Engagement gift ideas for under $50?

Aray82

My former roommate just got engaged on St. Patty's Day (yay!) and I'd like to send her a small cooking or bar accessory gift that she can enjoy with her FI when he comes to visit. (They're long-distance until he can finish school and join her this summer.) She loves to cook, and especially loves making fancy desserts. Being that she's a new professor and her FI is getting his master's, they drink lots of tea and coffee to fuel their rounds of grading and writing. And they both love booze Recently, she was telling me that her co-workers all drink old-fashioneds and that's become her new type of drink. 

Any ideas ? What might you enjoy having but wouldn't necessarily buy for yourself? I'm looking to spend no more than $50.

emmyg65

A really good bottle of rye (High West is a great brand). Or some pretty bar glasses.

Aray82

emmyg65 said:

A really good bottle of rye (High West is a great brand). Or some pretty bar glasses.

That'd be great as long as I could count on the shipping to get it there in one piece. Maybe a liquor distributor that specializes in shipping glass bottles as opposed to a department store...the more I research for my own registry, the more I see stories of things arriving broken

csuave

How about a gift card for a place like Sur La Table, WS or BBB?  You could pair that with some other little things like a cookbook, box of tea, cute kitchen towels, fun paper drink napkins, drink stirrers clicky, etc.

Or maybe a set of dessert plates.

My MOH got me a housewarming gift that was a bottle of wine with basket of little stuff and snacks from Home Goods and it was awesome.

chibiyui

A decanter maybe? possibly with matching double old fashions?

I never have issues with Amazon shipping.

Aray82

Thanks for these awesome ideas! I think I might go with pairing something small with a gift card since she'll be moving in a year and might not want anything large to pack. 

hikebikebemerry

I second scribe. When I saw the title, I immediately thought, that you could get them TWO bottles of wine rather than one. I usually just send cards for engagements. My sister is the only exception, and I sent her bridal magazines and some other fun stuff (cannot even remember what else there was).

Aray82

hikebikebemerry said:

I second scribe. When I saw the title, I immediately thought, that you could get them TWO bottles of wine rather than one. I usually just send cards for engagements. My sister is the only exception, and I sent her bridal magazines and some other fun stuff (cannot even remember what else there was).

Ah, ok. That makes sense especially if you're also planning on getting them a wedding gift, which I would be. I was actually kind of surprised not only that we got some engagement gifts, wine and otherwise, but also that people were asking for our registry literally two weeks after we'd just gotten engaged and hadn't even set a date :O