The intimate nature of lingerie itself lends this type of shower to being hosted by the bride’s good friends. It might be a good idea to invite the bride’s grandmother to the “Stock The Kitchen Shower” being hosted in a few weeks, and leave her off the invite list for this shower theme. In the end, everyone will be more comfortable!

Invitations

As mentioned above, a “Lingerie Shower” is just that - an opportunity to gift the bride with sexy and flirty lingerie. Set the tone of your shower right off the bat with the invitation. The invitation itself will immediately convey to the guests whether over-the-top sexy or even trashy gifts are in order… or if they will be purchasing gifts that the new bride might actually wear!

There are many very cute themed invitations for the Lingerie Shower theme. We really like the selection at PaperStyle.com. They have a great assortment of lingerie themed invitations, from cute to sexy, and classic invites that you can customize with an invitation saying or poem that sets the theme for the shower.

Some great poems or sayings to use on your Lingerie Shower bridal invitations are:

Julie will soon be a bride, all dressed in white,
Let’s help get her ready for the honeymoon night!
A Lingerie Shower honoring
Julie Stevens

Nighties and teddies, a little satin bra,
Are sure to make Michael say
Ooh la la!
Please join us for a lingerie shower honoring
Julie

Cotton pajamas are
Julie Steven’s
Night time attire
She needs a few things to help light the fire
A Lingerie Shower
Will start her off right
Let’s outfit her for the honeymoon night!

There’s been plenty
Of preparation
Before her wedding day
Now all she needs is a little lingerie!

Something sexy, something sweet
Something special to knock Michael off his feet

Ribbons, feathers, satin & lace
Any pretty thing for
Her Michael to chase!

The big event is on the way
Let’s help the bride prepare
For her big day
Instead of dishes, pots and gadgets galore
We’ll do lacey to racey to stock the lingerie drawer
An intimate shower in honor or
Julie Stevens

An important point to remember when hosting a lingerie shower, is to provide the bride’s sizes for bra, panties and other lingerie. It can be included on the invitation, or if the invitation’s design cannot accommodate this information, you can also include a smaller card with the sizing info. It could look something like this:

Sizes:
36C / 6 – 8
Medium

You might also consider hand-making the invitations. The theme of the shower kind of lends itself to this. You could cut out a simple bodice shape using nice white or ivory paper. Attach pretty lace or ribbon, or even glue on a few rhinestone embellishments. Hot glue guns will work best and be the least noticeable!

To set the theme for a lingerie shower that’s a bit more risqué, if you’re leaning more towards a bachelorette party-type shower, you can make an invitation in the shape of a black lace garter.

Setting The Mood

Absolutely! When you’re decorating for a lingerie shower, it’s a fantastic opportunity to go all out and give your home a sexy, flirty feminine vibe! You’ll want to have plenty of fresh flowers placed around the party area. There are many sources for to purchase bunches of affordable flowers. Some great places to buy armfuls for pre-made bouquets are Sam’s Club, Costco or Trader Joes. These stores always have huge bouquets of beautiful flowers that aren’t budget-breakers, so even though you’re decorating your entire house with fresh flowers, it’s not eating up a lot of the party budget. Another spot for flowers is your own backyard! And if you don’t have a garden, ask around the neighborhood or check with your family. Pick whatever’s blooming and it will look and smell amazing. You might also check out your local farmer’s market for fresh blooms.

Purchase some scented candles to lend a nice soothing, sexy feel to the day. Nothing too overpowering… save the apple pie scent for fall! Choose something slightly floral or with a light vanilla flavor. Set the mood with a custom playlist of cocktail party music, we suggest something that’s smooth and sexy, like Michael Buble.

Refreshments

As far as what time of day to have the actual event, a lingerie shower seems to go over best in the evening. You can really vamp up the mood with lighting (or lack thereof) and candles. Also, this is where the drinks come in…you MUST have champagne to toast the bride-to-be and her girlfriends! It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have some sparkling white grape juice on hand in case someone doesn’t drink or is pregnant.

You could do champagne as your drink for the night…or you could mix up a signature cocktail, one that is especially loved by the bride. Either way, go for sexy and sophisticated!

We like having a signature drink, plus some prepared cocktails that you can prepare in advance and serve either in a punch bowl or use pitchers, so guests can help themselves. One of our favorites is a Basil Strawberry Lemonade with Vodka, featured on DrinkInventor.com.

