anything but flowers

April 7, 2009 7:22 PM

Suggestions for a whimsical long-distance last-minute wedding gift?

My brother's getting married on the spur of the moment this Thursday. He and his fiancee are in DeFuniak Springs, Florida; I'm in San Francisco. I'll send them more traditional gifts when they move into a new place in Virginia next month. In the meantime, I'd like to send them something unusual and interesting and under about $200. By Saturday.

They both have a skewed sense of humor, so I think pretty much anything goes - except that she's vegan. (Which rules out my first idea, Zingerman's bacon. My second idea, lollipops from Lollyphile, will take too long. My third idea, a live goat, seems somehow impractical.)

posted by moonlet to shopping (8 comments total)

How about a case of wine or a collection of liquor? You could probably find a liquor store near them that would deliver.
posted by kdern at 7:35 PM on April 7

Oh look! For just $10 you can get Wing to sing them a song live down the phone! May I suggest one of her tasteful AC/DC covers?
posted by Miss Otis' Egrets at 8:16 PM on April 7

A nice picnic basket and maybe a blanket.

This one can apparently be shipped in two days.
posted by dancinglamb at 8:21 PM on April 7

A pair of bitchin His and Hers Boogie Boards would be totally gnarly, dude. Seriously.
But I DO love the goat idea.
posted by Acacia at 1:16 AM on April 8

A goat for a poor family in the developing world, given through Heifer International, costs $120 and sounds an excellent gift.
posted by Idcoytco at 6:52 AM on April 8

If they're moving soon, a consumable or non-material gift would probably be best. (One less thing to pack.) Besides the obvious food and wine, there's whimsical stuff like bubble baths - try Etsy for tons of bath products. Music mp3s from iTunes or other non-physical-media sources, or a subscription to something like Audible.com might work too. Or a donation to their favorite charity, if you're feeling virtuous.
posted by Quietgal at 8:49 AM on April 8

Singing telegram, balloons, send a bagpiper to the wedding? Send a couple bottles of excellent champagne. Call party supply stores in the area and see if anybody knows of an entertainer who would show up and represent you in some entertaining manner. Or, be really cool and find an aspiring photographer to show up and take pictures, or some other person who will do something nice.
posted by theora55 at 11:14 AM on April 8

You are all awesome answers! Turns out I had some very inaccurate ideas about the logistics of shipping alcohol; I'm going with a bunch of bourbon, some Scharffenberger's chocolate, and a goat from Heifer.

I'm on the fence about Wing. It's a brilliant idea, but it kind of makes me cringe.
posted by moonlet at 11:28 AM on April 8