How to Know What to Bring to a Bachelorette Party

Unless you are the Maid of Honor or the Bride, you should never show up at a Bachelorette party empty handed. Bring a small, personal gift or offer to provide some of the refreshments, but at least bring something. The bride, of course, is excused, but so is the Maid of Honor who is usually the hostess for this pre wedding event. (Most will still give the bride a small gift, but it is certainly not necessary at the Bachelorette party.)

A good suggestion is a bottle of wine. It does not have to be expensive- just a nice bottle will do. If you know the bride's preference shop for that, if not then it really doesn't matter whether you choose red or white wine. If you truly do not know anything at all about wine, then ask the clerk for advice, or do what I do: pick the bottle by the label. I go for the prettiest, or most unusual labels, and that will be my choice.

If you know that the bride never drinks, or never drinks wine anyway, then try an assortment of goodies for the wedding night. Buy a pretty basket, and then fill it with condoms, lotions, toys and batteries- whatever your naughty self can find. The basket can be used in any room of the house, and the rest will either be greeted with great joy or huge embarrassment, but isn't that part of the Bachelorette party anyway?

Create a special sort of memory book for the bride: a few days or weeks before the Bachelorette party, ask friends and family for their best sex tips. Some people will be offended, and if they are, do not press, but others will love the idea. Gather the tips and write them out on paper cut to fit in the pages of a photo album. Wrap this book up and give it to the bride-to-be. She will think she has just unwrapped a lame book filled with sappy photos, when in fact she has a sultry book of surprising tips. ( For everyone's sanity, skip adding the names at the bottom of each tip. No one needs to know what turns Uncle Irving on .)

Gather coupons and gift cards to local restaurants and bars and tie them together with a pretty ribbon. Give these as an additional gift at the Bachelorette party. Of course, if you could find a way to tie this gift in to your actual wedding gift, that would be pretty classy too.

Depending on how close you are to the bride, you may or may not know her favorite things. If you do, then chose some small, but special item that will make her feel special and bring that with you. If you are meeting at the local club for this Bachelorette party, do not buy a crystal swan- how long do you think that thing will remain whole once the drinking and dancing gets started? Keep in mind where you will be going, and keep in mind that you are not substituting this gift for the wedding gift. It just needs to be something small and personal, if you feel you have to, you can go big and showy with the wedding present.