All women have been through the bridal shower ritual, whether as a guest, a host, or as the center of attention - the bride.
You know the ropes.
You get together, play silly games, watch the bride open her gifts, eat, and go home.
Nothing ever seems to change in the bridal shower formula.
So it's up to you the next time you host a shower to break out of the mold and come up with new ways to entertain your guests.
The first thing you need to do is make some decisions.
These might include: * Where will you hold the shower? * What date and time will work out best for you and the bride? * Are you having a theme that guests will need to prepare for? * What sort of dress should everyone wear, formal, casual, or other? All of these decisions need to be made before you think about sending out the invitations.
If you wait until afterward to plan, you'll probably end up with one of those same old showers again.
So think everything out first.
Although your living room and the church basement are tempting places to hold the shower, because they're free, try to avoid using them.
After all, that's been done a million times.
If you want free, how about taking your party to a beautiful, local park where you can take advantage of the shade to lay out a lavish picnic spread.
You'll be able to accommodate a lot of guests with a few hotdogs and a bowl of potato salad! If your guest list is short and you don't mind putting out a little cash, you might have the shower in a tea house.
Or if your guests are young, have an evening shower in a pub or restaurant.
You'll be able to get deals on appetizers from some of these businesses, and let your guests pay for their own drinks or else pay for one drink for them and let them cover the rest.
Maybe you can think of another place that would be fun for a shower.
Go ahead and see what you can find out about making arrangements there.
Of course, the best part of having a shower that's not in your home is that you don't have to clean the house in advance, and you also won't have to clean up the mess afterwards.
If you do decide to have it in your home, decorate your home and do a little role playing to make guests feel that they're somewhere else.
For example, you and your co-hostesses can dress as elegant waiters and create the ambiance of a high-end restaurant.
Or you can decorate your living room to look tropical, wear grass skirts, and give each guest a plastic lei.
If you have your bridal shower on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon like most people do, you may find yourself competing for your guests' attention.
They'll be sitting there watching the clock and waiting for the shower to be over so that they can go do their usual weekend pursuits.
Instead, consider having your shower on a week night.
You'll find that more people will be able to attend in the evening, and it will give everyone a welcome respite from their busy weekday schedules.
You might consider a Saturday morning shower, too, where you can serve punch, finger sandwiches, an array of fresh fruit, some luscious muffins, and coffee.
The popularity of themed bridal showers has grown to amazing proportions lately as everyone is tired of the same old showers.
Make your theme something that the bride enjoys doing.
Is she a golfer? Use golf-related decorations and favors and make your bridal shower cake look like a giant golf ball or a putting green.
Request that guests include a golfing novelty in the package with their gift.
Maybe your bride is an artist.
Design your cake in the shape of an artist's palette, and use blobs of colored icing around the edges to look like paint.
You might ask your guests to dress for the party in painting smocks, berets, and mustaches.
Set an example for everyone by being light-hearted.
If you can get them to clown around with you, they'll start to interact, even if they don't know each other.
Another theme that makes a big hit is one that revolves around a tropical Caribbean theme.
Have guests come attired in crazy tourist-type outfits, and serve everyone some type of fruity drink with a paper umbrella in it.
If you have a pool, you could include a swim as part of the entertainment.
Otherwise, tell them to leave their bikinis at home.
For food you'll want to go through your cookbooks to find unique appetizers to try.
Make sure you taste them before the shower, though.
Even though you choose simple food items, you can garnish them to look quite fancy.
For example, you can try this easy recipe for a garnish: Starting at the top of a tomato, peel a strip about a half inch wide down to the bottom of the tomato.
You can then roll the strip up to resemble a rose and place several of them around your food trays for an added attraction.
Another idea is to decorate your food and your cake with real flowers that can be eaten, such as pansies and nasturtiums.
Some of your braver guests may even take you up on eating them.
Whether anyone is game enough to eat them or not, though, they'll look pretty and festive.
Your bridal shower can be as creative as you plan it to be.
Having something new and unique will make the occasion a truly special one for the bride.
Even if you don't change a whole lot, whatever you come up with will make a difference.