Wedding Gifts that are both Useful and Fun

Bed linen? Dinnerware? Cash? So many choices, so little time. So what does one get for the bride and groom?

Before you panic, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

1. Be personal, but tasteful

In case you are winging it, ensure you know the bride & groom so well that the very best gift is not simply a matter of guesswork. Take the wedding litmus test: Have you known the groom-to-be or bride-to-be longer than their mate? Have you shared a twin bed, college dorm, or occasional beer and hotdog? Is one of them your nephew, dearest childhood friend or your kid’s really close friend that you know their most intimate secrets? In case the answer is YES, you should wait no more. But in case you want to ask a third party what they think the happy couple really desires, make that third party a shop clerk – one who can read the gifts off the wedding registry.

2. Go practical

It might help to be married yourself and understand the sort of stuff a bride and groom will actually need.
On the surface, one may think that finding the very best gift for the happy couple is a breeze. It’s true – the happy couple has gone through the trouble of registering to tell you what they really need and where one can get it. On the other hand, talk to the bride & groom a couple of years after the wedding, and they are most likely to say that the perfect gifts they got did not come from their wedding gift registry.

Just keep in mind, these same brides and grooms most probably have several not-so-pleasant stories about off-registry gifts too. Unless both the bride and groom like to play video games, getting a Sony Play Station or some other video game system as a wedding gift can and will cause an early rift in your dear friends’ marital life, even if you genuinely intend it as a gift which can bring the newlyweds closer together. Also, in case a bride or a groom is already a passionate gamer and is not already overweight, hours on end of playing Xbox or PS3 could lead to more than a couple of extra pounds. A close friend is far more likely to buy something sincerely thoughtful – and the happy couple is far more likely to find the gift sentimental.

We have compiled several fun (and useful) alternative suggestions. If your budget’s a little bit tight, club together with closest friends or dear family members.

  • Jacuzzi for two
  • Water bed
  • Helicopter tour of Grand Canyon
  • “Bouncy bed” automaton
  • A home massage

1 thought on “Wedding Gifts that are both Useful and Fun”

  1. Some of my fave gifts were of the certificate kind such as our honeymoon–a week in Tiburon at a first rate hotel. Would have loved the Grand Cayon tour though . . ..

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