And what to nibble on with the cocktails? Try this:
• Purchase 12-15 long-stemmed strawberries, green caps intact
• Slowly melt a bag of chocolate chips (I like dark, but you can use dark, milk and white to have a variety!) in the microwave, stirring after every 45 seconds
• Dip each strawberry into melted chocolate, about halfway up; twirl to shake off excess chocolate and let cool on wax paper. How easy is that? And it’s much cheaper than purchasing them from a specialty store!

You’ll want to have some other food on hand to go with the chocolate-covered strawberries. Girlfriends, especially those with lingerie, swimming suits or jeans on the mind, like to nibble. As a hostess, nibbling is your friend. Look through your favorite cookbooks or online for your favorite appetizer and hors d’oeuvres recipes. Now’s the time to get a little more creative than the usual chips and dip! Choose a few hot items to prepare, and a few cold items. Plan on 2 pieces each, per person. For a simple but totally awesome recipe, try some yummy tomato tarts. Ahh, summer! Girls always like a nice selection of cheeses, paired with assorted crackers and fruit. Just think bite-size!!

Party Favors

After all of that eating, drinking, laughing, lingerie-opening, drinking and laughing, it’s time to gift each guest with her own special favor. A darling, theme-appropriate idea is a sachet—for each girl to place in her own lingerie drawer! I checked a few places online and found some cute ones that you might want to try. The best part about these? You can make them yourself, which will keep your costs down, and they aren’t difficult to make! Yes, you heard right…they are on Martha Stewart’s site and they are really easy to make. Send the girlfriends out the door with their lovely sachets…take off your shoes, prop your feet off and enjoy the left-over strawberries!

Invitations

There are several ways you can send invitations, depending on the formality of the event and the budget. Custom printed invitations from a specialty store, like InvitationBox.com, are printed with designs that complement the “Stock The Bar” theme. You can see their full collection here, and some of our favorite designs below. You can order these invitations with the words custom printed, or blank for about ½ price of custom printed invitations, so you can print them yourself.

Another option is using an online invitation company, like Evite, to create a free or low cost online invitation. Not only is this option instant, with no need to address envelopes, use stamps or drop them off at the post office, but you can also easily manage the attendee list as RSVPs begin coming in. It’s easy to attach driving directions using MapQuest or Google Maps, and for this shower theme, even the couple’s favorite list of drinks or preferred liquor.

You can also make your own invitations, for a fraction of the cost of printed invitations. Some great invitation wordings for the Stock The Bar bridal shower:

A spirited chorus line
We will make
For our (soon to be married) dear friends
Susan and Jake
Bring your favorite brew, glasses or useful device
So their bar will be stocked really quite nice

The wedding date is not to far
So let’s “toast” the couple and stock the bar

Before they share the same last name
Let’s stock them up to entertain

Before Danielle and Jim
Tie the knot
Let’s make sure their bar is stocked

Soon Cherie & David
Will no longer be single
So let’s get together
To mix & mingle
Join us for a Stock the Bar Shower

You’ll want to ask the guests to bring their favorite bar accessories, alcoholic beverages, mixers and drink recipes to help the couple stock their bar. This includes stemware, decanters, ice buckets, cocktail napkins, martini shakers, stirrers, mixers and of course, the alcohol.

Setting The Mood

After you’ve decided on your invitations, think about how you will decorate and set the mood for the party. For the Stock The Bar shower, we suggest making a really great playlist, filled with fun, party music on your iPod and playing it during the event. Select music that’s not too overpowering but the music will be an essential element. You might want to consider this amazing playlist on iTunes in the iMix section, titled Stock The Bar Shower Mix.

Provide floor pillows and other comfortable seating options. Food and drinks should be placed in several locations around the house. Dim the lights, light some candles and create the perfect lounge in your house! Encourage guests to mingle and have fun.

If having a houseful of people and liquor isn’t your cup of tea, take the show on the road! Consider renting out a private room within a bar or, if you have many guests, the entire bar. There’s no need to decorate when hosting your party at a club or bar. And, you can still ask the bartender to play that awesome playlist!

Refreshments

Whether at home or at a bar, you’ll want to make sure guests have multiple food items to graze on during the course of the evening. Be sure to have both hot and cold selections, and try arranging areas with serving platters in several locations. This will help naturally move people around the event throughout the evening.

Consider serving one or two “signature” drinks, perhaps the couple’s favorite drinks if they have one, along with a selection of beer. Don’t feel like you have to have a fully stocked bar at the Stock The Bar shower! Often, a few well-executed and thought out drinks make a better impression than lots of random liquor bottles, mixers and fruit slices!

