Accidental lurker...

theartistformerlyknownas

So I was going through my registries today making sure everything was good to go - nothing discontinued, didn't accidentally request two coffee pots, etc - because my sisters will be sending out shower invitations in the next few days. I'm scrolling through the Williams Sonoma one and where I had registered for some nice Wusthof knives and knife block individually (better price points for shower gifts, I thought), I see it's ALSO showing the full 12-piece knife block set. What the heck. Requested = 0. And it won't let me delete it. I start to get super pissy that they added this to my registry and are making me look greedy... when I remember that my dad told me last night he has an early wedding present he "thought I might like to have early" that I can pick up this weekend. Look an inch to the right where I failed to see before... Purchased = 1. And the dummy-proof sharpener since I don't trust myself with the stick kind. Commence total freakout on my part.

I got my love of cooking from my dad, and he knew how excited I was to get some "real" knives. Never imagined he'd buy the full $600 set!

I'm kinda mad at myself for ruining the surprise, but I totally didn't mean to. I had always figured if I did spot that something had been purchased from my registry, it wouldn't be a surprise since I asked for it, but I'd still get the smaller surprise of seeing who ended up buying it. And I still could be wrong... but this is totally the kind of thing my dad does (he also called in the remaining payment on my wedding dress, unbeknownst to me until I went to look at BM dresses and the owner handed me the "paid" invoice with a wink and a smile). Did you all have any crap-your-pants-worthy gift surprises?

theartistformerlyknownas

flantastic said:

Not in a good way, unfortunately

But congratulations on having such a loving and generous dad!

Thanks. He's seriously awesome. I love him to pieces.

phira

Awwwwww!

beethery

Your dad is SO SWEET!!!!!!!

SapphireCounselor

Your Dad sounds very sweet! And good kitchen knives are an awesome investment. My parents paid for a lot of our wedding (they offered and would not take no for an answer) and I was insanely grateful. They were amazing, as well as my father in law who helped us fund our honeymoon to London as a gift. My Dh and I are insanely lucky. We both have amazing families.

jenna8984

When I bought my home a few years ago, I was young and single so it was just my income. I used mostly my entire life savings on the down payment (I kept about $1500 for emergencies). Two months after moving in, my homeowner's insurance came to do inspection to make sure I was "insurable" and they determined that my roof must be replaced. The home inspector had thought it was old but couldn't exactly tell how old it was. I was freaking out about paying for it since I'd just blown all my savings and the roof was going to cost $4,000. My dad said he would help me out a little bit, so I fully expected a check for $500? I got a check in the mail for the entire $4,000 and I started bawling. I was so grateful!!!!!!

KPBM89

Awww that's very sweet of your dad!

I wish I had good surprises.  My SIL and brother were supposed to be paying off the last $400 of my dress for me, but they didn't.  I paid it off yesterday though so that's one less thing for us to worry about!

Inkdancer

Last night my mom said that she didn't think I had enough on my registry and made some suggestions of things we forgot. I was perusing to see what else I had missed and saw that the only item that has been purchased is my Kitchenaid stand mixer!!!! Whoever did that is getting an extremely effusive thank you note. I love to bake--I may have to send them cookies after the wedding.

chibiyui

Thats awesome! Very sweet of your dad. I was super surprised with one of our gifts. We had registered for a Le Crueset dutch oven, and it came in the mail one day along with like, 5 of our flatware place settings. I figured just looking at it, maybe an Aunt or Uncle, but it was from one of H's groomsmen. I was like, "Honey, you need to write him a crazy awesome thank you note" In hindsight.........Maybe I shoudn't have trusted H with that......Oh well. Can't have been any worse then his "thanks for the cash" ones.

KatieinBkln

Once my dad loaned me a lot of money for grad school. A year or so later, he "forgave" the loan, which made me cry because I was practically destitute at the time (unpaid interning, UGH) and didn't know how I could ever afford to pay him back. He's been a particularly generous father, but this particular gesture was so damn kind that it made me want to be a better person and "live up to it" somehow.

birdybride2014

That is so sweet! It is awesome when parents are able to surprise us like that!

theartistformerlyknownas

This is also perfect timing because I realized yesterday that my old Kitchenaid knives are so dull they won't even cut cheese without squishing it.

