Looking for bridal shower theme ideas? You’ve come to the right place!

Okay, there is nothing wrong with a kitchen shower or a lingerie shower. We’ve all thrown them, attended them, or had them.

But if your best friend is getting married and you’re looking for a more creative way to celebrate her upcoming marriage, here are some new bridal shower theme ideas to get everyone excited (or at least, having a good time while they wait for the bachelorette party!) Find great ideas in a variety of places, from the bride-to-be herself to wedding idea blogs and websites.

The great outdoors — If you’re more likely to find the bride and groom in a kayak or on the trail than in front of the television, give them a shower to match their passion. Outdoor gear, including zip-together sleeping bags, a cozy tent for two, kayak paddles or dry bags are just some of the things an outdoorsy pair might like. Hold the shower outdoors, or decorate indoors to match their favorite setting.

Scrapbooker’s dream – If the bride is an avid scrapbooker, make sure she has all the scrapbook supplies she needs to document that precious first year. Combine the shower with a crop, and just so everyone in the room is scraping about love and romance, make the theme “Pages of Love.” Give her paper, binders, stickers, die-cuts and other embellishments to match her honeymoon destination, wedding theme and first year location.

At the gym — Fitness showers are great bridal shower theme ideas for couples who share a passion for working out. Get a giant gym bag, and fill it with the gifts, including water bottles, towels, his-and-hers sweatshirts and tee-shirts, protein bars, iTunes gift cards, exercise mats and gift certificates for shoes or classes. The theme music?  The old Olivia Newton John classic “Let’s get Physical“, of course!

Recipes A to Z — Get the bride and groom off to a great start with a box full of recipes and a pantry stocked to match. Have everyone bring their favorite recipe on a card (send them the cards in advance so they’re all the same size) along with all of the non-perishable ingredients. Hire a professional chef to give a cooking demonstration at the shower. (Note: Make sure people bring unopened packages of the ingredients, rather than just the amount called for in a given recipe.)
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Keep it clean — If the bride and groom are coming right from college or home, odds are they’ll need cleaning supplies and equipment like vacuum cleaners, dusters and cleaning products.  But wait…before you yawn, this is not just another one of those old boring bridal shower theme ideas! Every guest should bring something for cleaning — and something, well, a bit dirty. I’ll leave the actual ideas on this one up to you. After all, these are soon-to-be newlyweds! A little clean, a little naughty, all adds up to a great first year together!

This old house – A lot of people are taking advantage of dropping housing prices and buying a fixer-upper to start their life together. If your friends are about to jump into both marriage and the DIY life, get them started with a shower of gifts that will help them whip their house into shape. Power tools and hand tools, DIY books, safety gear and gift cards for local home improvement stores are all great gifts for this shower.

No matter what theme you choose, make sure the theme and shower gifts that go along with it are right for the bride and groom. A wedding shower is a wonderful time to honor a best friend, sister, neighbor or colleague as they start their new life. Enjoy!