unique (budget-minded) bridal shower gift ideas?

[Aliceacc]

I made a friend of mine a framed "Recipe for a Happy Marriage." I put it in Word and added some cute clip-art and then printed it on nice paper and put it in an 8x10 frame. She loved it and it still hangs in her kitchen (after 8 years of marriage!). Since you're doing sort of a kitchen thing already it might be a cute addition and will only be as expensive as the paper and frame.

Here is the "recipe"
RECIPE FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE

1 cup of consideration
2 cupfuls praise
1 reasonable budget
2 cupfuls of flattery carefully concealed
2 cupfuls milk of human kindness
1 gallon faith in God and each other
A generous dash of cooperation
3 teaspoons of pure extract of “I am sorry”
Children (more or less, to taste)
1 cup of confidence and encouragement
1 large or several small hobbies
1 cup of blindness to each others faults
1 cup of courtesy
1 small pinch of in-laws
1 cup of contentment

Flavor with frequent portions of recreation and a dash of happy memories. Stir well and remove any specks of jealousy, temper, or criticism. Sweeten well with generous portions of love and keep warm with a steady flame of devotion. Never serve with a cold shoulder or a hot tongue.

Oh, I'm stealing that for a bridal shower next week!!!!

 

[WE<3MICKEY]

Oh, I'm stealing that for a bridal shower next week!!!!

me too! I love it! Thanks!

 

[jacobsmom]

The best gifts I got were:
My grandma handwriting recipes she makes
My Mom handwritten recipes and a Nativity
Most of the time people even if they live together before hand, don't buy nativities for themselves or Christmas decorations. Now every time I decorate for Christmas I think of my family. So now I give nativities and Christmas decorations as gifts because most of the time my friends either have lived together for a while or have what they need... but Christmas decorations are things they would like but don't think of registering for at this time of the year.

 

[paulsmithjones]

How about personalized wedding flutes with the couple's name engraved on them. Fancy much ?

I found them on a website called bluechopsticks.com , they seem to have a bunch of these personalized gift items

Hope this information was helpful. Always happy to help

 

[Ress76]

Someone alluded to something similar already, and it's not something you can exactly do on short notice, but I wanted to share anyway! One of the girls on my team at work received a totes of holiday decor items at her shower that had been purchased on clearance...for the whole year. New Year's, Super Bowl, Valentine's, St Patty's Day...the whole 9 yards. I thought it was a fantastic idea when you know something like a shower is coming and you can plan for it!

 

[tiggger1]

I did the picnic basket, I got the plastic plates,cups and utensils, added some nice cloth napkins, a nice blanket, 2 wine glasses, a corkscrew, a bottle of wine, and cheese and crackers. The entire thing was less then $50 depending on the basket ( I buy them at the end of the season for cheap)

 

[tiggger1]

The other cute thing to do is to start a Christmas decoration box. It might be ha to find now but you could do a tote filled with lights, ornaments and decorations..

 

[poohfriend77]

When we got engaged, my soon-to-be-inlaws wanted to get us something special, but weren't sure what.

I asked them to get us a Nativity Set.

I knew I would want a nice creche for Christmas time, and that I never have spare money at that time of year.

We got engaged in 1987. I still treasure that set and pack it away carefully each year.

OK, not to get too far off topic, but I had to share a funny story about my MIL. The first Christmas we were married, she was asking me what DH and I wanted. She made a comment like "Well, I know I'll get you a crib set. That's tradition in our family. You always get a crib set for your first Christmas as a married couple." She kept going on and on about a crib set!

I was panicking, thinking she was either going to buy me an actual baby crib (keep in mind we had been married 6 months at this point and had NO immediate baby plans) or at the very least, the crib bedding... both of which I wanted to pick out MYSELF, when the time came. But how could I offend my new MIL on our first Christmas as a family? Imagine my relief when I finally realized what she called a "crib set" was what I called a "Nativity set." Whew!

 

[bellarella]

A spice rack/caddy with a recipe inserted in each one of the jars. Filling it with some spices too would be nice, but not exactly budget (though if you go to a place that sells them in bulk, it might not be bad)