The new knives will NOT be going in the dishwasher!

jenna8984

lolo883 said:

This is also perfect timing because I realized yesterday that my old Kitchenaid knives are so dull they won't even cut cheese without squishing it.

The new knives will NOT be going in the dishwasher!

Yup! It used to take me like 15 minutes to slice up raw chicken breasts into bite size. It drove FI crazy so he bought me (us) a new set for Christmas and now it's glorious how it just cuts right through lke butta!!

theartistformerlyknownas

jenna8984 said:

lolo883 said:

This is also perfect timing because I realized yesterday that my old Kitchenaid knives are so dull they won't even cut cheese without squishing it.

The new knives will NOT be going in the dishwasher!

Yup! It used to take me like 15 minutes to slice up raw chicken breasts into bite size. It drove FI crazy so he bought me (us) a new set for Christmas and now it's glorious how it just cuts right through lke butta!!

Squeeee! I'll have to have Dad over for the most beautifully butterflied chicken breast he's ever seen. And a stuffed filet. And some homemade bread without a mountain of crumbs left on the table. And some freakin flowers made out of tomatoes.

sophhabobopha

Awh! (:

My mom's amazing. She's been paying for my tuition not covered by aid.

AprilH81

My parents are awesome and have done several amazing things that I will never be able to repay them for.

When I went to college they told me that they would pay for two years free and clear as long as I worked part time for spending money.  For years 3-4 they would write the checks but I would have to pay them back.  I graduated in 3 years and they forgave the loan for the last year.  I graduated with a $5,000 student loan that funded my study abroad summer in Europe.

When I bought my first house (at 23 years old) they spent about $8,000 on new flooring, appliances, paint and moving trucks to help me get the house inhabitable (it was a really gross foreclosure).  I would never have been able to afford to do that and pay the mortgage.

I love my parents and their generosity.

chkmeowt

Yes - my parents by paying for the ENTIRE wedding. Even when I go to buy stamps for the invitations my dad tells me to tell him how much they are so he can pay me back. A lady on my softball team (older, a mother of a player my age) was unbelievably generous at my shower and gave me a $250 gift card to BB&B. I couldn't believe it.

LadyMillil

My parents loaned me the money to buy my car. I've been slowly paying them back as much as I can on a grad student stipend. They forgave the loan as my wedding gift. It was so generous that I had no words.

MaryGraceRich

I love these stories!
When H and I went to price a DJ I took my dad and stepmom with me for their opinion. The dj gave us two estimates. One package was bigger than the other. I was going to go for the smaller one because we were paying for the wedding ourselves.
My dad and stepmom talked by themselves for a few and called me over. His exact words were "I want this to be as nice as possible for you. If you want the big package with everything, its yours. We will pay for the dj entirely." It was $3200!
I couldnt believe his genorosity and started to tear up.

aspoonfulofsugar

That was so sweet of your Dad!  I love reading everyone's stories, they make me happy

I was on our Macy's registry one day a few weeks ago to add something, and noticed that our coffeemaker was showing "completed."  No one even knew yet (aside from our parents and siblings) that we made our registry.  Turns out it was my class.  My Homeroom Mom took up a collection, got our coffeemaker, two bags of coffee and two gift cards.  It was the sweetest thing ever.

Also, my parents paid off a debt of mine when I was much younger, and very dumb with money, but last year my Mom told me I didn't need to pay them back if I kept paying her cell phone bill (since she's on my plan).  They are too good to me!

lkristenj

FI's mom gave us a check for $5,000 to help with our closing costs. We could have covered it, but would have to eat ramen for every meal for several months to pay bills after that as it would have completely wiped us out with no savings or cushion. My parents are generously paying for most of our wedding. FI's grandmother really wants to pay for one part of the wedding too. My dad also pays for half of my car payments every month, which he said he would do as a college graduation gift.

Also, since we just closed on our house yesterday (yay!) both his family and my family are going to pitch in our skills (there are a lot of handy people and professionals in our families) to fix all the little things that the house needs. They're calling it a "family work day" and everyone is excited to help. One is an appliance repairman, the other did construction for a long time, one used to work for an electrician, my dad has built an addition by himself, FI worked in construction for a summer, one did all the plumbing in his own house, the women want to paint, etc. I am so grateful for that.

jdluvr06

I had some issues a few years ago and it resulted in astronomical medical bills. My mom helped me pay them off. I've tried to repay her several times but she refuses to let me.

