With the wedding dead ahead, the bride needs a chance to let loose, forget about all those lost wedding invitations, wrong-size bridesmaid shoes, and overpriced buffet bids. Give her a bachelorette party so she can relax, be silly, spend time with her girlfriends, and enjoy one last night of being single. Here are some tips to help make the blushing bride blush a little more - at her "Last-Chance Bachelorette Bash."
 

Bachelorette parties come in a variety of themes, from elegant wine-tasting evenings to raucous late-night rages. Ask the bride what type of party she prefers, then brainstorm ideas with her to create the perfect party. Here are some suggestions you might consider:
 

• Send party invitations written on colored condoms.

• Decorate the party room with condoms, some blown up, others tied together to make streamers, and giant joke condoms as a centerpiece.

• "Rubbergrams," custom-made condom invitations that magically appear in water-filled plastic jars, are available from rubbergrams.com.

• Make corsages from ribbed and colored condoms, tied together with ribbon.

• Ask the guests to bring gifts decorated with condoms.

• Ask them to wear outfits enhanced creatively with condoms.

• Play a game called Condom Pop - the first player to blow up a condom and get it to pop wins a prize.

• Serve a cake in the shape of a condom!

  Bridesmaid's Embarrassment!
   

• Invite the guests using a photocopied picture of your bridesmaids' dresses, or pictures of bridesmaid dresses cut from a magazine.

• Ask the guests to wear an old bridesmaids dress (suggest they go to the thrift shop if they haven't saved their old dresses.) Award a prize for the most hideous dress.

• When the guests arrive, let them embellish their ugly dresses with accessories - mismatched gloves, clunky heels, gaudy costume jewelry, iron-on patches, fabric paints, and so on. Award a prize for the ugliest.

• At game time, have the guests design a wedding dress for the bride out of tissue paper.

• Buy old dyed-to-match shoes at the thrift shop, and award a prize for the first Cinderella who can fit into one of the shoes.

  Single Girl's Funeral

• invite the guests to mourn the loss of the bride-to-be's single status by sending out funeral notices or tombstone-shaped cards.

• Ask them to wear black in honor of the occasion - but to be creative with the black outfit they choose. That means anything goes - bathing suits to bridal gowns - as long as it's black!

• Have the guests come prepared to read personalized, humorous eulogies for the bride.

• Ask them to bring along a funny gift related to the theme, such as a little black book with all the pages ripped out, a ball and chain, a hairnet, slippers and bonbons for the future housewife, a maternity blouse.

• Hire a "minister" to surprise the guests as a stripper.

• Recreate the honeymoon destination as a pre-party celebration of the couple's romantic week ahead. For example, if the bride is going to a tropical island for her honeymoon:
• Invite the guests with beach postcards.
• Decorate the party room with leis, coconuts, and tiki torches

• Serve pina coladas, pineapple, and roasted pig.
• Do the limbo.
• Give her gifts for her honeymoon, such as beach towels, guidebooks, and sunhats.
• Have the guests dress in costumes that match the destination, such as Hawaiian shirts, muumuus, bikinis, and grass skirts.
   

O U T   A N D   A B O U T
You still want to whoop it up with an unforgettable night on the town-just without the insulting paraphernalia and leering frat boys. Go for it, sister. Strip bars and dance clubs aren't the only places where you can roast your girlfriend and get a little crazy.

• Limos
  Call it a moveable party or just a good excuse to act like a high school senior heading to the prom. Renting a limo lets you take the party on the road-and this time you can drink legitimate booze instead of passing around covert wine coolers. Book a car and driver and fill a cooler with bubbly (Baby Pipers sipped through the straw will make you feel very Carrie Bradshaw). Burn a couple CDs so you have some soundtracks ('70s disco and '80s new wave are never the wrong mix) and aren't fiddling with the radio dial all night. Give the driver a list of destinations-or not. It's almost more fun just careening around town: destination unknown.

B E Y O N D
When all else fails, hit the road. However fun anything is locally, it's always more so in a new city. Head to wine country, the mountains or the beach. Or aim for the jackpot and join the non-stop party in Vegas. Just book your weekend well in advance so all the girls can make it-because the right combination of friends is ultimately the most important part of any party.

No need to try to emulate the guys with a bar-crawl—and-stripper combo. Get creative and offer your gal pals a better bonding experience-anything from a night of beauty to a road trip. Read on! One of these alternatives should fit you and your maids perfectly.

Break out the marshmallows and sleeping bags and set your sights on the great outdoors, whether you're barely roughing it in a fully-stocked cabin or getting out the old girl-scout tent and sitting around the campfire.

"My camping bachelorette party was so much fun," says Sherry R. in San Francisco. "We had the best- looking campsite around-everyone brought tons of candles to make it festive and beautiful. We hiked, talked around the fire—and everyone offered to take on wedding tasks for me. I came home feeling so connected to my friends and with a great sense of relief that I didn't have to do everything myself!"

Luxe Lady

If all-out pampering blisses you out, get the girls together and hit the local spa for all the seaweed wraps, facials and massages you can handle. There'll be plenty of time to chat in the hot tub!

Black Magic Woman

Hire a tarot card reader or psychic to give everyone a glimpse into their fabulous futures.

Kitsch Queen

For your party, give everyone a chance to dig way, way back into their closets and finally rewear that fuchsia taffeta bridesmaid gown (or prom dress) with the bubble skirt and jumbo-sized bow in the back. (Serve plenty of cheese to complement the cheese factor of the party fashion statements.)

Treasure Hunt

Your gals can come up with a list of daring feats for you to accomplish by the end of the evening, from kissing a bald man's head to getting seven men's phone numbers. The quickest way to throw this party together is with "Bachelor-Et-A-Kit," which includes a scavenger-hunt list along with a bridal T-shirt, veil and garter for the guest of honor. Call 888/4-FUN-KIT for more info.

Blushing Bride

It wouldn't be a bachelorette party without a little embarrassment for the guest of honor. Your bridesmaids can deck you out in a standout ensemble, whether it's a hand-decorated T-shirt with pens for all the guests to sign their well-wishes, or a swath of tulle pinned to your head. Or maybe they'll come up with a more interesting accessory. "At one bachelorette party, the bride paraded around with a life-size photo of her future hubby's head on a stake," says Lauren C. from Washington, D.C. "She had to introduce her 'husband' to the other bar patrons." See below for more real-life "best and worst" bachelorette party memories.

Sentimental Fool

Get a blast from the past when you dig out the old college and high-school yearbooks. Stop off at your hangouts of yore, and make a killer mix of those '80s tunes you loved-though you might want to stop at recreating your big '80s hairstyle.

Wandering Spirit

Take to the road (or the air) for a weekend adventure to the beach, the mountains, or even Las Vegas-wherever the mood (and the budget) takes you.

Sleeping Beauty

Throw an old-fashioned sleepover. Hang out in your comfiest pajamas and munch on Oreos and Ben & Jerry's while you give each other manicures, braid one another's hair and giggle over boys.

Miss Adventure

If you and your friends thrive on adrenaline, get them together for your adventure of choice-learn to scuba dive or sail, or take the leap and try skydiving. Or just head out for an all-day hike followed by a picnic.

Gourmet Gabfest

Create an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet, filled with everything from tortes to tarts (and don't forget the chocolate fondue). Just one caveat-host this party at least a few weeks before the wedding, so no one splits a seam come wedding day.