Holidays are great excuses for a party. Having the shower reflect one makes it even more memorable!

Fourth of July/Independence Day Party

Any time is a good time for a Fourth of July party! Is your bride marrying near this holiday? Are either of the couple in the military? Are they going to Philadelphia or D.C. for the honeymoon? Is either of them from there? Is it summer? Does one or both of them realize marriage means a modification of their independence? Can you think of any excuse?

The coolest thing about holiday parties is that you can get cheap, cheap, cheap decorations if the holiday has already passed for real. You know what to do—get some firecrackers, dress everything in red, white, and blue.

Obviously, the invitation will have to explain it's the Fourth of July in May, but make clever invitations with silver stick-on stars on blue construction paper with red and white tissue-paper streamers.

Christmas in April/June/July ... or Even December!

Here's a lovely idea for winter brides, especially if there will be more than one shower, if the shower is coed, or if the shower is for a couple who are entering second marriages.

Theme your party around Christmas! Have everyone bring a Christmas ornament or some other carefully selected holiday decoration for the happy couple. You could give Santa hats to everyone who shows up (which would make for great pictures). Why not hire the Stripping Santa (for the right crowd), serve eggnog, stack the presents in a sleigh you made out of cardboard, give the guests sugar cookies or gingerbread men as take-home gifts, and decorate the halls with balls of holly!

Of course, your invitation will have to explain the apparently wrong season, if it is. Cute invitations might be two pieces of red-stocking felt sewn together in seconds on your machine, with a white tassel or puff ball on top. Inside, you could insert white triangle-shaped cards with the party info on them. Or what about buying some silk/polyester mistletoe and attaching an invitation to it with a sparkling gold or silver ribbon or wire?

Other Holidays Near the Wedding Day

If there is any holiday at all that's your favorite or the bride's, why not recreate it for the shower? Nobody says we can only have one per year, and decorating for this holiday will be a snap! (Especially if the real one has recently passed!) Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Easter, Lincoln's Birthday, there really isn't anything you cannot do! It will make it easy to decorate and theme, yes, but it could also be a great time for guests who will create fond new memories! If it snows at Christmas in your part of the world, have everyone wear bathing suits and Santa caps to your party in July!