The Best Shower Gifts

When it comes to wedding preparations, nothing gets a bride more excited about her big day than her bridal shower. This is the time when her close friends and family get her prepared to be a Mrs. a few months before the wedding. It's great to give the "normal" bridal gifts, such as the things she thinks she'll need on her registry. But it is also fun to give some original and fun do-it-yourself gifts when you have a more creative spirit. A DIY gift is one that is usually fun to make, very thoughtful, and will be talked about for years to come. They'll truly always remember who gave them those personalized totes for the honeymoon or that special wall art that has their name and wedding date adorned upon it. Here are some other great ideas for some really cool DIY wedding shower gifts.

Photo by Wicker Paradise (Flickr)

Date Night

Help the bride and groom come up with some creative ways to spend time together after the wedding. You can make a can of dates with lots of little suggestions for cute ways to spend the evening together. A jar of cheap date ideas can be labeled "8 dates for $40" and can include a couple of 20-spots along with the fun suggestions.

Wall Art

A great thing that the newlyweds will need to decorate their home together is some personalized wall art. Using a fancy font on any word program on the computer, your printer and some pretty paper, create a framed decorative picture that includes their names, the wedding date and a pretty picture of the happy couple. This can also be produced for coasters, pillows and throws and can add a sweet touch to any room. A photo collage for the wall is always a great focal point to any room as well.

Scrap Books and Photo Albums

Something that will save the bride a lot of time is to make a pre-pictured photo album or scrap book for the new couple. You can make one to be used for the honeymoon pictures, their first year together, or a book of all of their firsts that they'll experience as a married couple.

Personalized Items

Any type of item that the bride and groom will use that is personalized is always a hit at the bridal shower. It could be a "Mr. and Mrs." robe for each, monogrammed pillow cases, matching aprons with their names or personalized wine glasses to be used on the big day. There are so many great ideas for DIY items that can be personalized.

Baskets

Gift baskets are a common occurrence for big occasions, but no two baskets are ever alike. You can get creative in so many different ways for gift basket ideas. Create a date basket that will include an old romantic movie, a blanket for two, a bag of popcorn and two sodas. Make a picnic basket so that all that needs to be added is the food. Create a camping basket using a cooler and filling it with all the fixings for s'mores, matches and a tent for two. A bubbly basket can include a bottle of bubbly for every occasion for their first year. You can label the bottles with all of the firsts: wedding night, first anniversary, first baby, first Christmas and first house. Other great ideas include a laundry basket filled with plush towels, detergent and fabric softener, or a kitchen basket filled with dish towels, several different kitchen tools that you normally don't think about and some uncommon spices, too.

Emergency Kits

A great idea for the bride is a wedding day emergency kit. Put inside a needle and thread, some Band-Aids, hairspray, a nail file, bobby pins and any other last minute need a bride may have. An emergency honeymoon kit could include a small bottle of pain reliever, Band-Aids, a nail file, a little bit of cash, a few magazines and a couple of mini-bottles of water for their time spent traveling.

It is always nice to get the necessities that you've registered for on your bridal registry, but it's also nice to receive gifts that your friends and family have put a lot of thought and hard work into. Nothing is better than having a special personalized gift for all of the years we are married that shows how much we are loved.