Here are a few cocktails that would make great signature drinks for this event, the French Martini and the Tequila Sunrise.

French Martini

What You Need
1 oz. citrus vodka
1 oz. pineapple juice
1/2 oz. Chambord
Lime wedge, for garnish

How To Make It
* Shake vodka, pineapple juice, and Chambord well with ice in a shaker
* Strain into a chilled martini glass
* Garnish with lime wedge

Tequila Sunrise

What You Need
1 1/2 oz. tequila
1 oz. orange juice
Splash of grenadine
Cherry or lime, for garnish

How To Make It
* Add tequila and orange juice to ice
* Top with grenadine and garnish with cherry or lime
* Serve on the rocks

Party Favors

Finally, you’ll want to send your guests home with a unique, fun party favor. One idea guests will love, is a creative display featuring miniature bottles of alcohol, personalized with the couple’s favorite drink recipes and their wedding date. You can use the little mini bottles of liquor, like the kind used on airplanes, or tiny bottles of wine or champagne. All of these selections are commonly found in grocery markets or specialty liquor stores. Tie each bottle with a ribbon and an appropriate drink recipe, and let guests take a handful on their way out.

This party will help your friends get a great start on stocking their bar. Have fun with this shower theme, it’s sure to be one of the couple’s favorite showers!

The premise behind the shower is exactly what you think. Guests will gift the bride with kitchen and pantry staples, like flour, sugar, salt, pepper, rice, Bisquick… just about any dry, packaged or canned item is fair game! The key is you will be asking the guests to present these in a unique or creative fashion. Include a blank recipe card in each invitation, and instruct invitees to write their favorite recipe and the bride’s gift will be associated with the pantry ingredient they have given as a gift, with what is needed to make the recipe! Remind guests to wrap creatively. By the end of the shower, your bride should have loads of pantry staples and recipes for her new kitchen, without ever having to step foot in a grocery store!

I found the cutest shower invitation that’s perfect for this Stock The Pantry theme. It’s a darling design featuring an apron, and has a detachable recipe card. Too cute!

Will We Be Eating Pantry Staples For Our Meal?

NO! Let’s plan a classic ladies’ brunch menu and invite the guests to come around 11:00am. To start, offer guests mimosas when they arrive. A mimosa is simply chilled champagne and chilled orange juice served in a champagne flute. Equal parts of champagne and juice will do the trick! Have regular orange juice and hot coffee and/or tea available for guests as well.

For brunch, plan on having at least one meat entree, an egg dish, a bread dish and a variety of fresh fruit. For a wonderful and easy bacon recipe, try this:

Sweet Oven Cooked Bacon
One package thick-sliced bacon
½ C brown sugar
fresh ground pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, which will help make cleanup a cinch! In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and the pepper. Take each slice of bacon and “dip” it into the sugar mixture, coating both sides. Place each sugared bacon strip on the cookie sheet and twist it, like you’d twist a breadstick. Push down on both ends to secure it to the cookie sheet. Bake 25 minutes or until crisp.

Your kitchen will thank you! No greasy bacon splatters coming from a skillet. When you are finished, simply plate the bacon, roll up the parchment paper and toss it in the trash! Cleanup from bacon will never be easier than this.

There are many recipes for egg dishes out there, ranging from frittatas to quiches to omelettes. You might already have a family favorite that’s your “go-to” egg recipe. Pull it out! If you are hosting this shower during the summer months, try incorporating fresh, seasonal produce: tomatoes, bell peppers and onions are wonderful with eggs.

An easy way to offer a bread item is to prepare something the night before in a casserole dish, and pop it in the oven an hour before your guests arrive. Try this easy recipe for Baked French Toast, courtesy of the Food Network’s Paula Deen:

Baked French Toast
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces) ?8 large eggs ?2 cups half-and-half ?1 cup milk ?2 tablespoons granulated sugar ?1 teaspoon vanilla extract ?1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon ?1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg ?Dash salt ?Praline Topping, recipe follows ?Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.
Praline Topping
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter ?1 cup packed light brown sugar ?1 cup chopped pecans ?2 tablespoons light corn syrup ?1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon ?1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients and blend well.

Add a nice bowl of fresh fruit, garnish with mint sprigs, and you are set!

Don’t Forget the Favors!

