When we got married, we received a ton of gifts from family members of all kinds, ranging from towels to a weird statue of a hobbit to a knife set to towels to a handmade quilt to towels. Needless to say, we still have plenty of towels.
Does this wedding story sound familiar?
Trent of The Simple Dollar has deftly put his finger on the wedding guest’s biggest problem… You’re invited to a wedding, you want to bring a gift to show your affection and best wishes in a tangible way, but you don’t want to make a disastrous wedding gift choice —
Oh look, yet another blender!
How, er, thoughtful of you, Jen, thank you so much…
What to do?
Trent has kindly drawn up a list of books and gadgets he’s calling The Frugal Wedding Registry: Wedding Gift Ideas To Help Put That Special Couple On A Sound Financial Path.
Today, though, there are only a few that really stand out from the pack, gifts that really stuck with us and proved to be really useful in our life. In every case, these gifts were ones that helped us to be more frugal and do more things for ourselves. They’ve saved us money, saved us time, and helped us to build a richer relationship.
A crock pot, for example.
You can’t go far wrong with a crock pot… and a decent cookbook.
Me, I always like to give the young couple a gift that will keep on giving, and bail them out at tense domestic moments —
The Bridal Tool Kit
— that is, a toolbox filled with all the basic essentials to keep the home intact and running smoothing. A hammer, screwdriver set, adjustable wrench, that sort of thing. And, just to be realistic, I always toss in a roll of duct tape and a tube of crazy glue. Maybe some picture hangers and a lovely assortment of electrical fuses…
The exact selection of items for your Bridal Tool Kit will depend a bit on how “handy” either member of the couple might be, as well as where they’re going to be living, like whether there’s a competent super in the building or a kind plumber who’s living next door!
Okay, a tool kit is definitely not the most romantic wedding gift, but don’t you think that the newlyweds will probably get all the scented candles and monogrammed towels they’ll need, from other guests?
p.s. twoknives, maybe no http:// on your website address in your comment? I’m a fan, so dropping it clickable here: http://twoknives.net
(My jaw is still dropped in shock and outrage over the info you dropped about the Kleenex company’s tree-killing ways!)
Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about. I could really use a folding step stool myself, come to think of it!
Another idea that goes down well in the long term is a serving dish that’s divided into sections, believe it or not. One of those things you don’t think you’ll ever use… and then it turns out to be the only possible serving piece for every third occasion. A rectangle dish with three compartments, simple stoneware, suits just about all…
The best gift we got was a fold-flat stepstool. Not romantic, but used until death parted us. Us and the stepstool, I mean.