Thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas are one of the best things you can ever bring to a dear friend’s bridal shower — aside from your lovely self, of course!. Brides have so much to deal with while getting ready for the wedding that getting a thoughtful gift or two from those closest to them can really help to lessen some of the stress, at least temporarily. Besides, thoughtful gifts are always a pleasure to receive.
From physical gifts to passes for things the couple can experience together, thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas are everywhere if you know where to look! It all depends on your couple and the things they enjoy. Are they more of a ‘stay at home’ type or are they really adventurous and always ready to travel? Would they appreciate a day at a museum or a theme park more? Make sure you keep both parties in mind when choosing gifts, and try to balance out their influences to hopefully land on something they’ll both really enjoy.
How do you really know what will be appreciated? Well, that all comes down to personality and tastes, and you know your friends better than we do. Here is a list of some thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas to help get your mind working.
A Custom Boat Cover
Thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas start with thinking about the couple, not just the bride. For example, if the couple loves the water and has a boat they both love being on, then custom boat covers might just be the way to go. A gift like this will support and protect something the couple loves doing together and likely have a lot of fond memories of already.
A custom boat cover has a general price point of around $300, but pricier options do exist, ranging from $700 to over a thousand. You’ll obviously need to know what kind of boat is it to be sure the cover will fit it correctly, as well as color or design preferences the couple has. Ideally, you’ll be able to blend their influences into a gift they’ll both appreciate. Depending on your budget, or the spending limit if one is set, this could be a great option for a functional and thoughtful bridal shower gift.
A Pair of Guest Passes for a Place Where the Couple Will Be Honeymooning
Honeymoons should be easy and fun adventures as the couple starts their new life together. You can help make this a reality by giving them something new to add to their travel adventures — a pair of guest passes to a country club or an event local to their honeymoon spot. Spending time together is often a couple’s main goal, especially just after the wedding when everything feels new again, so giving them something to experience together is a great idea.
Thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas tend to take the personalities of both parties into consideration — for example, if there’s a music festival going on in the city where your couple will be honeymooning over the time they’re there, and you know they both love concerts and live performances, this would be a great opportunity to get ahead of what may even be their plans and get them two tickets or pick up their entry fee.
A Personalized Outdoor Decoration for the Couple’s New Home
Whether one is moving in with the other, or they’ve bought a new house together, there’s something a little magical about using decorations to make a space feel like ‘yours’. There are a lot of ways you could go with this, but keeping the couple in mind should make it a little easier. Are they the sort who decorate for each season or are they more of a ‘set it and forget it’ sort when it comes to furniture and decor?
If they love to decorate, then a set of something seasonal like throw pillows with their family name embroidered on them may be a good way to go. You can also go with something that shows off the couple a little more and go with an outdoor decoration. A carved piece of wood or stone with nice design work and their family name can be a great ‘welcome home’ sign atop their home’s frontal architectural stone, and it’ll be deeply appreciated by both parties.
A Gift Certificate for an Essential and Helpful Service for the Couple’s New Home
Thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas often go beyond the honeymoon as well. As fun as honeymoons are, they can be stressful and tiring, and coming back to a messy house can make someone feel even more drained. Something as simple as coming home to a clean house or knowing you don’t have to worry about the cleaning or the lawn for a while can be a great help. Check around to see if a local professional cleaning service offers gift certificates, or if you can pay for a house cleaning or two for the new couple.
While cleaning services are probably the most common choice with this gift idea, don’t let that stop you from exploring other options. Lawn care, house painting, and even landscaping companies may have options for you to check out. Start well before you need the gift and do a few searches for places in your local area with good reviews and gift certificates. You may be surprised at what you find.
A “Honeymoon Essentials” Package
Honeymoon essentials will be a little different for each couple, but if you’re more of the ‘gift basket’ type and have a little extra to spend, putting together some kind of care package for the newlyweds can be one of the many thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas. This can be as innocent or risqué as you feel is appropriate — you can include gift cards to a place the couple might visit, tickets to events, books about the location they’ve chosen, or whatever you feel suits them best.
