Bridesmaids gifts help...i need ideas & cost

Re: Bridesmaids gifts help...i need ideas & cost

• JaxInBlue member

  

  August 2014

  Shop for them like it's their birthday.  Instead of trying to think of something you could get 9 of, try to focus on each person's individual tastes. For examples, for the coffee nut, a nice mug and a pound of coffee beans from her splurge brand; for the reader, a new book from a loved author and maybe a reading snack; for the cook, try a couple of gourmet oils or spice blends and a new cookbook.
  
  It's going to be less about the amount you spend (just try to keep it about equal) and more about the thoughtfulness and fit with the recipient.  Oh, and nothing to used for the wedding day - that's not a gift.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• tlc9615 member

  

  August 2014

  I am in a similar position only I have 7 bridesmaids and 2 flower girls. I have been racking my brain because I don't want to do the same gifts that everyone else does for their bridal party but the more I think about it the common gifts are that way for a reason.

  
  

  Did you have them purchase jewelry that they are going to wear? If not you should purchase this for them. I have seen some really cute bridal survival kits but they tend to run about $20-35 each. Perhaps you could buy little bags and have them personalized and make your own survival kit. If you put thought into each of the items and maybe a little note attached to each item as to why you put it in there it would be cost effective yet thoughtful. To be honest from the weddings I have been in I prefer a thoughtful gift (even if it is inexpensive) over something elaborate without the little details.

  
  

  I am sure others will have more opinions and ideas and I am excited to read what others have to say

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• holyguacamole79 member

  

  August 2014

  tlc9615 said:

  I am in a similar position only I have 7 bridesmaids and 2 flower girls. I have been racking my brain because I don't want to do the same gifts that everyone else does for their bridal party but the more I think about it the common gifts are that way for a reason.

  
  

  Did you have them purchase jewelry that they are going to wear? If not you should purchase this for them. Jewelry to wear for the wedding is not an appropriate bridesmaid gift.  I have seen some really cute bridal survival kits but they tend to run about $20-35 each. Eeeek, no.  These rarely get used and will not be useful after the wedding.  Perhaps you could buy little bags and have them personalized and make your own survival kit. If you put thought into each of the items and maybe a little note attached to each item as to why you put it in there it would be cost effective yet thoughtful. To be honest from the weddings I have been in I prefer a thoughtful gift (even if it is inexpensive) over something elaborate without the little details.

  
  

  I am sure others will have more opinions and ideas and I am excited to read what others have to say

  All of my BMs love wine, so I bought plain wine glasses and paint and made them personalized wine glasses.  It was inexpensive and unique.  And I assume they all liked it. 
  

  
  
  
  
  

  

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• OliveOilsMom member

  

  August 2014 edited August 2014

  One of the things I bought was a pendant for each girl off of etsy. I purchased items to their tastes. I looked at pinterest pages and noted their other jewelry pieces before picking one out for them. These were not for the wedding, thought my sister and niece did wear theirs. I spent about $15 per pendant and then bought a bulk amount of chains off of ebay to put each pendant on. __________________________________________________________________If you are trying to be economical, don't waste your money on something monogrammed. Not everyone cares for that. Skip the tote bags and survival kits. As a BM, I always bring my own survival/emergency kit - with enough to share for all BMs and Bride. Focus on the individual gift for each girl and a nice heartfelt note.

  

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• mzelizabethlynn member

  

  August 2014

  These ideas really help...i do have a necklace in mind...i actually am an idepeendant distributor for prmeier designs jewerly so the necklace i picked out if very simple and pretty and possibly something they could wear after but it's only going to cost me $10 even though it retails like $35...so maybe putting some gift bag together(nothing personalized just a plain bag) of stuff for them could work.

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• tlc9615 member

  

  August 2014

  sarahbear31 said:

  tlc9615 said:

  I am in a similar position only I have 7 bridesmaids and 2 flower girls. I have been racking my brain because I don't want to do the same gifts that everyone else does for their bridal party but the more I think about it the common gifts are that way for a reason.

