A Wedding present for those who don't want it all.

Some good friends of ours are getting married. They have been together a while and are having a very small celebration. We won't be there as they are actually the other end of the country but I'd like to give them a token to mark the event. So since I haven't visited them since they lived in a tiny van I don't know what household stuff might be useful for them. I don't want to give them stuff that will just be clutter, and I'd rather not just send money, although that is probably the fall back gift.



What really useful things do you have that enable you to live a simpler life? I'm thinking of things that organises stuff to take up less room or enable them to have fewer gadgets. I'm hoping to get some useful ideas, thanks!

When we got our Instant Pot, we got rid of: a rice maker, a yogurt maker, a crock pot, and a stovetop pressure cooker.

I had the same conundrum with a friend who married late in life.

Lee Valley tools makes a *really* good quality stainless compost bucket. I figured if she didn't use it for compost, she'd find another use.

Not quite what you were talking about, but do they have outdoor growing space/ interest in plants?  An assortment of seeds or a shrub/ small tree (that can be put in a big pot if they aren't at a permanent spot) might be a nice gift, especially if you accompany it with some kind of card with stuff about growing together or like, something about the seeds of love (like "May these plants flourish as have the seeds of your love," or something less pretentious).

Maybe you could give them a gift certificate/ voucher for a really interesting experience in their area?  Like horseback riding or a tour of a National Trust property (or whatever they're called in Scotland, if it's different, please pardon my ignorance) or a guided foraging walk or a pottery class or whatever.  Maybe see if a local shop in their area would do a gift basket with local products, stuff like honey or preserves or cheese?

I'm always leery of giving household stuff unless it's somebody starting from zero.  Oven mitts and towels are pretty safe, because those things do need to be replaced from time to time and will get used eventually, but it's such a faux pas if you pick something with a style that conflicts with their decor.  Things like draft stoppers and those long fabric tubes with elastic at the bottom for storing plastic bags are practical, but lack any kind of wow factor.  Same thing with a knife sharpener or one of those magnetic under-cabinet knife strips.

And the opposite of getting rid of gadgets: Mason Tops make a ton of things that fit on or around mason jars to turn them into other stuff: air locks for fermenting, infuser inserts for teas or fruit water, sprouting screens, lids with pour handles to turn them into a pitcher, lids and silicone sleeves to make them into sippy cups, soap pumps attached to lids, just all kinds of stuff.  I don't know if mason jars are even a thing over there, but maybe Amazon (yuck) would have all that stuff anyway.

(Sorry for not quite understanding the assignment, as it were; it's so hard to shop for people I know, let alone ones I don't!  So many of my favorite gadgets that let me get rid of other gadgets are kind of specific, like one of those jar wrench/ can opener/ bottle opener combo things, which they might not like and would just end up being clutter for them, or stuff like my Instant Pot and my countertop convection oven/ airfryer, which are kind of workhorse appliances and only something I'd gift to someone whose habits I know well.)

The gift of food is always a welcoming thing.

An assortment of different cheeses.

A variety of crackers.

Add some fruit and wine.

dress it all up with a pretty bow and a nice basket.

You could take a cue from "It's a Wonderful Life" - "Bread, that this house may never know hunger. Salt, that life may always have flavor. And wine, that joy and prosperity may reign forever."

Anne Miller wrote:The gift of food is always a welcoming thing.

Well that's what I've gone with in the end - thanks all for the suggestions. Mothering Sunday is this weekend here in the UK, so I made a small batch of my chocolate truffles for the mums in our life. The happy couple also get a little voucher to spend as they need.

Carla Burke wrote:You could take a cue from "It's a Wonderful Life" - "Bread, that this house may never know hunger. Salt, that life may always have flavor. And wine, that joy and prosperity may reign forever."

Lovely! I would add a lump of coal. (Wait, what? That's a diss! It means you've been nasty and naughty!) Not necessarily. My Dear Wife's grandmother was a very English war bride, and told me that a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking was a wish that you would always be warm in the year ahead.

Here's some ideas that I've given or have received:

Glass storage containers! Since they might be traveling in their van, nice metal ones might be even better, since they don't break. I remember being unhappy that my cousin gave me glass pyrex storage containers that weren't on my list. I was sure I'd never use them. I use them ALL THE TIME!

Oil lamps (I often got a married couple matching oil lamps with the lamp oil dyed their favorite colors. Not sure what's in lamp oil dye, though). Matching beeswax candles with pretty metal candlesticks might be nice. Lamps and candles are not only "romantic," but also seriously handy in a power outage. For a van, the candles are probably best. You could even get candlesticks that hang on the wall--those are my favorite. You might even forgo the candlesticks and just get them nice candles--the candles are useful, romantic, and can be used up so they don't keep taking up space.

I've also given wool felted hot pads in people's favorite colors here's a tutorial on permies for how to make one

Douglas Alpenstock wrote: My Dear Wife's grandmother was a very English war bride, and told me that a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking was a wish that you would always be warm in the year ahead.

True! When 'first footing' at new year (hogmanay) a coal would be a welcome gift (especially carried by a young dark man, I understand).