Gifts can deliver more than a present—they can become the inspiration for a fantastic shower concept. Using a specific category of gift to theme your shower is great if the soon-to-be-mommy is having more than one shower. Focus on a single category of present—layette, bath time, travel needs, equipment, meal time, or even just diapers. Then build the theme around this gift group. Some ideas for gift-inspired showers could include:

• Splish-Splash—Baby Needs a Bath. Gifts of bath-time supplies from lotion to tub toys can be the beginning of a squeaky-clean theme. Carry out this theme with a rubber ducky on the invitation and a row of them down the table center. Decorate with bright yellow and punches of blue (for a boy) or hot pink (for a girl). Consider using terry washcloths as napkins and giving bath-soap favors, tied with a yellow ribbon and embellished with a giant diaper pin.

• Shake, Rattle, and Roll: A Shower for a Baby Born to Travel. If the family-to-be has a penchant for travel, this is the shower for them. Tie a colorful rattle with a shipping-tag invitation and ask guests to give a gift for the traveling baby; such as car toys, a sand stroller, a travel bed, a beach tent, or a baby-sling carrier.

  Bento-box lunches are portable, interesting, and offer an international flavor to the festivities. A mini-suitcase centerpiece explodes with packable baby necessities— wipes, suntan lotion, disposable bibs, and the like. Give the new parents a stack of pre-addressed postcards and a digital camera to capture precious moments.

  This party can be tweaked to be trip specific—right down to the gifts—camping gear, beach-friendly equipment, or overseas travel needs. So get ready to get these new parents ready to roll.

• Calendar Kid: Baby Needs Month-by-Month. They are little, but their needs change with every passing day. Assign guests a month or a range of months and ask them to bring something that baby would need or enjoy in that developmental period. Make sure you put the due date on the invitation to assist guests in choosing their gift. Invitations could look like a calendar page.

  Create a centerpiece that Mommy can take home—twelve matching picture frames to display baby each month for the first year. Fill frames with baby facts for each month. Incorporate the calendar theme into a game or activity. Mini calendars can be custom ordered and make useful shower favors.