A Gift Basket Shower:
Have each guest bring a basket, box or container filled with imaginative goodies for a designed area of the home. This allows the guest to be creative in their selection of items for the bride and groom. It is a good idea to have the guest "label" the theme of her basket with a little card enclosed listing all of the items in the basket. This will also be very helpful when it is time for the bride to send her thank you notes. (examples of basket fillers: laundry basket filled with clothes pins, fabric softeners, soap, bleach.... or a picnic basket filled with items used for a picnic.) Use your imagination.

Kitchen Shower:
Every home should have a well stocked kitchen to help things run smoothly. Present each guest with a magnet as a party favor. Wear an apron during the entire party and give one to the bride to wear. Have each guest bring an item that could help to stock the bride to be's kitchen. (examples might be, cookie sheets, egg slicer, carving board, ice cream scoop, salad bowls, measuring spoons)

Lingerie Shower:
Lace and frills or whatever the brides taste in lingerie is, set the atmosphere to her style. This could be done as a "kidnap the bride" party when you have it first thing in the morning and all the guests should arrive in their own night clothes. Or make it a pajama party. Here are some ideas for gifts: teddies, slips, slippers, robe, bras, panties, jewelry bag for traveling, sachets.

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Cookie Sampler Shower:
This type of shower is done usually in the mornings however it can be adapted to anytime of day. Have each guest prepare the dough for her favorite cookie recipe and bring it to the shower on a cookie sheet ready to pop into the oven. (don't forget to have them bring their recipe on an index card or print out several copies) Then as each batch of cookies are done, sample each one along with a suitable beverage. Since each batch takes about 12 minutes this will be just enough time to marvel on the flavor of each persons cookie recipe. Tie in gifts with this theme and have the guests give baking sheets, muffin pans, cookie cutters, etc.

Be My Valentine Shower:
What can be more romantic than a Valentines Day wedding? You can play this one up since you will have no trouble finding decorations. Stress the romance and sentiments of love and have the guests bring something that is romantic. Perhaps some candles and wine or champagne with some wine glasses, or sparkling cider for the bride and groom that do not drink. Give the dishes to be served cutesy names like.. pretzels can be love knots, or a casserole can be a love pot. Have heart shaped cake for dessert. For the invitations consider stocking up on children's valentine and using them. More gift ideas could be.. certificate for dinner for two at a local restaurant. You get the idea.

International Flair
It is easy to think of various foods (eggrolls, sushi, taquitos, etc.) and, as far as gifts, each guest can be assigned a country & then buys the bride a gift reflecting that country. For example, Italy might buy a pasta maker, pizza stone & cutter, or an Italian cookbook; England might buy a set of teacups, etc. Submitted by: Amanda Maynard

Stock the Kitchen:
Each guest was asked to bring an unusual can good for the bride and groom (lima beans, etc). The hostess had a basket prepared for the can goods and as each guest put the can good in the basket the hostess removed the label. The blank can goods were then given to the bride and groom. They were sure to have some unusual "first dinners"! (thank you Kerry Yawn for submitting this theme idea)

Recipe Shower:
This is where everyone gets to prepare their favorite dish and bring the recipe on an index card for the bride. Have each guest write out the recipe and the list of ingredients and the rest of the instructions. The gift that the guest brings should have something to do with the prepared dish. (Blueberry muffins, perhaps you could wrap up two muffin pans with an oversized kitchen towel: Lasagna, give the serving dish to the bride with a serving spoon.)

Around the Clock Shower:
A very traditional type of shower where you assign each guest a time of day on the invitation and informed that the gift that they choose should correspond to that time. Instruct the guest to write the time of day on the outside of the package somewhere so that when it is time to open the gifts, they can be opened from morning time to night time.

Handy Andy/Hannah Shower:
Believe it or not, in some places friends and families have opted to forgo the stag/bachelorette parties simply because they are opting for more practical things. Hardware stores are gold mines of widgets and gadgets that everyone always needs and never gets as a gift. This is the simplest of showers since the type of things you buy are scissors , batteries, lamps, flashlights, brooms, hammers, nails. You get the idea. Have the guest bring the gift in the original bad with the hardware logo on it and tie it with a pretty ribbon.

Tie a Quilt:
This type of shower can be given for the bride to be in a spiritual setting, service group, or any other group that meets regularly. The idea is to give the bride a tangible, lasting, from the heart gift. Have each invited guest make a quilt square at home and bring it to the shower where the entire quilt will be completed. Each square should be accompanied by an album of short notes explaining the significance of each piece and the best wishes and signature of the giver. During the shower the quilt is stitched together over good conversation. It would be best to tie together a theme for the quilt such as "flowers, antiques, what is love". It is a good idea to have everyone try to decide on the theme though.You should begin planning this type of party well in advance since it takes quite awhile to put a quilt together.

Ornament Shower:
Everyone is instructed to bring one ornament for the couple's first Christmas tree. You can buy single ornaments at many places now and the are usually not very expensive. This also lets you hold a traditional bridal shower at a later date, but this is a great way to have a shower the the bride and groom during the holidays (thank you Virginia Floyd for this great idea!)

Tea cup shower:
In one of my planners when I was getting ready for my own wedding. This shower each guest brings a tea cup that they feel expresses their own personality. This is a fun intimate shower which can be altered to Coffee Mugs, depending on the brides preference. After the shower, the bride has a unique collection to remind her forever of her closest friends. (what a lovely idea for a shower! Thank you RobShell)

COUPLES SHOWERS
(aside from the list above here are some other ideas - more to come)

Stock the Bar:
My husband and I recently went to a shower for some friends of ours with the "Stock the Bar" theme. They received not only beer, wine, after dinner cordials, and alcoholic mixers, but also bar accessories such as wine racks, snifters, martini glasses, and drink recipes. I was in the evening so as to make it a bit social also.

The 2 games we played focused on the bride and groom only. Each of them had been video taped separately with various questions and when the tape was played at the shower, each had to guess what the other had said before the answer was to be revealed on the tape. It was a rough version of the Newlywed Game almost. My husband and I thought of a different twist on this game to include all of the guests present. For a shower we're giving next October we plan on sending out various questions to the guests invited, including the bride and groom, and have them return the responses to us. At the shower we will present the questions to our honored guests in multiple choice form and each much choose the correct answer for the future spouse. We will then reveal which guest at the shower offered each answer. We feel this will provide more involvement with guests.

The other game played at the shower we went to recently was for the bride. She leaves the room and is blind folded. All of the men at the shower are asked to remove their shoes and socks, for the bride is to grope the feet of the men to find her future hubby. Some of the comments from the bride can be hilarious. At the shower I was present for, the bride chose the wrong set of feet. (A BIG THANK YOU to Stacey Sinclair for sending this great party theme idea, and games in!)

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