bring a gift that corresponds with that month.
Paper Shower – Ask the guests to choose a gift made of paper such as stationery, stamps, photo paper for the printer, picture frames or magazine subscriptions.
Patriotic Theme Shower - This is especially appropriate for a summer shower or if one or both of the happy couple is a member of the military. Decorations are all red, white, and blue, including flowers in those colors. Check local codes to include a fireworks display and have a flag raising.
Recipe Party - Each guest receives a 3 x 5 card with her invitation. She is asked to write or type her favorite recipe for the bride. At the shower, all of the cards are placed in a beautiful recipe book that has been autographed by each guest. Guests might also bring one or more nonperishable ingredients needed to prepare their recipes.
This idea can easily be adapted for a long-distance shower when the bride lives far away from her loved ones. The hostess should be sure to include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with her request for recipes.
Room Shower – Assign a specific room in the couple's home to each guest. Guests select gifts to match their assigned rooms. For example, someone assigned to the bathroom, might choose to present the bride with towels.
Southwestern Theme Shower - This shower has a definite desert feel. Navajo rugs, cacti and terra cotta pots make great decorations for this event. Choose the menu from favorite Southwest recipes like hearty chili or chips and salsa.
The Time on the Clock Shower - Every guest is given a different time on the clock and must bring a present correlating with that time. For instance, a gift suggestion for the 6:00 a.m. timeslot could be a coffee maker.
Tool Shower - Couples who are moving into a new home might appreciate a tool shower to provide them with all the things they are going to need to set that home in order.
Travel Shower – Those who are planning a destination wedding or romantic honeymoon will enjoy a shower with a travel motif. For example, decorate for an Italian theme with posters of the Roman Coliseum by moonlight or a dramatically beautiful island ruin. Play Italian music and serve pasta salad and Italian wines or special liqueurs such as limoncello. Guests could bring anything from luggage to inflatable travel pillows to tiny plastic rain coats to guidebooks or even an AC/DC digital camera battery charger.
Wine Tasting Shower – A wine tasting makes a wonderful couples shower. The hostess supplies at least five kinds wine and palate-cleansing snacks while the guests bring wine accessories or bottles of wines to stock the wine rack or wine cellar for the bride and groom.

Please note that we do not generally recommend a Surprise Shower. The bride may be stressed because of her imminent wedding and not able to enjoy this type of party at this time. On the other hand, if she truly loves surprises, go for it.