[emily_hope]

I've been invited to a bridal shower and the invite said, "This is going to be a gift card shower." I've never been to one before or even been invited to a gift card shower. I was a little taken back. However, I would like to get a little creative with this because I'm thinking, "What are we going to do at this shower? There won't be any gifts to open." Soooooo... Any ideas?

 

[CPA-Kim]

You can put the gift card in a lovely multipurpose basket filled with pretty soap or herbal tea.

 

[josantoro]

You can put the gift card in a lovely multipurpose basket filled with pretty soap or herbal tea.

NO, NO, NO - you are NOT to spend any money on soap or tea!! Or a basket!! ALL MONEY IS TO GO TO THE BRIDE!!! How many times do we have to tell you people - NO GIFTS!! Just cash and gift cards!!!

Just kidding - I would decline this (money grab) invite unless it was a REALLY close relative or friend and you couldn't get out of it.

Good grief, can't people do ANYTHING anymore without holding up their friends and family for donations?

I can see the next one - new baby on the way, please, gift cards only.

 

[Winkie]

I just went to a gift cards only baby shower two weeks ago. The parents to be now live in another state & came back "home" for the shower. Taking gifts back on the plane would have been expensive. The invitation actually had a cute little poem explaining the situation & asked that gifts be shipped to their home, or to give gift cards. It was a little weird, but we still played games, ate & enjoyed each other's company. This couple is special friends to both my daughters & I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a bunch of their friends, so I didn't mind the oddity. I was actually glad I got invited.

 

[emily_hope]

So glad you had fun and got to see them. This gift card shower is a first for me. The couple has purchased a home here and are already living in it. They may already have everything they need for keeping a home. The gift card shower just seems odd to me, but I like to be creative and wanted to kind of think outside the box and not just get a Target or Walmart card.

I had another first recently... a Virtual Baby Shower. My friend's daughter was having her first baby and they live several states away. We had the shower at my friend's house and skyped with her daughter, so she was there with us. We all brought our gifts to the shower unwrapped and had a 'wrapping party'. We wrapped the gifts there so everyone got to see them first. My friend was going up for the birth of the baby and she took all the wrapped gifts so her daughter could unwrap them. I thought it was pretty neat.

 

[Winkie]

I really wanted to make a baby hat & blanket to go with the gift card, but talked myself out of it. I even thought I could have a gift all wrapped up & include a prepaid shipping box so she could send it to herself, but in the end, I just got a card & called it done. I can see your dilemma with the bridal shower, if they already have everything, why are they having a shower? Let us know what creative idea you come up with. We may be faced with more of these card showers & will need ideas.
A little off topic, but for Christmas, our oldest granddaughter's gift was a gift card. Gift cards are not my first choice, but she is 15 & hard to buy for with our gift budget. Anyway, I saved a plastic peanut butter jar, filled it with confetti & her gift card & super glued the lid on. Then it was wrapped in beautiful paper! The whole family worked on that jar lid before one of my kids said " I think mom must have glued it on." We all had quite a laugh!

 

[daylily]

Oh I would LOVE this! I hate choosing gifts for any kind of shower, graduation, etc. It causes me more stress than most things I do. But..I would still have to choose the "where" of the gift card, I guess. Sigh.

 

[SDMom]

I think this is a fantastic idea! I recently attended a gift card shower. It was for a couple who had each lived on their own for some time so had all the basics, but recently bought a home together.

They asked for gift cards from a home improvement store, so they could purchase paint, grill, lawn mower, hoses etc., and very easy for me as well! I hate shopping and trying to find things on their registry, wrapping it and finding a card. I hate it so much that I usually take the easy way out and give gift cards or cash.

At the shower they had put together a little slide show with pictures of their house and their plans for fixing it up to make it their own. It was actually very fun and different. We also played the usual games and had a light lunch.

I love the whole gift card idea and prefer to receive them myself.

 

[emily_hope]

Any creative ideas on giving a gift card instead of just handing them an envelope?

 

[Ramona]

I think it's a good idea. A gift card enclosed in a greeting card, done!

 

[mndtrp]

NO, NO, NO - you are NOT to spend any money on soap or tea!! Or a basket!! ALL MONEY IS TO GO TO THE BRIDE!!! How many times do we have to tell you people - NO GIFTS!! Just cash and gift cards!!!

Just kidding - I would decline this (money grab) invite unless it was a REALLY close relative or friend and you couldn't get out of it.

Good grief, can't people do ANYTHING anymore without holding up their friends and family for donations?

I can see the next one - new baby on the way, please, gift cards only.

I don't understand when people get so up in arms about gift requests, registries, and so on. It's fairly obvious that people are going to get the couple gifts. If you get them something they don't want, they will either return it or regift it, or throw it away. Therefore, these couples are making a request that if you do get them a gift, please get them something they will actually use. Some people think this is fishing for gifts, supposedly the whole reason behind the shower in the first place.

My wife had showers for the wedding and the baby, and we didn't care if we got gifts at all. However, we knew that people typically bring gifts to these things, so we made it relatively clear the things we needed. We had more or less everything we needed for the baby, so we asked for consumables. The people that brought things we already had, they were returned. If people would have just shown up and ate our food, that would have been great, too.

My in-laws got married, and had a pretty cool registry where we got to "buy" them experiences on their honeymoon. They had lived together for some time, didn't need anything, and simply asked their guests to do this instead of getting them gifts. We would have gotten them something, and this pointed us in a direction that was best for the people receiving the gifts.

If you want to bring a gift, and the hosts have asked for something specific, you should honor their request. If you don't want to bring a gift, then don't. Some people have showers to gain items. From what I've experienced, most don't, and simply want to spend the time with their friends and family. Not to mention, most showers are put on by someone other than the couple.

You should probably look inside and try to figure out why you hold so much animosity towards people making these simple requests. Are you giving gifts for the couples to receive, in which case you should cater to their desires, or are you giving gifts for yourself?

 

[Lady_V]

If you are really against just a gift card in a greeting card, you could take the gift card to someplace that fills balloons and put it INSIDE a transparent(ish) balloon.

 

[josantoro]

"If you want to bring a gift, and the hosts have asked for something specific, you should honor their request."

I feel at this point it ceases to be a gift. I feel a gift should be initiated by the giver, not requested by the recipient.

There is nothing wrong IMO with someone telling you what they would like for a gift, IF you ask them. But to say, come to my party, all I want is gift cards or cash, just rubs me the wrong way. Not to mention, doesn't sound like much fun. Does the giftee open up each card and announce where it is to, how much, and from whom?

Part of being a grown up is learning how to graciously accept and deal with gifts that are given with love but may be not just what you wanted. Otherwise why don't we all just swap dollars with each other? (Don't laugh, I know people who do that.)

 

[mndtrp]

You want to bring a gift. They are saving both of you the trouble of bothering them with a call by telling you what they need. Seems pretty simple to me. I'm glad I'm not as uptight about learning what other people want as some are.