My girls really didn't have to do anything so it was okay for me to keep the gifts in the lower price range. Shower was potluck at my mom's house, and I am not making them buy dresses--- they can wear black dresses they already own.
I have 4 BMs and 2 ex-BMs who I also gave gifts to for their help. Long story why they aren't BMs any longer, but I digress
FI & I are both pretty anti "standard" gifts, and wanted to get people things that they'd actually like and be able to use which meant treating this like Christmas gifts or Birthday gifts. We went off the "BM/GM gifts" sites and headed for the mall.
I made them all gift bags that contained a mid-sized box of Godiva truffles, a travel bag, compact and duo of lotions from Bath & Body work, organic lip balm and soy candles. I wrote a personalized thank you card to each and picked out a charm that reminded me of each person and attached it to the bag (ie. one girl is going to Paris next year so she got a charm of the Eiffel Tower, one girl likes the beach so she got a starfish etc..).
After I put them together I though "wow
I'd like to get this as a gift" and that was pretty much what I was going for
if it was something I'd actually enjoy getting, then I knew it was okay to give.
My FI got the groomsmen (6 of them) each a gift card to Target worth $33 (33 is FI's favorite number and the number jersey of some hockey player they all go crazy for). Not a huge amount but the symbolism of the # seemed to make them all happy. Though, FI had to explain it to the girl at Target about 8 times
We looked at BM & GM gift web sites and honestly, I can't really see anyone getting that excited about monogrammed flip flops or trinket boxes. I got a monogrammed trinket box once when I was in my cousins wedding and it had her & her now ex-DH names and a cheesy heart and my initials
it's in a box somewhere. FI got a monogrammed flask once. He doesn't drink.
I'm not sure what the obsession is with monogramming everything those sites sell either. I kept seeing "monogrammed wine glass" for a BM gift
but it was just one glass
so unless she's drinkin' alone
We're in our mid 30's so useful gifts (or edible gifts!) are key. The chocolate went over quite well. I was originally going to get the girls Coach wristlets but really couldn't swing the cost for 6 of them and honestly, I think they all liked the truffles better.
So, best advice --- think about your friends. What do they like? When you finish putting the gift together, is it something you'd be happy to get or is it something you'd toss in the back of a closet and never look at again.
The robes sound great, but just make sure they are the right sizes --- I considered robes too but I didn't want to guess on everyone's size and my BMs range from 90lbs and like 5'1 to 250 lbs and 6 ft tall
Another item I considered was umbrellas. Unless you live in the desert, everyone can use an umbrella and there are some cute designs.
