the month of June

It’s that time of year again: wedding season. I received an invitation Saturday, from a college friend I haven’t heard from in three years. We were very close once–during my sophomore and junior years–but truthfully we lost touch during my last semesters, and we didn’t keep up with writing/e-mailing after graduation. I’ve never even met her fiance and only know how they met, now, after having visited their wedding webpage.

But I miss her sometimes, as she was a good friend for that period of time, and I am really happy for her. The wedding will take place in North Carolina (i.e., I won’t be attending), so I’m left with one main decision: what to send?

I’ve written about budget gift-giving before, but one point is worth repeating: homemade gifts, if you can manage them, often cost less and mean more.

In this case, it involves a little research into the couple, since I don’t know what they like/want. They registered at both Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond, so I discovered their kitchen colors: green and cream. Handy, since I happen to have knitted two dishtowels in just those colors.

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For their gift, I attached a little gift tag to the towels, bought a pretty handsoap from Bath & Body Works ($5), and used a wedding card I already had. The total cost, including yarn, comes out to around $13, if that, and the gift is personal and took effort.

If I knew the couple better, I might make a full-on basket out of the idea: add some more soaps or other green/white accessories from their registry.

Filed under gifting, thrifty tips |