So... I have to go to a bridal shower for my SIL to be... and I've never really been to a bridal shower before.... well, kind of two, but I was eleven for one... and the other one was more of a goodbye party because my friend was moving to Europe and getting married later in the year. Anyway, point is... I have no idea what kind of stuff you get people for bridal showers :s Any suggestions?

Well, probably the couple has registered somewhere? It is always safe to buy something from the registry. Gift certificates to restaurants are always nice too. If you do a special craft or service, this is nice as well. For example, we got a beautiful painting from Jay's aunt who is an artist. She incorporated our favorite colors and designs into it. We have it hanging in our living room and I love to look at it and think of her!

Totally non-PC, but the last bridal shower I went to, for a good friend of mine, I got her some sexy lingerie, some bedroom "toys" (for couples of course), and a Kama Sutra kit, complete with feathers! :lol:

(And then the boring part: a gift certificate to Home Depot, or was it Lowes, one or the other, since they were doing a lot of work on their house they'd just bought.)


I also second Ri's suggestion to find out where they're registered...

[SHORT ANSWER] gift certificate to a restaurant they both like

[LONG ANSWER]
If the invitation didn't have any kind of theme mentioned, I put my vote in for gift certificates for things the couple can do together. My bridal shower was "themed" that way (even though my husband-to-be was not invited!) and most people got things for us to do together, and some of the stuff was really cool!

Of course it depends on how well you know the couple, maybe you're not sure what they like. There were a few gifts we got that were not local or were outside our comfort zone (for example, we got a gc for a sunset canoe rental in the coastal region, which i'm sure is beautiful and romantic, except that neither of us is particular big with the upper body strength or at home on the water. :rolleyes: since it was a long drive for something we weren't super enthusiastic about, we never ended up going and since it was a seasonal gift certificate it expired.)

on the other hand, one gift that was one of our favorites was a "golf trip around Maine" which included a map of maine and five different mini-golf courses plotted on it, with gift certificates to each one :) wicked fun. I got gift certificates to a local spa that i was going to before the wedding, so i didn't have to pay for my pampering! we also got gift certificates to go bowling, to a local dinner theater, and lots of restaurant gift certificates. and we haven't even used them all yet! so it was definitely a gift that kept on giving :)

it sounds like you know the bride well enough to get something she'd enjoy; i once spent hours upon hours making a dining room table set (placemats, napkins, table runner, hot pads, silverware holder, and basket liner) for a bride I didn't know, and she just kind of fingered the edges of everything in the basket and said "Wow, how pretty, i'm not gonna open it 'cause i don't want to mess it up" and I found out later that she is not much of a kitchen/dining room person. :duh:

Lately most of the bridal showers I've heard about have been themed - and Cherie, I've been to a couple of lingerie-themed showers and they were great fun! :wink:

When I was younger my understanding was that the really nice / big gifts were saved for the wedding, and the shower was for household-y stuff that a new bride might not have yet. With more and more couples already having set up homes (whether together or apart) there is just not the same need to be stocking people up with dishtowels and measuring cups anymore!

So I'd add my vote to the lingerie idea and to the spa gift certificate idea. Another nice one, since it's your SIL-to-be, is to collect some classic family recipes from your mom, aunts, grandmother, etc. [slightly sexist assumption, but it could also be uncles and dad if they cook, of course] and put them into a pretty album or blank book.

Things could change - marriage is (hopefully) for a long time! Someday she may get into cooking and entertaining more. Or even need to invite people in for some reason and then be so grateful to have nice table linens. Listen to me, I sound like my grandmother :lol: but I mean it.

I met an ex-hippy who'd been married for 20 years. She said when she got married, she returned all the silver and crystal her parents' friends gave her, and asked for practical things instead. She said, "Nowadays I sure wish I had that silver and crystal!" :cry:

I've always gotten things off the registry, I guess I got off easy. I read a couple idea in a magazine that I thought was cute, a salad spinner filled with crinkled up dollars to look like lettuce. I like the gift certificates for stuff to do idea, I've never heard of that before. Lingerie and sexy stuff like that I would only get if I felt that the bride to be wouldn't be embarassed and would actually want that type of stuff.

Totally agree. I for one didn't really enjoy the lingurie I got - I have a flat body so some of the stuff don't look flattering on me at all. Like a kid wearing her mom's stuff. And a few others my husband (then fiance) said was too "inappropriate" that he suggested me to just throw out/donate them.

