Appropriate Bridal Shower Gift

September 30, 2008 8:34 AM

I have a bridal shower to attend this weekend (sigh, i hate these things). You have to give a gift appropriate to the time of day that you were given on the invite...my time is 8pm. Is it appropriate to give a nice vintage bottle of red wine or champagne? I'm really not into putting a ton of effort into shopping for this (nor do i have the time).

She's a friend, but not a really close friend.

posted by Waterbear to Society & Culture (13 answers total)

Throw in two wine or champagne glasses, and I think it sounds lovely.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:39 AM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

red wine makes substantially more sense than champagne for 8PM, IMO.
posted by Perplexity at 8:40 AM on September 30, 2008

I think the thing you have to be careful of is making sure your gift doesn't reflect the lack of effort you state you you're putting into it. A bottle of wine is probably fine for a housewarming party, but that alone for a bridal shower seems to betray the lack of time you put into the gift.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:43 AM on September 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

A bottle of wine and a couple of nice glasses sounds perfect to me. This is, I think, a pretty common stupid shower format, so if you google a bit, you should probably come up with some other examples of things other people have done. I think it's usually called an "around the clock bridal shower."

I wonder if anyone gets three in the morning?
posted by craichead at 8:45 AM on September 30, 2008

If married life at 8pm is anything like what my parents are like, then you should buy a bag of Doritos and burn a DVD of one "Two and a half men" episode so it'll play no less than 5 times. For extra thoughtfulness, include two long dowels the couple can use to poke each other for when they fall asleep in their matching recliners.

Seriously though, a bottle of decent wine is a fine idea. Buy something moderately priced and wrap up two nice wine glasses with it. Be thankful you didn't get stuck with 11am or something.

On preview: what everyone else said. Or you could buy something really inappropriate, like a tacky sun-catcher (do they still make those?).
posted by giraffe at 8:47 AM on September 30, 2008 [8 favorites]

They will get lots of stuff. A bottle of good champagne or 2 bottles of good wine are a terrific gift. Add some wineglass charms if you want to dress it up a bit. Get a nice card & write a funny note.
posted by theora55 at 8:50 AM on September 30, 2008

If they're generally wine drinkers, and don't have something like this on their registry, that might be nice as part of a wine-based gift. I love mine, and have gotten good feedback when I've given them as gifts.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:04 AM on September 30, 2008

Response by poster: Lyn Never that is cool. I'll pair that with a bottle of wine---perfect...now i'll just have to resist the temptation to swipe the wine opener for myself....
posted by Waterbear at 9:10 AM on September 30, 2008

The stemless wine glasses are awesome, especially for a casual meal at home or while watching TV. But if you don't want to give wine glasses for whatever reason, a really nice decanter would also be appropriate. This decanter and glass set at C&B is cute. This modern decanter at Pottery Barn would fit the bill nicely too.
posted by barnone at 9:11 AM on September 30, 2008

Depending on their style, these cheers! wine glasses might be really cute too. But you'd have to order soon!
posted by barnone at 9:37 AM on September 30, 2008

Since your busy, why not order a wine gift basket and be done with it. No one has to know you didn't put it together. Shipping alcohol might not work, but you can also have one made locally by a florist or speciality grocer - just ask. Local stores will work within your budget. I do it all the time and just make special requests to personalize them (i.e. use the brides colors if you know them or request items you know the bride elect likes).
I like this vintage cocktail shaker - that inside a nice little boozie gift package (with ingrediants for her favorite mixed drink) would be fun and easy. I have a similar one and have gotten compliments.
I think PinkSuperHero has a valid point - even if you are busy, don't let it show in the gift, that always looks bad.
posted by MuckWeh at 10:26 AM on September 30, 2008

Hm. Movie or theater tickets/gift certificate? Shows generally start at 8.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:44 PM on September 30, 2008

We got a very thoughtful wine gift at our coed shower. The giver selected four bottles of wine: one that would be ready to drink on our first anniversary, one for our fifth, one for our tenth and one for our fifteenth. Any good wine store should be able to help you with that.


(um...I have to admit we've only been married 5 years, but all the bottles have been drunk already...it didn't take away the appreciation we had, however, for the thought put into it.)
posted by slo at 7:40 PM on September 30, 2008