BRIDAL SHOWER THEMES

This bridal shower is about preparing the newlyweds for their honeymoon trip. It's up to the hostess whether she wants to keep things in a practical, hilarious or even downright sexy vein.

The invitations might be large, imitation boarding passes, train or even bus tickets. If the happy couple is going on a cruise, perhaps invitations in the shape of an ocean liner would be nice.

Gift ideas for this party might be those that will take care of the bride's travel necessities for the length of her trip. Items could include anything from extra clothes hangers to protective shoe and clothing bags.

If the honeymooners will be visiting abroad, an up-to-date currency converter will be greatly appreciated or some money to have on hand in the currency of the scheduled countries in their tour plans.

Travel guides, maps, disposable cameras, film or a fancy his and hers passport case are other options.

The rule of thumb is to keep the gifts small and lightweight so they don't add unnecessary weight and bulk to the suitcases.

So what if the modern bride doesn't know a broiler from a brisket? The kitchen may not be used for cooking from scratch that much anymore and the stove may need to be dusted rather than scrubbed, but the kitchen is a popular gathering place when couples entertain and they will need some pretty pots and pans and gadgets to decorate the countertops, table and stoves in an appropriate fashion.

This is one of the classic bridal shower themes that never goes out of style, but please do your best not to allow it to slip into the realm of "ordinary". Do something cool that sets your party apart from the rest.

Some bridal shower gift ideas for a kitchen shower that are certain to be appreciated by the happy couple would be:

• A pretty spoon rest for the range top (even if the burners never get hot)
• Decorative trivets
• Stylish wastebaskets
• Colorful scouring pads and matching latex gloves so that dish washing won't muss up the bride's manicure

If your friends are known to be into gourmet cooking you might ask each guest to bring a pound of common ingredients to their favorite dishes. This bridal shower theme idea comes from the old fashioned custom of a "pounding party". Where the guests might bring a measure of items as common as sugar, flour or cornmeal. Modern guests might want to purchase something a little more fancy like the bride and groom's favorite gourmet coffee, specialty crackers or fresh bread sticks from the neighborhood bakery or a bottle of cooking wine.

Your newlywed friend will be no Cinderella with the wonderful cleaning equipment that she receives as gifts at your unique Bride and Broom Shower. Even if the bride has never made the acquaintance of the vacuum cleaner much less a sponge mop this bridal shower theme will sort things out and teach her the ropes in a jiffy.

Her broom closet will need to be equipped for whomever she can convince that it's their job to clean and maintain the loving couples' living space. So even if she's fortunate enough to have cleaning help she will receive things that will be put to good use.

These bridal shower ideas will fill a newlywed couple's needs so far as household cleaning products and equipment. Besides a broom and a trendy, modern mop gift ideas might include natural or environmentally friendly detergent, floor cleaner and soap.

Instead of arranging small items like sponges and microfiber cleaning cloths inside a traditional gift basket that might be used for most other baby shower and bridal shower themes, our gift container of choice will be mop buckets and pails.

Here are some unique gift ideas for the mop and broom bridal shower:

• Steam mop
• Color-coordinated brooms anddustpans
• Treated disposable dustcloths
• Environmentally friendly cleaning compounds
• Laundry supplies

You might think that party based bridal shower themes might resemble College Theme Party Ideas but hopefully a couple about to be married is more mature in their ideas of what it takes to entertain guests for an evening than they were when they first met in college and just
getting acquainted. The purpose of this shower will be to provide the bride with adult, sophisticated party accessories for when she begins to entertain after the wedding festivities.

Gift ideas for a shower of this type would be anything a lady might need to have a dinner party or to host and afternoon get-together for friends. Some appropriate items might be:

• An assortment of serving trays
• Snack dishes
• Bread baskets with colorful liners
• Pie or cake servers
• Food warmers
• Dessert plates
• Demitasse cups and spoons
• Coasters
• Appetizer cookbooks

Disposable party supplies would be especially appreciated by the bride who may have received many of the items in the above list as wedding presents. Inexpensive disposable items would include:

Tableware and napkins
• Plastic or paper tablecloths
Hors d'oeuvre picks

The cost of disposable items often prevents a couple from entertaining on a regular basis, so if you want to be a regular guest in their home now's the time to build their inventory of party supplies!