Kauris

I had a similar story, my mom can talk anyone into anything, and she convinced someone at BBB to add the Kitchen Aid Mixer in Tangerine to my registry. I was doing the same thing you were, since my shower invites just went out and noticed it, thought, I didn't register for that because I thought it was too expensive, then noticed it was purchased! I have already gotten it and she says I can't open it because it's my birthday present and b-day isn't until July. So now it's sitting in my living room looking awesome in the box, just waiting for me to make cake...

aspoonfulofsugar

kasmith1 said:

I had a similar story, my mom can talk anyone into anything, and she convinced someone at BBB to add the Kitchen Aid Mixer in Tangerine to my registry. I was doing the same thing you were, since my shower invites just went out and noticed it, thought, I didn't register for that because I thought it was too expensive, then noticed it was purchased! I have already gotten it and she says I can't open it because it's my birthday present and b-day isn't until July. So now it's sitting in my living room looking awesome in the box, just waiting for me to make cake...

SITB

No, I would die.  I got my pink one a few years ago for my birthday and I sat with it for the rest of the night after opening it.  I hate having to constantly put mine away.  I wish I had counter space to keep it out!

theartistformerlyknownas

One of my requirements of a new kitchen is dedicated space for my Kitchenaid mixer! My mom got it for me for Christmas a few years ago and I just about died.

ktjanesmom

One Christmas I asked my folks to buy me a new tire for my car and I would buy one. Instead, they bought me four new tires along with everything that is usually extra when buying new tires.  Ive learned over the years to be careful what I say in front of them because if I say that there is something I need or want, my mother makes sure I have it.

ETA  Those are really amazing knives.  Im jealous.

lc07

I was the luckiest wedding gift girl ever. Well, I feel like it.

My parents gave us $15,000 for the wedding. One family member gave us $5,000 in cash as a wedding gift. That aside, our average cash gift was about $300. Some guests gave boxed gifts and they were generous as well. Some people gave nothing but clearly I didn't give a shit. My bridesmaids all chipped in $100 each to buy a pot and pan set for my shower AND threw the shower and a killer bach party. And they all gave generous wedding gifts. I was shocked. Happily.

My sister's MIL waited until after their wedding and bought them EVERYTHING LEFT ON THEIR REGISTRY. There was a lot of stuff left! It looked like Christmas x 1000 in their house when I stopped by after it all arrived. And then she gave them a huge down payment for a house. And she lives a really modest life or so it seems.

So awesome and lucky and grateful.

JCbride2015

Wow, you are all very lucky! Glad to see so much gratitude in one thread!

Bubblegum5586

Wow great stories!!!

H and I are in the midst of buying a house (closing in less then 2 weeks!) We are moving from an apartment so we will need to purchase a lot of things! In the past 2 weeks our family and friends have offered;

washer and dryer

patio set

grill

lawn mower

help with moving and painting

and assistance/loan to help us get from 3% to 5% down

I feel SO LOVED and BLESSED!

melbelleup

we got a kitchen aid stand mixer from my mom- FI almost freaked out. He's been wanting one since he was a teen. I got a night gown from my mom- I was too embarrassed to even hold it up... soooo yeah we went both ways.


Yay! enjoy your knife set!

JaniV123

My uncles. I am the only daughter/niece/grandchild on my mom's side.When I started college I needed a new printer and my uncle took me shopping. I wanted a simple and budget friendly printer, my uncle chose the most expensive model. I was super grateful. 

this same uncle offered to help me with medical school aplications and mcat prep. For christmas he surprised me by paying for the complete MCAT prerp course plus giving me a christmas gift even after I told him the mcat prep was enough of a gift. 

again the same uncles offered to pay for the food of our reception and are giving me a graduation party sometime soon and took me to lunch on graduation day.

Once of them is my godfather and has always been there for me like a father figure. We love them to the moon and back and they are always so good to us. As a thank you we took them to brunch in May and did not let them pay they were very happy