Weddingbee boards

So both of my sisters are my bridesmaids - and have offered to throw us a shower.  (which I realize family is not supposed to do - but I think being bridesmaids offsets this a bit).  So they came up with one idea - which I like but am not sure how they are going to flush it out.

The theme would be "Kentucky Derby" except they can't have it over Kentucky Derby weekend because of conflicts.  We want it to be a coed shower.  We can have it over one of the other Triple Crown races, but I'm not sure how else to tie this into a shower theme.  Also everyone seems to be into gift themes and I'm not sure what gift theme would go.  (we have one other shower planned and that is a "tool" shower).

Any thoughts - I don't want to squash their creativity but I'm just not sure how this is going to turn out.  And they specifically asked me for a gift theme - so they are open to suggestions. Is there a similar theme that wouldn't be called "Kentucky Derby"?

Don't worry about the old tradition that your family is not supposed to host the shower (or that it wasn't allowed to happen at the bride's family's house). This was true a long time ago when it was expected that the bride's family was paying for the wedding, so the tradition is that they weren't supposed to be expected to pay for the shower, too.

Nowadays, with weddings being paid for by a variety of methods, and bridal parties are a compilation of family and friends, I don't see any probs with having them host your shower.  Have fun!

And the gifts could be "stock the bar" - bring you the ingredients for their favorite drink to enjoy before/during/after the races. I am just picturing mint juleps in silver cups, crown and coke, etc.

The first thing that comes to mind is betting on the races...which makes me think of those instant lotto scratch-off tickets.  Games-wise, those can be fun prizes.  Who wouldn't want a chance to win $1,000 a week for life!  (or whatever the monetary amount is).  It's not a bad gift idea either....I once included 1 scratch-off per day for the bride-to-be (so if her shower was 14 days before the wedding, she would get 14 tickets with her presents) in hopes that she would win something substantial. 

Luck!  You can have a luck theme.  Lucky at the races (because of betting)... lucky in love... For one shower I attended, the MOH had written a cute poem to tie in the theme and give people ideas...  yours could say,

We hope she'll be lucky at the races

We know she's been lucky in love

But sometimes luck runs out (okay and my creative juices are running out here, seriously)

So you need some help being lucky in the kitchen (get it, kitchen gadgents, recipes, cookbooks make you better in the kitchen)

Lucky in the bedroom (lingeree)

Lucky as a hostess.. (stemware, glasses)

It is late - maybe this is just a good idea in my head!   But that was my shot at it.  The invitations can have horseshoes - lottery cards in the gift baskets for the guests...