When I got married, I had several bridal showers. And, God bless my darling Grandmother, she felt that she needed to bring a gift to each one. By the last one, she had run out of gifts. But, she decided to scour her shelves and give me a large box full of things she found in her pantry.
She was embarrassed, and apologetic. She said it’s all she could find, and it’s just poor manners to come to a shower without a gift. (Mostly I think she just didn’t want OTHER people to think she didn’t have a gift.)
Regardless, I ended up with light bulbs, aluminum foil, sandwich bags, tape, and some home-canned peaches and pears.
Embarrassed? Never! It was literally my favorite gift. I got so tired of frames, and toll painted (excuse me) crap. Dish towels with birds on them. And a delightful pewter serving tray embossed with squirrels and bunnies. Huh?
And then, when we made our first trip to the dreaded WalMart, as a married couple….
Holy giant bill, Batman!!
Hundreds of dollars to set up a house. (especially if you haven’t been living on your own. Which I hadn’t…for the year prior to my marriage) You don’t realize that you’ll probably need: toilet paper, elastics, a stapler, garbage cans, mops, brooms, plastic wrap, bandaids, pencils, garbage bags…and on…and on….and on.
Call me cheap, call me clever. Whatever. I love this gift.
And in all actuality, it’s NOT cheap. Start adding up…and you’ll be floored. And even if the Bride and Groom don’t realize it right at first….they’ll soon realize what a great gift you’ve given them.
I try to stick to things that are NOT brand dependent. Like, I don’t love the idea of giving laundry detergent. That’s a very personal thing. And I don’t give garbage cans….’cause sometimes those need to fit in a certain type of space. I give off brand stuff all the time. I’m not proud. I have yet to find a difference in off brand aluminum foil. (you’ll notice name brand baggies. That’s cause they were on sale today. And cheaper than the off brand)
The great thing is that it can be as expensive, or as cheap as you’d like. And it’s an awesome group gift. The more money, the better.
I always package it in a utilitarian bin. I know, I know, it might look cuter in a cute boxie thing. True. It also ups the price considerably. I’d rather put money into the items, not the box. Plus, the wrong color box, might sit in storage, unused. I KNOW this is going to storage. To actually store stuff.
See, it’s all about the packaging. After the items are arranged inside. It’s time to wrap.
Here’s a tip: use glue dots to stick smaller, lighter items to the bigger ones in the back. It looks better, and they don’t sink to the bottom. The dots are easy to remove because most things are packaged in something that will be thrown away.
Welcome back, my good friend, clear cellophane. You just make everything look classy. And have you noticed my love for all things black & white? Yep. We’re in love.
A quick ribbon mix, and a tag. I’m loving this giant monogram. There’s nothing that makes a new bride giddier than seeing her new last name. (I’m loving the houndstooth print as well.)
Good luck to you, young bride and groom. You are in for years of expensive trips to the store. And thousands of boxes of baggies. But, at least you have something to start off with.
Can you hear it?
Duh, dum, duh, dum….
Here comes the bills!!
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I got a lovely gift like this when I got married and it was one of my favorites – you made it look soo cute!
I loved gifts like this! What cute wrap job.
My mom and I did something like this recently for a friend's shower gift. We bought her a cake pan and some cake/brownie mixes, frosting, and then all the cleaning supplies for dishes and kitchen clean up while you're cooking and then "wrapped" it in a large plastic tote since she was moving soon! It was her favorite gift.
http://www.theiheartblog.com
These are the best gifts. The possibilities are endless. My family has been giving gifts like this for years. Wedding showers, baby showers, you name it. I love gifts like these too, because a lot of the items are things you don't think to buy for yourself! I found you on t&j, and I'm your newest follower!
PERFECTION!
Great idea! I made a similar type gift basket when my boyfriend moved from his parents house into the house he just bought! I filled it with cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels, homemade green cleaners and so on. He loved it! If I were to do it as a house warming gift again I'd include light bulbs and big black garbage bags!
~JILL @ envirocraftiness.blogspot.com
I'm now a follower too!
Great gift. Approaching 4 years of marriage and just boxed up 4 big boxes of unopened gifts that we received. I can guarantee everything you included would have been used, not boxed up and regifted!
