renewing vows and gifts

[puggymom]

My DB and SIL are renewing their vows for their 20th anniversary. The ceremony is in a church and they are having a sit down meal at a nearby restuarant. Do you give gifts for occassions like this? We don't normally exchange gifts since the kids were born and they get the gifts now. I have never gone to a vow renewal before. What would an appropriate gift be? They have no need for more china/stemware as my Mom is starting to downsize and give her stuff away to all of us.

 

[froglady]

I'm having a vow renewal at WDW. I neither want nor expect gifts, as some people are travelling for it. The presence of close family and friends is enough.

If you MUST give something, I would suggest a couples massage at a local spa, a bottle of good champagne for a private celebration, perhaps a gift certificate to a local, high end restaurant, maybe even a box of high end chocolates. Something that will be used up, rather than something they have to fit in their home.

 

[Evil Genius]

We had a vow renewal and received a few gifts, mainly just little tokens of rememberance. We received a lot of congratulations cards with personal notes in them. Those were the best!!

 

[tw1nsmom]

Since it's a special anniversary and a party/renewal is involved, I would bring a gift.

I like the idea of a gift certificate to a spa, tickets to a concert, or one of their favorite restaurants. Do they like wine? Maybe a special bottle. A bottle from the year they were married would probably be too expensive, but you could look into it.

If you would rather give something that has sentimental meaning, maybe you could look through your old pictures and see if you have any of the two of them that they might not have. One from the time of the wedding or when they were dating would be great. If you have a lot, maybe you could scan them into the computer and burn them on a disc.

 

[Disney Doll]

I would bring a gift, even if it is just a small token.

Do you have a fun picture of them from their early dating years that you could frame nicely and present to them? Or, if you are the "crafty" sort, why not try to get some pictures together of their life "through the years" and make up a scrapbook? You could actually use that Kenny Rogers song "Through The Years" as a theme and run the lines of the song through the book, if you KWIM.

If nothing else, I would bring a gift certificate to enjoy dinner or a show...something special that they might not do themselves, to create memories for the next 20 years.

 

[kelleigh1]

I would think that a gift is optional and at your discretion.

I do like the idea of something that either celebrates their life together (photo collage, family video/dvd of special moments, etc.) or a special gift for the two of them (dinner certificate, spa for 2 gift certificate, etc.).