And The Best Presents Are....

Hi Everyone.

I was thinking back to my bridal shower years ago and was wondering if you can still remember specific presents AND the person who gave them because you still have them and use them. I can tell you I remember a bathroom present of a pricey shower curtain complete with matching towel set (must have been right over $100) and I still remember the lady who gave them to us....she hardly knew us but I'll always remember her generosity. I'll always treasure a crystal pitcher someone else gave us because at the time I was registering I thought it was a frivolous thing to ask for starting out with nothing and didn't expect anyone would buy it but they did!

But I have to say one of the best gifts we received was from a friend who gave us a cleaning bucket with many of her favorite cleaning products! It was so handy and useful but I've never seen anyone else give this as a gift.

Do you have ideas for future weddings/babyshowers/birthdays on what has been one of your best gifts?

Not one Ive been given but one I gave.....I made up a basket of items for a babyshower, included were burping pads, bottles, teething toys, baby anbisol and lots of other stuff. I also included one gift specificaly for the new mom to be...LOL, a box of feminine napkins. DH was horrified that I put a big package of those in there but I told him, shes a new mom, shes not going to want to go get them, her DH isnt gonna want to get them and Lord knows shes going to need them! LOL. I also included some lotions and nice smelling but lightly scented fruity perfumes for her.
My DH will never forget me giving her that basket and the other ladies at the shower made comments on how much shes going to appreciate those later. I even made sure they were the thin ones, LOL.

Draven,

So thoughtful of you! I have only been to 2 baby showers, both women I didn't know very well. I gave one mom some baby thing (don't remember what) but I got the new mom some bath things and some candy for HER. People at the shower were like, "What's that for?" It sure is nice to remember the new mom needs some TLC too!

I always think extra diapers should would be handy too. Can you imagine how nice it would be to get like a huge BOX of them from like Sam's Club?

My son's great great aunt (long since gone from us) used to give a theme gift for Christmas each year. One year was plastic, the next could have cloth, but I remember the year of paper. She had the boxes filled with everything paper one could use, i.e. paper plates, paper towels, cups, toilet tissue, napkins, writing paper, etc. I always that was such a "thought" ful gift and extremely practical.

I still have my gifts hanging around 19 years later, but I can't remember who gave me what. My DH was my 2nd one and I had my children already when we got married. Let's just say his friends made him quite "happy" at the wedding and he couldn't drive....so I had to bring the babysitter home. I came home to find him in the middle of the floor with every gift and envelope opened, unknown to me who gave what. I remember my thank you cards were semi-generic. I had our wedding picture done up on thank you cards, so everyone would have a picture of us, but just said thank you for the gift, it was very thoughtful... I wonder if I left anyone out that didn't attach a card. :(

I can see where the feminine napkins were a great gift for a baby shower. My daughter is due in October, I'll have to remember that, she'll be mortified...I love it! :)

Happy Day,
Kathy

NEAT idea your gg aunt had on a themed gift year!

My MIL did a neat Christmas gift this year, in light of the natural disasters she thought it smart to give gifts for preparation of bad times. She gave each kid a couple bags of food for storage, like a huge bag of rice, dried apples, the largest tub of honey I've ever seen, etc. It was very thoughtful and of course could never be the wrong gift!

The most hilarious present I ever heard of for a wedding shower was towels. Yeah, towels. The bride to be had just moved in with her fiance, and asked her mom a very personal question about sex and the, uh, residual effects? Her mom told her to keep a hand towel beside the bed. Her mother then proceeded to tell every person in the large extended family that the young couple desperately needed hand towels for presents!

LOL Solitare! How completely embarassing! Much worse than feminine napkins at your shower! You should post this on my forum about weirdest presents:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/593792/

My husband and I went off and were married in Las Vegas. We weren't up to a big wedding. We didn't tell anyone because we didn't want people to feel obligated to us. When we came home, people were rather surprised but they were happy for us. My MIL decided to throw a surprise shower for us because she said she had been going to showers for years and that I had deprived her of her opportunity to have a shower for a daughter in law. I was surprised all right. I hadn't a clue she was throwing a shower so obviously there was no regsitry anywhere. Although I don't specifically remember the giver of the gifts from 20 years ago, I do remember the gifts. They were all so practical and weren't traditional gifts per se. Items that were very useful that I would have never thought of asking for. Baking supplies from flour and Crisco to bundt forms, a mixer, a blender, a toaster oven, cutting boards and cuttlery sets, cleaning supplies from sponge mops to Pinesol, cookie sheets and cookie cutters, spices and herbs, an iron and ironing board, crock pots and roasters, Rubbermaid storage containers, cook books and recipe card files, and all those wonderful products that we all take for granted that we all use weekly. I didn't get anything that I wouldn't use like china or crystal or sterling silver which was great. Everybody must have looked around their home and selected items that they would have wanted if they were just getting married. It was really rather nice and I used everything I recieved at that shower and I do mean everything. As the years went by, I continued to use those gifts and was very grateful my MIL had thrown a surprise shower for me. Although the flour and the spices are long gone, I still refill the flour tin and the spice jars and I think I have everything I received at that shower except the mixer which had to be replaced a while ago. Funny how I received so many thoughtful items that I seriously doubt I would have asked for if I ever had gone and selected items for a bridal registry.