If a couple is more outdoorsy, then a packing list, outdoor supplies, trail mix, and things of that nature would make a great honeymoon basket idea. If they’re more likely to frequent the museums while away, then books about the history of the city and the artists they might enjoy might be a good centerpiece. You could even put together something simple like a movie-night basket or something else to let the bride let her hair down, especially after the stress of the wedding.
A Gift Card to a Highly Sought After Spa
While spa days aren’t for everyone, they can be a wonderful way to relax, especially after a big event. They often have a variety of treatments designed to tackle stress from all angles. The beauty of a gift like this is that the bride (or the couple) can choose when to use it. Maybe it would be better saved until they’re in the middle of doing that major home renovation they’ve been planning.
Gifts like these are generally a safe choice because they don’t expire and can be used when they’re really needed, especially if you know the couple is planning to do something where the stress may be higher for a while, like moving or a home remodel.
All that said, spa days shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for treatment by a physician. If you suspect something is actually wrong beyond someone being a little stressed or on-edge, it’s best to talk with them about it rather than let it go on and potentially become an even bigger problem. Thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas begin with thoughtful friends.
A Helpful Kitchen Appliance
Kitchen appliances are almost always a safe bet when it comes to gifts for newlyweds who are building a home together. This can be a microwave, an air fryer, a popcorn maker — whatever you think fits them best or that the bride has actually said they need. Appliances help with the flow of daily life and getting something new and meant to be shared can really symbolize the start of a new chapter in the bride’s life.
Whatever you choose, try to fit the color scheme they either have or would like to have in the kitchen so that everything blends well and the aesthetic remains consistent. Black goes with everything, but if all their other appliances are a specific shade of teal that the bride loves and you can find the needed appliance in that shade, go ahead and make it match.
Granted, there are some things that appliances can’t make up for, and if the problem is really the kitchen space rather than the lack of a specific appliance, then their best bet would really be to find a real estate agent once they’re back in town and settled from the honeymoon.
A Pair of Personalized Matching Robes for the Newlyweds
When it comes to thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas, personalized gifts always add a little extra flair. Robes are a popular choice because they’re both comfortable and functional, and can be easily personalized with colors and embroidery. Other personalized gifts can include coffee mugs, throw pillows, and outdoor signs. If you’re not sure fully personalized is the way to go, you can always spring for something that reads ‘Mrs or even ‘bride,’ depending on the recipient’s personality and the sort of things she might be likely to buy for herself.
If you’re going with the robe idea and know that the couple is looking to remodel the house later down the line, you might take it one step further and look into a small part of it, like shower remodeling or even bathroom remodeling, and see if you can’t find someone with a good reputation in the area who can handle the job. Not only will you have given the bride something useful and comfortable to wear, but you will have taken a little stress off of her later on when she’s trying to get the project done.
A Gift Basket for an At-Home Date Night
Some nights you just want to stay in. Similar to the honeymoon essentials package idea above, this gift basket would contain everything the couple would need for a nice, quiet date night at home. What would be included will vary a little from couple to couple but might include: food of some kind (a meal kit or even just some popcorn for a movie night), some kind of sparkling drink and glasses, candles, a board game or two, and more.
Everyone knows some of the best dates ends in playful food fights but if someone else decided to get them a house cleaning gift certificate, at least they’ll have the best prices on carpet cleaning!
Thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas are everywhere if you just know where to look and keep the couple in mind while you’re planning. Some of the best gifts are handmade and from the heart, like gift baskets full of experiences, knowledge, and love. If the bride is more playful, stay light-hearted. If she’s the more serious sort, then practicality might be the way to go. The point is to understand the couple as a unit and then give them things that will support that union.
And, if none of these is quite the right fit, just searching for thoughtful bridal shower gift ideas is bound to bring up more options than you can handle. At the end of the day, nothing can replace really knowing the people you’re buying for, wishing them well, and hoping they have a bright future together.
Whether it’s a physical gift like a decorative stone engraved with the family name or something more experienced-based like a pass to an event or a club, if you really stop and think it through before you buy, the bride (and the couple) are sure to love it.
