Inexpensive and Creative Wedding Gifts by Melissa Hogan
Give a momemorable gift
These days, more and more couples getting married already own homes and have significant amounts of personal and household belongings. While many still have registries, often these registries contain mostly higher end items, like crystal or china, or duplicates of things couples already own. Sometimes you want to give the couple a more personal gift than another $45 crystal goblet, something you know they'll use and appreciate.
Here are some ideas for creative wedding gifts you can give without breaking the bank.
Gift Baskets
Often young couples, even ones who already have a lot of dishes and pots and pans, are strapped for cash. One nice wedding gift is a gift basket filled with consumable items that you know they'll use.
Be creative.
Consider a large pasta pot filled with pasta, olive oil, a good quality cookbook and dish towels or a laundry basket filled with linens, detergent, and cleaning supplies will be both attractive and practical gifts for a young couple just starting out. These items can be purchased during deep discount sales so that you are able to pack your baskets full of stuff for very little money.
Think Holiday
Most couples get a huge amount of stuff to fill their houses with, but very rarely do they get anything that has to do with holidays, especially if they get married in the spring or summer. We often forget how much money we spend assembling our holiday decorations the first time. A set of nice Christmas ornaments, a centerpiece, or other holiday goods can make a lovely and practical wedding gift that will be used and remembered for years to come.
Plus, if you plan ahead, you can buy these things after Christmas and get them very inexpensively.
Works of Art
Some of the nicest wedding gifts I got were homemade works of art. One of my friends gave me a framed painting she had done just for me. My mom and one of her friends gave me handmade quilts. A work of art like this serves as home decor, but more importantly, it is a constant reminder of how much you love the couple. Wedding gifts like this are priceless.
Events Instead of Stuff
Once the honeymoon's over, the couple will still want to have fun and go on dates once in a while, so gift certificates to restaurants, tickets to concerts or shows, or memberships in museums they care about make excellent gifts. They don't take up space or gather dust, and they will be much more memorable than another place setting or a wooden spoon.
Money
This is probably the most traditional of all wedding gifts, but there are some more modern spins on it now. Some couples are asking for charitable donations in lieu of wedding gifts, and some are setting up honeymoon registries so that guests can help them pay for a vacation. These are not inexpensive gifts for you, but if this is what the couple wants, it's probably the best thing. Many couples just don't have storage or need of more stuff. If a couple prefers money, give them what you can. Don't feel like you have an obligation to give a certain amount of money, whatever the cost of the dinner. You're not paying for your meal. Instead, you're giving the couple a gift from your heart.
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The best time to buy a "new to you" truck is at the end of the month. Salespeople have quotas to meet and can be very lenient toward the last of a month and the last of a quarter. The very best time to buy is at the end of the year. The staff needs to meet their goals for the year. So there is extra pressure on them with end of the month, end of the quarter and end of the year facing them. I bought a two-year-old Jeep at the end of December and got a very good deal. I had the staff fill up the gas tank and put a new inspection sticker on the vehicle too. This did all this before I signed on the dotted line. Don't appear to eager. Take your time and research you intended purchase. Most of all, make it fun.
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