I hope this is a good place for this question. I'm fairly new to the knot and this is my first time posting!
I'm attending the bridal shower of a good friend from high school this weekend. I have purchased the mixing bowl set and a large popcorn bucket (mostly because I thought it was funny- we lived on popcorn in high school) from her registry. The bucket is an odd shape and really quite large so I don't think I'll be wrapping it. I initially thought I would just tie a nice bow around it but it would look kind of empty and sad that way, which brings me to my dilemma.
I considered purchasing some other small things from the registry like serving spoons and spatulas but I would need to buy a lot to actually fill or even half fill this bucket. She registered for all those small things and picked out ones on the pricey side and I don't want to spend a lot more money trying to fill the bucket. So I came up with another idea.
Her sister is hosting and sent recipe cards for us to fill out with the invitations. I thought maybe I could buy some of the dry components of the recipes I'm giving her and fill the bucket with those. I would attach a note to the bucket saying something like "to get you started on those recipes!" Or something along those lines.
I thought it would be cute and practical. I also know they are a bit strapped financially right now and have been having trouble making ends meet so I figure some groceries might be appreciated at this point. (For those wondering, their families are paying for the wedding which is very small-immediate family and really close friends only.)
But I'm not sure if it would be inappropriate to include regular food items as part of the gift. What do you think? If the ingredients aren't a good idea, any suggestions on what else I could put in the bucket without spending too much extra money?
Thanks for the advice!