The obvious choice is to go with small kitchen gadgets. But with a little creativity, you can come up with something clever! Here’s some food for thought - these cute little spice jars are only $2 each that can be filled with tasty nut mixture or candy assortment. Consider doing a “Recipe In Reverse”, where the bride provides her favorite recipe, and you print copies and attach them to cookie cutters or other small kitchen utensils.

Both make for wonderful favors and will be appreciated by the bride and her guests. Good luck with your shower—have fun!

Nobody Turns Down A Chocolate Party!

When considering invitations, you’ll want to convey that it’s a dessert shower featuring chocolate. As obvious as that may sound, you don’t want to give off the impression that you are providing lunch or dinner if that’s not in the cards. This shower would be ideal for an evening time slot, maybe 7:00 until 8:30pm, if not later.

Under the “dessert” category, Evite.com has a few really cute electronic invitation designs. I especially liked the Chocolate Sprinkles and Dessert Table designs. Although not bridal-shower specific, you can personalize the text to make them your own!

For a more understated, modern look, you could simply go with the chocolate brown color for the actual invitation. I loved the “mochatini” colored paper found at weddingpaperdivas.com. Another contemporary choice, brown with baby blue accents, can be found at tinyprints.com.


With invitations in the mail, it’s time to consider the showstopper, the CHOCOLATE BAR MENU!

Piece De Resistance

For this type of menu - long on selections - you’ll probably want to “outsource” some of the cooking. What I mean is this: head over to your local bakery or specialty cooking store, check out their selection and place an order to complement your favorite homemade items. Some items to think about purchasing: chocolate petit fours and truffles. If these aren’t readily available nearby…try Dean and Deluca or Harry and David online. Although on the pricey side, Dean and Deluca has some fabulous “centerpiece” desserts like the Chocolate Fudge Cake from Dean and Deluca or their amazing Red Wine Truffles, and you might want to consider purchasing just one for a decadent touch at your special occasion. Harry and David’s cheesecake petit fours are delicious!

As you think about your menu, think about how you will display and serve each item. A dessert bar looks best along a countertop or on the dining room table - all together. And a lesson in aesthetics from the catering experts - your table display will look better when presented at different heights. Look for some serving dishes of various heights. Flat plates, tall cake stands, three-tiered dessert servers all work great. If the pickings are slim on your selection of “tall” pieces, use this trick: build height with small boxes, and place a tablecloth over the “stage”. Then, place your serving pieces on top. I would suggest putting all of your serving pieces out, then place a piece of paper on each containing the name of the dessert that will occupy the spot later on. This step will really help you visualize how your buffet will look and plan what you want to serve.

Some suggestions: petit fours, chocolate truffles, bite-size chocolate and raspberry cookies, and even fresh fruit served alongside a fondue pot. You can also have other interesting items available to dip into the fondue, like small pieces of pound cake, marshmallows, angel food cake pieces. Try this recipe for an amazing, easy-to-make Chocolate Hazelnut Torte, courtesy of Heather Carlucci. Delicious!

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte
1 cup hazelnuts
4 ounces semisweet chocolate (we recommend Cluizel Brand)
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
½ cup flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and parchment a 9-inch cake pan In the bowl of a food processor, grind chocolate and hazelnuts down to a fine paste. Add soft butter and sugar and pulse until thoroughly incorporated. Add eggs one at a time. Scrape down bowl carefully, then add the flour. Fill prepared cake pan with torte batter. Spread carefully to level and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until cake tester comes out clean.

Don’t Forget The Beverages!

Even a professed chocoholic like myself has to break down and say that serving hot cocoa is probably going overboard. For this evening, you’ll absolutely want to serve champagne and also some nice, fresh-ground coffee. Incorporate the “chocolate bar” concept into your coffee service, and offer up a rich variety of condiments for guests to add to their coffee. Consider cocoa powder, whipped cream, cinnamon powder, white and brown sugar, half and half, cinnamon sticks and orange zest. Flavored syrups, like the Torani or DaVinci syrups, are a perfect compliment to your coffee or cocktail bar for whipping up delicious chocolate flavored drinks. Some of our favorite chocolate cocktails and espresso drinks are the Cherry Kiss Mocha, Rocky Road Mocha and Mounds Bar Martini.

Cherry Kiss Mocha Recipe
3/4 oz of chocolate syrup
1/4 oz of cherry syrup
1 shot of expresso
Steamed milk

Combine all ingredients in a 12 oz. cup and mix well.