For me, I always like to pair something practical, like a gift cert to Target (I don't know anyone who don't like Target - they may go to Walmart more because it's cheaper but people always love Target...) with something impractical (pamperish). I love Lush product so I will throw in some bath bombs, soap, massage bar or the like. I always love converting people to Lushies. :evil:

I'm more of a get them something off the registry kinda person myself. I never know what to give.

Then again the ONLY shower/wedding gift I actually remember is one that I love and will love till the day I die. My aunt (who passed away about a year ago) loved bird houses, and made them out of scrap old wood she would find on the side of the road, like from downed fences or something. Anyway, she made one for me. It's always been the first thing to go up in a new house, and the last to come down. I always look at it and think of her. Now that I'm living with my parents, I put it up in my mom's house, and she like to rearrange stuff a lot, she moved the birdhouse, and I FREAKED on her, because I couldn't find it... once she told me where it was I was ok... it's turned into one of the few things I own that I cherish.


I also like the recipe idea. I have an old cookbook, that's in Spanish that I got from my ex-husband's grandmother. I keep it put away because its old, has no cover and is falling apart, but one day Jordan might like it.

Another idea is.. well, I'm sure you know your brother very well. You could put together a "keep my brother happy" basket. kinda a light hearted deal, like if he's a sports nut, small soft mini footballs he can use to toss at the tv instead of the remote. If the man could live on pork 'n beans, a can of pork 'n beans. Then also do one for her a pamper kinda deal with bath stuff or something.

I haven't been to tons of bridal showers,
but from the ones I have been to...
it seems like the gifts are mostly the cheaper items from the registry (lots of kitcheny stuff) and lingerie (but only if you know the person well)

Oh! And for close friends who I know won't be embarrassed (or if they may be because of moms, grandmas etc also attending the shower I give it in private), but I love to give The Guide to Getting It On. It is a really comprehensive, fun, non-raunchy book on sex. It has a big focus on learning to effectively communicate with your partner so you both can have a good time! ;)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/188...okstorenow56-20

I usually get something from the registry, but my mom is the opposite. She usually opts for practical gifts, but tries to get them something they probably didn't even think about registering for.

Thanks for the help everyone.

I think I figured out what I wanted to get-- an insulated picnic backpack with an insulated wine attachment, a complete service for two, and a balnket.... but now I don't think I can get it in time cause I think I have to order it cause the only place I'd ever seen them around here closed :rant:

So, back to square one, I guess.... maybe I can get them the backpack for something else.... *sigh*

That was a good idea! Bad store for closing! :whip:

Could you still make up a little mock one in time for the shower as an IOU? Get a cheap or even second-hand little-kid backpack, put doll dishes in it, and wrap it up. With a card that explains the real thing has been ordered and is on its way. Maybe... :unsure:

I think that's a great idea

or print out a picture of the item and wrap that up in a nice box

When do you need the backpack by? I may be able to help. Email me.
info@basketworks.biz

Lise

My last bridal shower was for my niece. They were planning to do some remodeling on their home, and she is a very practical person, so I got her a tool belt (the good heavy last forever kind), tools, and stuck a Lowe's gift card in the nail pocket. She expects that kind of gift from Auntie, who is also extremely practical.

I got one of those for my shower! (actually i got two; a regular picnic basket with the fixin's that has sat in the attic, and a backpack style one with wheels and pullout handle that we have used for all kinds of different purposes!) great idea! mine came from Linen's N Things, and they're getting spring/summer stuff out now, maybe you'll find one there? (i dunno if they have LNT where you are...)

Wow! I've never heard of that happening before! :lol: :rolleyes:

Thanks for all the advice and help, everyone! I needed it for the 15, but I actually managed to find one in Toronto, which isn't too far from here... about an hour away, and my dad goes there for work every Saturday anyway, so we picked one up this afternoon. We do have LNT here, but I checked online and couldn't find anything there. The one I got isn't the exact one I wanted.... but it's close. It's for 4 instead of two, which sucks in a way cause it's less romantic, but they do wwant children, and have neices they do a lot of stuff with now... so perhaps the extra settings will come in handy anyway. Here it is, I hope it's alright :unsure:




Next question..... what kind of thing does one wear to such affairs?

hmm... I'm a jeans and t-shirt girl myslelf... so I may not be the best person to ask. I can't remember what i wore to my sisters, tho I know I was several months preggers and I'm sure what ever it was it was comfy.

I would guess it depends on where it is. My sister held hers at some facy ass old historic home. But I would be willing to bet I still wore jeans. :wink: Then again it was mostly family in some back ass woods town. But the most people I can remember (excpt for the old ladies) wore jeans and nice shirts.

We have a copy of this, but I'd definitely be too embarrassed to give out copies :blush: