Wedding/anniversary gift ideas for hard-to-shop for couple!

June 28, 2008 2:47 PM

Gift ideas for close friends' wedding / first anniversary, please!

I didn't get my friend a wedding gift (she demanded that her bridesmaids not get gifts) but it's almost a year later & it still bugs me. Their first (paper) anniversary is fast approaching, and I'd like to get them something special.

Budget = under $200.
I'd be happy to get them some kind of experience rather than an object. Maybe a meal somewhere? I have thought about this daily for over a year, and I have NO idea what to get.

About them:

Her: 30, actor, very urban; likes cooking, dancing, shopping, film, Alvin Ailey dance company. Dislikes camping, wilderness, hunting, plant life, computers. Taste in home decor runs towards "South Asian hippie bordello" - dark, carved wood, bright fresh flowers, coloured glass jars, candles, rich, intensely-coloured indian silks draped over Xmas lights. Fave colours: baby blue, grass green.

Him: 40, animation painter, very nature-oriented. Loves camping, wilderness, hunting, canoeing, guns & crossbows, painting. Dislikes urban life. Taste in home decor runs to "Hunting Lodge"- canoe strapped to the ceiling, dark distressed wood, paintings of pine trees, antlers on the wall. Fave colours: chocolate brown, moss green.

They are both gregarious, playful, messy, funny, laughing, lovely party animals, generally adventurous & up for anything. They both like good food (avoiding refined sugar), dancing, and Christmas. They tend to be a little strapped for cash. They both tend to dislike "cookie cutter presents" like alcohol or gift certificates. They have a black lab which serves as a fur-child for her and a hunting dog for him.

Ideas I have considered:
Portable dishwasher - this would have been ideal but they got one from someone else, dang!
Maid service (I think they'd appreciate it, but it seems weird)
Small video camera or lomo camera (they don't really take photos, though)
Vintage steamer trunk (this would be pretty good but I dunno where to find one)

What the heck should I get them? This is in Toronto, by the way.
Thanks!

posted by pseudostrabismus to grab bag (5 comments total)

Cooking lessons?
posted by thebrokenmuse at 3:15 PM on June 28, 2008

When I started reading your question, I thought, "What about a trunk?" and then I saw you'd thought of that already.

Have you checked eBay? And what about local antique shops? I've found antique trunks in both of these places when looking for myself.
posted by katillathehun at 3:39 PM on June 28, 2008

This "plant" looks like a fun gift. It will give them the cash, but not a in your face way. After all as you stated paper is the first year anniversary gift.

Money Plant this site will sell you the instructions in a download format for $3.95.

I'm not affiliated with this site in any way.
posted by JujuB at 3:44 PM on June 28, 2008

I know you said that alcohol is impersonal, but it might be nice to try to fully stock their bar. Getting them things like bitters, grenadine, etc. can make it so that they can offer a nice mixed drink to anyone who walks through their door.
posted by Shebear at 5:43 AM on June 29, 2008

Couple massage is always a great gift. Many places include teaching techniques to the partners, so they can massage one another later.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 10:25 AM on June 29, 2008