Once upon a time, a girl decided to marry a poor miller. Her father was so upset by this that he refused to give her a dowry. So her friends got together and gave her everything that she would need to set up her home. Thus was born the tradition of the bridal shower.

Bridal showers have been around for ages. Like in the legend, the original purpose of a bridal shower was to give the bride gifts for her new home. Nowadays, most brides already have their own homes even before they get married so perhaps the original rationale for a bridal shower doesnt hold up quite so well. But a bridal shower is still a great excuse for the bride and those near and dear to her to get together and party.

Here are some bridal shower ideas that are guaranteed to give a cool new twist to an old tradition:

• Have a bridal shower theme: Theres nothing like a well-chosen theme to make a bridal shower celebration unique and memorable. A theme also gives the event some structure and provides ideas for the decorations and entertainment. For instance, you could have a Four Seasons Shower and ask each guest to bring a gift that the bride could do with during a particular season. Another popular bridal shower idea is the Celebrations theme. The guests bring gifts that are linked to a particular festival. For a more unique bridal shower, pick a theme that reflects either the brides or grooms interests or situation. For instance, if you know that the couple are going to be entertaining a lot, have Great Parties as a theme with guests bringing gifts that will make entertaining a lot easier. If the couple loves to cook, pick a theme centered around food and ask the guests to bring a favorite recipe of theirs along with a difficult to find (and non-perishable!) ingredient. If the bride is moving away from the place where she used to live, then a Memories theme would be perfect. Each guest could bring something that he or she feels will remind the bride most of him or her.

• Have a Bridal Shower Keepsake book: The book has various sections like Wishes, Favorite memory of the Bride and Advice for a Bride-to-be (add any more that you can think of). Each guest fills in an entry in each of the sections. After the bridal shower is over, add on snaps of the event. Is there a better way to preserve memories of a bridal shower for ever?!

• Make a photo collage: Ask each guest to bring a photo of themselves with the bride to the bridal shower. Put the collage together and get it laminated and framed after the party. We guarantee that the bride will love the idea!

• Think up a new game: Typical bridal shower games like charades and word scrambles can get a bit dull after sometime, so a new game can be a great bridal shower idea. For instance, why not design a quiz about the bride? Alternatively, each guest gets to ask the bride one question that the bride has to answer truthfully.

• Stage a musical: Put together an act with dialogues and popular songs that gently spoof the brides life so far. This one is guaranteed to bring the house down!

Remember that when it comes to bridal showers, tradition can only get you so far. With these great bridal shower ideas and your imagination, the sky is the limit.