I love giving these kinds of gifts…and was sad that I was moving so wasn't able to get gifts like this for my wedding. And believe me when you move across country you have to buy EVERYTHING new and so our bill was horrendous!
But I like giving the variations of this too. I find that office supplies are things people never think to buy, so I like to give staplers, paper clips, scissors, tape, etc…it one of those that one day you are walking around and like 'do we have a stapler'? And if you don't then it sucks and then you keep forgetting to buy one.
I haven't thought of giving the gift in tupperware…I always give it in the the largest bowl on their registry or a cleaning bucket. I like the large bin though…nice touch! And awesome wrapping job!
What a great idea! I remember the sticker shock I got the first time I moved out!
This is an excellent gift idea.
What a really good idea! That first setting up house bill is a killer. The packaging is a really cute way to bring it all together.
Great idea!
Great gift idea!! And anything wrapped so cute would make the receiver very happy to get it!
Sad to say, but a lot of the pretty serving trays and other typical shower gifts I got eventually went to Goodwill. We live in an apartment and while I would have loved to save everything for our "someday house" they just take up space in our limited storage now. Your gift is truly practical and especially so for those who are moving out for the first time.
What a fabulous idea! I love gifts that people can actually use. Very clever – I know I would love to receive it! =) Thanks so much for joining The Sunday Showcase Party. I greatly appreciate it! ~ Stephanie Lynn
I LOVE this idea!! I do it for baby showers but never thought of it for brides!!
Love the story of your grandma!♥
Thanks for linking up!
I LOVE this idea! I would have been so pumped to get something like that. I'll have to save it in the reserves though because all the weddings I'm going to this year the couples already live together. Sure, they could probably still used baggies and such, but it just doesn't seem quite the same.
I love this idea!! I saw it featured on TatorTots&Jello! Cute idea! I'm your newest follower!
Jennifer
http://www.lebedafamily.blogspot.com
I love this idea!! I saw it featured on TatorTots&Jello! Cute idea! I'm your newest follower!
Jennifer
http://www.lebedafamily.blogspot.com
Also here from Tatertots and Jello- what a great idea, and your right- great packaging! Thanks for a fun idea and all the realistic details behind it
I have a friend that works at Kimberly Clark and we received a large garbage bag full of tissues, TP, tampons, baby wipes etc one year for x-mas. Hands down, best gift.
Rock On!!! Way to give a gift that the recipient will actually use!!!
Hello Ellie, it’s Julie from It’s Sew Stinkin’ Cute and I am awarding you the Versatile Blogger Award. Please view my site to view the details of the award and pass it along to your newest finds and favorite blogs. Congrats!!!
BTW, I love the idea for the bridal shower gift. What a neat idea!
Great idea! Not only will this be a great wedding/shower gift, but I want one for my birthday, Christmas, and any other gift-giving holiday!
This is my first time visiting your blog. I absolutely love your title! I'm sure I'll be stopping by frequently!
Practical gifts are the BEST! You usually just don't realize it at the time. I remember when we were getting Kamree you gave me a plastic container filled with baby medicine and things like that. Things you don't think about when you're planning for baby. Not to mention the last things you want to spend money on.
This is a great idea, especially when wrapped so adorably. If you use coupons and match to sales you can get a lot of this stuff for free or next to nothing too! I know…I have a stash in my basement storage.
You gave this to me when I first got married, and it was by far the best present we got. All the plastic wrap and aluminum foil lasted forever, and I always thought of you when I went to use some more. It's now my favorite present to give for bridal showers. (An added bonus is that with using coupons, I get most of the stuff in it for at least half off!) Great idea!
This is such a fantastic idea. The practical gifts are usually the best. And your packaging really makes it look so classy. (I found you on skip to my lou.)
I love the way you packaged the gift!
My mom gave me a similar utilitarian gift (as well as a party and other gifts) when I graduated high school. She bought a large Rubbermaid bin and filled it with useful items for a girl moving to a dorm. Brilliant, I think.
Love this! I always stockpile all of these basics so I could probably throw several of these together without even leaving my house. Thanks for the idea!