  
  

  Did you have them purchase jewelry that they are going to wear? If not you should purchase this for them. Jewelry to wear for the wedding is not an appropriate bridesmaid gift.  I have seen some really cute bridal survival kits but they tend to run about $20-35 each. Eeeek, no.  These rarely get used and will not be useful after the wedding.  Perhaps you could buy little bags and have them personalized and make your own survival kit. If you put thought into each of the items and maybe a little note attached to each item as to why you put it in there it would be cost effective yet thoughtful. To be honest from the weddings I have been in I prefer a thoughtful gift (even if it is inexpensive) over something elaborate without the little details.

  
  

  I am sure others will have more opinions and ideas and I am excited to read what others have to say

  All of my BMs love wine, so I bought plain wine glasses and paint and made them personalized wine glasses.  It was inexpensive and unique.  And I assume they all liked it. 
  

  I purchased personalized wine glasses for my bridal when I asked them to be in the wedding. Perhaps the jewelry for the wedding not being used as a bridal gift is different throughout locations of the country. I have been in 4 weddings so far this year and every single one of them as part of their gift included jewelry for us to wear during the wedding. 

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• southernbelle0915 mod

  

  August 2014

  tlc9615 said:

  sarahbear31 said:

  tlc9615 said:

  I am in a similar position only I have 7 bridesmaids and 2 flower girls. I have been racking my brain because I don't want to do the same gifts that everyone else does for their bridal party but the more I think about it the common gifts are that way for a reason.

  
  

  Did you have them purchase jewelry that they are going to wear? If not you should purchase this for them. Jewelry to wear for the wedding is not an appropriate bridesmaid gift.  I have seen some really cute bridal survival kits but they tend to run about $20-35 each. Eeeek, no.  These rarely get used and will not be useful after the wedding.  Perhaps you could buy little bags and have them personalized and make your own survival kit. If you put thought into each of the items and maybe a little note attached to each item as to why you put it in there it would be cost effective yet thoughtful. To be honest from the weddings I have been in I prefer a thoughtful gift (even if it is inexpensive) over something elaborate without the little details.

  
  

  I am sure others will have more opinions and ideas and I am excited to read what others have to say

  All of my BMs love wine, so I bought plain wine glasses and paint and made them personalized wine glasses.  It was inexpensive and unique.  And I assume they all liked it. 
  

  I purchased personalized wine glasses for my bridal when I asked them to be in the wedding. Perhaps the jewelry for the wedding not being used as a bridal gift is different throughout locations of the country. I have been in 4 weddings so far this year and every single one of them as part of their gift included jewelry for us to wear during the wedding. 

  Wow, so your BMs are going to come out of your wedding with one wine glass that doesn't match anything else they have and a necklace in a bag that you got at a discount because of your own financial interests. WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Sign me up!!

  
  

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• holyguacamole79 member

  

  August 2014

  southernbelle0915 said:

  tlc9615 said:

  sarahbear31 said:

  tlc9615 said:

  I am in a similar position only I have 7 bridesmaids and 2 flower girls. I have been racking my brain because I don't want to do the same gifts that everyone else does for their bridal party but the more I think about it the common gifts are that way for a reason.

  
  

  Did you have them purchase jewelry that they are going to wear? If not you should purchase this for them. Jewelry to wear for the wedding is not an appropriate bridesmaid gift.  I have seen some really cute bridal survival kits but they tend to run about $20-35 each. Eeeek, no.  These rarely get used and will not be useful after the wedding.  Perhaps you could buy little bags and have them personalized and make your own survival kit. If you put thought into each of the items and maybe a little note attached to each item as to why you put it in there it would be cost effective yet thoughtful. To be honest from the weddings I have been in I prefer a thoughtful gift (even if it is inexpensive) over something elaborate without the little details.

  
  

  I am sure others will have more opinions and ideas and I am excited to read what others have to say

  All of my BMs love wine, so I bought plain wine glasses and paint and made them personalized wine glasses.  It was inexpensive and unique.  And I assume they all liked it. 
  

  I purchased personalized wine glasses for my bridal when I asked them to be in the wedding. Perhaps the jewelry for the wedding not being used as a bridal gift is different throughout locations of the country. I have been in 4 weddings so far this year and every single one of them as part of their gift included jewelry for us to wear during the wedding. 

  Wow, so your BMs are going to come out of your wedding with one wine glass that doesn't match anything else they have and a necklace in a bag that you got at a discount because of your own financial interests. WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Sign me up!!

  
  

  I actually have about 4 wine glasses that don't match any others.  Judge away.
  

