If they are related to the bride or if they are in the bridal party (flower girl). When in doubt, ask the bride her preference; she should be supplying the guest list. Generally, children should be kept at a minimum unless they fit in the above categories. You can always have a separate room / party for them while the shower is taking place; then when the meal is served; bring them out.
There is nowhere in the Bible that it talks about bridal showers. Bridal Showers were invented by society.
Whether you know the bride or not you should bring a gift to her bridal shower. You also have the right to not attend the wedding shower especially if you are not invited to the wedding.
Only if the bride wants her there.
If you are not invited to the bridal shower dose not mean your not wanted at the wedding . So go to the wedding .
Not all are. This is a choice the the party-giver; whether to surprise the bride (or it can also be said the same for baby showers too). This can be tricky however; what if the guest of honor is not looking her best / feeling her best at party time? Somebody has to be in charge of this person to make sure all is going to work out smoothly. Have fun. Always remember, those invited to the shower should be invited to the wedding - tacky to invite someone to the shower when they aren't invited to the wedding.
You can find many ideas for bridal showers at www.bridalshowerday.com or other related sites that you can search. Also you can watch E! channel to find great ideas, [they have a lot of wedding and bridal shows]. And you can ask friends who have been married what they did for their bridal showers!
Unless the bride/couple has specifically requested that there NOT be a bridal shower, they are always acceptable. Attention should be paid to holding the shower in a location and with a theme with which the bride will be comfortable.
They are ok, but the gift opening part is always pretty boring.
Yes, it is generally a western tradition. However, Germans also partake in this tradition of bridal showers with pretty significant regularity.
At special occasions and bridal showers
It is in poor taste to have a bridal shower at the home of the bride's mother. The bride's aunts or friends host showers.
A bridal shower is, indeed, the same as a stagette - also known as a stag party for the bride. Bridal showers, though, have a less raunchy connotation compared to Stagette.