Rocky Road Mocha
1/3 oz toasted marshmallow syrup
1/3 oz macadamia nut syrup
1/3 oz chocolate syrup
1 shot of espresso
Steamed milk

Combine all ingredients in a 12 oz. cup and mix well.

Mounds Bar Martini
6 Tbsp vodka (80 proof)
1 packet Diet Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix
4 Tbsp Torani Sugar Free Coconut syrup
2 Tbsp whipped cream (in dispenser)
Crushed ice
Hot water

Fill a martini shaker halfway with crushed ice. Combine cocoa mix with 2 oz of hot water and mix well. Add 2 oz of cold water and pour the mixsture into the martini shaker. Add the vodka, syrup and whipped cream and cover the top of the shaker. Shake for about a minute or until the liquid is thoroughly chilled. Strain into 2 martini glasses and enjoy! This recipe was featured on the Torani website, which has many more flavored coffee and cocktail recipes for you to consider!

And For Party Favors!

You will enjoy planning your party favors almost as much as the menu itself! Many bridal sites advertise cute tins of mints or chocolates (or chocolate mints!) that can be personalized for your event. These can be a unique, affordable option. You could also look at buying regular old Hershey Bars and having the label custom-printed with the bride’s name…or wedding date…or the shower date. You could have a basket of these setting near the door to hand out as your guests leave for the night. These monogrammed gourmet chocolates make a wonderful favor, too—there are so many different ways you could go with this theme!

Start Setting The Theme With Invitations

Begin with a bang and select a great invitation. We found this cute sushi themed invitation at Madi and Company. It’s perfectly festive and features little rolls of sushi at the bottom. And, priced at only $46.00 for 20 invitations, it’s easy on the checkbook too. If you’re up for digital invitations, try Evite.com, where the invitations and postage are free! Evite had several cute ideas to go along with the sushi party theme. While their current selections are not designed specifically for a bridal shower, the overall design definitely communicates the sushi theme, and you convey shower details in the invitation copy. And if a themed invitation is a bit much for your tastes, a traditional shower invitation is always appropriate, and just add the event details!

Is There Special Sushi Music?

You bet! We found a neat playlist perfect for sushi parties at Imeem.com. Have this great playlist going in the background to add ambiance to the hip, urban feel of your shower. As far as decorating, colorful paper lanterns will look fabulous hanging throughout your house, across your deck or porch. There’s an amazing selection of affordable paper lanterns and accessories at AsianIdeas.com. Check out the site for lots of great decorating ideas incorporating an Asian theme!

Try Making Your Own Sushi!

My first inclination would be to order several beautiful sushi trays from my favorite restaurant. Sushi making seems like lots of work. After mulling it over a bit, I thought that with a little advance prep work on your part, maybe the girls would enjoy learning to make their own sushi rolls for dinner—kind of a shower activity in itself. Plus, you will be getting help in the kitchen without people feeling like they are working. Food Network provides some simple, basic sushi recipes, including the popular California Roll. This is one you should definitely plan on serving. Since it’s mainly cucumber, avacado and rice, it’s a great “starter” roll for novices! It’s not as threatening as some of the other offerings. One thing common to any sushi recipe is well-made Sushi Rice. Here’s one from Alton Brown:

2 cups sushi or short grain rice
2 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear. Place the rice and 2 cups of water into a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi or sashimi.

If you decide to make sushi-making part of the evening’s activities, have a designated hand-washing station for everyone to use. Make sure you have plenty of countertop or table space, since people will be actively rolling their dinners! Provide multiple plates of ingredients to choose from, grouped around each area where your guests will be assembling their sushi. You’ll also want to have dishes of pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce for dipping, when everyone is ready to eat.

Sake Anyone?

And, what would a sushi meal be without sake? Sake is a traditional - and potent - rice wine. You can purchase bottles of sake at most liquor stores. Glass or porcelain sake cups are usually 2 inches tall, and can be found at stores like the Cost Plus Market. Offer drink alternatives too, because not everyone will want sake, and it’s definitely not something that people will drink exclusively throughout the night! Pitchers of jasmine or other flavored iced tea might be a nice touch.

Typically, people enjoy a cup of hot green tea after a sushi meal. This is called agari in Japanese cuisine. You could have a pot of tea brewing and serve something cool and light for dessert. Fresh fruit and sorbet would be nice, and if you want to do a cake, consider a zesty lemon cake.