  
  
  
  
  

  

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• southernbelle0915 mod

  

  August 2014

  @sarabear31 - I'm not judging mismatched wine glasses - I'm judging receiving one personalized wine glass as a gift...

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• manateehugger member

  

  August 2014

  tlc9615 said:

  I am in a similar position only I have 7 bridesmaids and 2 flower girls. I have been racking my brain because I don't want to do the same gifts that everyone else does for their bridal party but the more I think about it the common gifts are that way for a reason.

  
  

  Did you have them purchase jewelry that they are going to wear? If not you should purchase this for them. I have seen some really cute bridal survival kits but they tend to run about $20-35 each. Perhaps you could buy little bags and have them personalized and make your own survival kit. If you put thought into each of the items and maybe a little note attached to each item as to why you put it in there it would be cost effective yet thoughtful. To be honest from the weddings I have been in I prefer a thoughtful gift (even if it is inexpensive) over something elaborate without the little details.

  
  

  I am sure others will have more opinions and ideas and I am excited to read what others have to say

  
  

  
  

  Stuck in the stupid box:

  
  I really disagree with the bolded. I've been a bridesmaid a few times - please don't give me this crap. 1. No one cares about or even notices bridesmaid jewelry. No one. Unless you've got a girl wearing a feather boa as a necklace, it wont matter. 2. This crap is not at all personal and will be stuff everyone already has (I've got three personalized totes for being a bridesmaid - three!!!).

  
  

  Think about it, if someone was like, "Hey friend! I got you a gift for your birthday/Christmas!" and you open it up and it's travel-sized lotion and bobby pins, you'd be like, "Gee, thanks." 

  
  

  $20 is a fine amount to spend, just make the gift personal and meaningful. Fun coffee grounds for the coffee lover, wine for the wine-lover, coozie and a 12 pack for the beer lover (yes, this was one of my BM gift and my friend squeeled over it), etc. 

  

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• holyguacamole79 member

  

  August 2014 edited August 2014

  Different strokes for different folks.  All the mismatched ones I have were gifts.  I often use them when we have friends / family over so my wine glass doesn't get lost.
  

  
  
  
  
  

  

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• sarahufl member

  

  August 2014

  I hate the personalized wine glasses.
  

  
  

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• smhubbel member

  

  August 2014

  I would think jewelry to wear during the wedding would be a fine gift, especially if you purchase jewelry unique to each BM and her tastes. If they like it, they can wear it for other occasions as well. I don't see why this doesn't make sense? At least making it part of the gift doesn't seem bad to me. I have seen this a lot as a gift for BMs. 

  
  

  As far as affordable presents, you could do handmade jewelry for each girl. That could be really cool if each girl wore something you made! 

  
  

  Getting away from the jewelry ideas... hmmm... you definitely should consider each girl's interests. 

  
  

  If someone has a nice garden, giving her a potted plant that she could add to her that will come up every year might be nice, especially if it has very pretty flowers when it blooms. I would personally love something like that, it would be something special that she knew came from you that she gets to appreciate a lot more often than a lot of other gifts. 

  
  

  I also like to cook, so I agree with the spices or nice oils idea, although these run out. Making an apron for her would be a good idea, if you have the time and skills. Patterns are easy to find for aprons at any store that sells fabric. The fabric itself can be very cheap. Depending on your skill with a sewing machine, this probably wouldn't take too long. Buying an apron for her would be much less cute of an idea, unless it is an especially cute apron. Those get expensive though. 

  
  

  If you are good with a sewing machine though, there are lots of things you can make that could fit each girl's tastes. Pillows are very easy to make, and pillow forms are fairly cheap. You can dress them up with some embroidery or use cute fabric that fits each girl. Making each girl a large bag that could be used as a beach bag or whatnot would also be fairly easy on a sewing machine, using different fabric for each girl. Again, buying a bag, not so thoughtful. Making each girl a bag, very thoughtful. It is something completely unique for her and something she can use. 

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• tlc9615 member

  

  August 2014 edited August 2014

  I really do like the suggestion of doing things personal to their taste. I have not received a bridesmaid gift yet that was personal- everyone received the same gift. This could also help keep costs down because you are not buying multiples of the same product. It is okay to not spend the exact same amount on each person. It is about the thought not the price.

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