Gifting the Guests

This theme seems to be growing in popularity as evidenced by the many different kinds of favors available for purchase! I especially liked these individual Japanese incense kits. Apparently, others like them, too—they have recently been featured in both InStyle and Cosmopolitan. At $1.80 each, they are a great price point for a unique, trendy gift. You could also look into purchasing beautiful silk hand fans or even personalized sake cups for each guest to take home.

Ask guests to bring supplies to stock the bride’s pantry with, in addition to the gifts they are bringing to the party. You can include a shopping list in the invitation, circling one item on each guest’s list to make sure the bride doesn’t get too many of one thing.

A sample of our “shopping list”:
Flour
Sugar
Coffee
Tea
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Pancake Mix
Maple Syrup
Pasta
Spaghetti Sauce
Olives
Pickles
Ketchup
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Salad Dressing
Salt
Pepper
Spices
Soup
Canned Vegetables
Canned Fruit
Cereal
Snacks
Soda
Rice
Condiments
Coupons

If you’re hosting the event, bring along brown paper bags to help collect the groceries and supplies.

Personalize the larger items from the registery list with items that can be used with it or assemble a package with a number of smaller items around a central need that you know the bride will love!

Here’s some ideas to get you started:

Cookbooks

Spices
Extracts
Flavored Oils
Salt and Pepper Shakers
Potted Herbs

Wooden Spoons
Mezaluna
Madeline
Nut Cracker and Picks
Corn Holders
Butter Dish
Grater
Nut Grinder
Meat Thermometers (single use or metal)
Candy Thermometer
Grilling Planks
Skewers

Egg or Cooking Timer
Coffee Grinder
Electric Carving Knife
Silpat Baking and Oven Liners

Entertain the guests with a proper tea party, complete with finger sandwiches and an assortment of delectable desserts. Offer a selection of fine teas and coffees for your guests to sample and enjoy.

If the weather permits, consider hosting the shower in a friend’s flower garden or get creative with the location and contact a garden that is maintained by a bead and breakfastt or your city. Another nice location would be an estate or farm and ask if they would be willing to rent space for the event.

Decorations for the Antiques theme bridal shower
An assortment of lace or flowery tablecloths will immediately put guests in a shabby chic kind of mood. Accessorize with candelabras, silver tea sets and flower arrangements. A wonderful idea fthat will both help decorate tables and forever remind your Shabby Chic loving bride of her special day, is to ask guests to bring a variety of vintage dinner and salad plates in flowery patterns. You can specify in the invitation a particular color scheme or theme - like flower, butterflies, etc. This is a wonderful way to help her start building a beautiful china collection that is sure to complement her Shabby Chic decorating style.

The Event
Serve open faced tea sandwiches, like cream cheese and watercress or cucumber, on beautiful silver trays to add a sophisticated touch. Traditional brunch items, like quiche and main course salads will provide a more substantial lunch for guests. Offer beautiful punches, sparkling lemonade and water for refreshments.

Remember to take many pictures of the bride-to-be and her guests during the party, as well as a few group shots.

The gourmet bride will often already have a kitchen equipped with the basics. Focus the shower - and help guide the gifts - towards the more specialized tools or avant garde cuisine.

A more cozy shower for the bride who loves getting together with friends and sharing favorite recipes is perfect for a potluck party where guests bring a dish to pass. Have guests either bring a set of recipe cards with them or ask them to contribute favorite recipes in advance, then present the bride with a spiral bound book containing all of the recipes from friends and family.

Cuisine can be a fun twist on the kitchen bridal shower theme. The party can focus on Italian food for instance, and feature gifts that include cookware, specialty ingredients, themed aprons and linens, and cookbooks. For example, a past pot or pasta maker, ravioli wheel, or balsamic vinegar.

The cookbook bridal shower is a wonderful way to send the bride off to her newlywed life. The choices would be so vast and can be bundled with another gift on the bride’s registry. The cookbooks can be personalized with a signed dedication by the gift giver to remind the bride of the special day.

Click here to see more great bridal shower poems to use in your shower invitations, on favors and during the event.

Gifts at a lingerie shower can include not just lingerie, but everything the bride could possibly need to pamper herself before and after her wedding day.

Ideas for gifts
Sexy nighties
Baby dolls
Lacy bras and panties
Robes
Sexy slippers
Lingerie for her fiance

Decadent body lotions
Perfumes and body spray
Body glitter
Hair care products and accessories
Extra special make-up products
Bath products and accessories
Risque couple games

Gift certificate ideas
Spa treatments
Romantic dinners