A great wedding gift doesn't need to cost a fortune

Inexpensive Wedding Gifts

Inexpensive Wedding Present Needed

I have very little money right now, and a good friend is getting married. Any ideas for a nice, frugal wedding present?
Mimi

Inexpensive Wedding Present: Cozy Night In

"No sew" fleece blankets, in coordinating his and her colors or patterns are easy and quite cheap if you can buy the fleece on sale. There are lots of websites with instructions for making these. There are also patterns for reversible "no sew" blankets, which will look even more impressive. If you're even a beginning sewer, you could make "quillows" (blankets which fold into their own pocket to make a pillow). You could also include some microwave popcorn, maybe some homemade popcorn seasonings (recipes for these are on the Internet, too), and if your budget will stretch for it, a gift certificate to a video store. Add a card that says, "Cozy Couple's Night In."
Angie

Inexpensive Wedding Present: Cooking for Two

Purchase a subscription to Taste of Home's Cooking for 2. Then make a bag of extra measuring spoons, measuring cups, potholders, cheese knife, etc. My niece and her husband loved the "kitchen gift bag" we made up for their wedding.
Beth

Inexpensive Wedding Present: Offer Your Talents

If you're any kind of a skilled photographer, offer to take candid photos at the wedding. Or bring your camcorder and present the couple with a DVD of the festivities.
Are you computer savvy? Create a wedding memory website for them.
Buy a basket, decorate it, and fill it with "honeymoon supplies."

Inexpensive Wedding Present: Creative Theme Baskets

Make a "basket" filled with themed items from the dollar store. Some ideas include:

His and Her Cooking: spaghetti sauce, pasta, hot mitts, utensils, apron and towels in kitchen fruit basket
His and Her Picnic: plastic plates, wine glasses and utensils, bottle of wine, cutting board, small knife, blanket, napkins and shelf stable treats in picnic basket
His and Her Car Wash: car shampoo and wax, sponges, microfiber cloths, glass cleaner, paper towels and inexpensive bath towels in wash basin
His and Her Gardening: hand garden tools, his and her gloves, seed packets for flowers and vegetables, kneepads wrapped in a flowerpot
His and Her Movie Night: microwave popcorn or Jiffy pop, movie candy, one or two movies, and a fleece blanket for cuddling on the sofa in a popcorn bucket.

Cindy K in Los Angeles, California

Inexpensive Wedding Present: Videotape the Rehearsal

If you already own a camcorder (or can borrow one for free), offer to videotape the wedding rehearsal. Most couples hire a professional for the big day, but the rehearsal will also have its own special moments.
Elsie in North Georgia

Inexpensive Wedding Present: Give Christmas Cheer

For a unique gift, I like to give newlyweds a nativity set. I get the better sets the week after Christmas when they are 50% off at the card shop chain or other nice retailer with name recognition. I store them in my gift closet. The wedding does not have to be during the Christmas season! This way, my gift is twice as nice as I normally could afford.
Janinne in North Dakota

Inexpensive Wedding Present: On Your Wedding Day…

My Grandmother gave us a gift we'll keep forever that hardly cost a thing. She bought a scrapbook and partially filled it up with newspaper clippings from the day and year we were married. She included things like new car ads, grocery store ads, clothing ads, etc. Now we can look back and see what those things "used" to cost back when we were married. She also included newspaper and magazine clippings in the areas of politics and the environment, and from our local newspaper with the weather for the day we were married. We have since added to it (as suggested when given the gift) new car stickers, receipts from the hospital when each of our two daughters were born and news clippings from momentous days in our history as a nation. It's one of my very favorite things.
Kim

Inexpensive Wedding Present: A First Anniversary Gift

My husband and I received a gift of wine and two wineglasses in a basket with a note that said we were to use this to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. I have replicated this gift also to others because I thought it was a clever idea. Sparkling cider could be substituted.
Pat

Inexpensive Wedding Present: One-of-a-Kind Recipe Book

Try collecting and compiling recipes from friends and relatives (especially elderly friends and relatives). Your costs will be the cost of the printing materials. Be sure to show whom prepares the dish and any special memory or story associated with the dish. It will become a cherished gift that cannot be purchased.
PGiddens

Inexpensive Wedding Present: Fill a Picture Frame Box

Go to your local Hobby Lobby and pick up a nice velvet lined wooden box with a picture frame lid (these can be found in the custom-framing department or in the tabletop frame department). Fill the box with Christmas ornaments (I prefer to go with a wedding theme). This gift also works well for baby gifts. If the wedding invitation will fit in the picture frame, then use it. Otherwise, use a picture of the couple or write a nice note. Don't forget to plan your shopping, as Hobby Lobby puts almost all of their items on sale for 50% off on a regular basis. Just check the ad before you shop!
Brooke

Inexpensive Wedding Present: Offer Your Help

If this is truly a good friend of yours, she will understand that times are tight. Offer your services!

Offer to address/write her thank-you notes
Offer to stay after the reception and clean the hall, gather up flower arrangements, or transport those home who may have had too much to drink
Offer to housesit while she honeymoons so none of the other gifts will be harmed or stolen and clean/set-up her new home for her.
Offer to transport her wedding dress to the cleaners. The quicker it gets cleaned the better.
Offer to be of any assistance on her wedding day, beginning that morning, because there are always those last-minute details that have either been forgotten or everybody is too busy to do.

Wendy in Georgia

Inexpensive Wedding Present: Keepsake Box

My husband's grandmother was very poor. For our wedding gift, she took our wedding invitation, some of the favors and flowers from our wedding and beautifully laid them out and glued them onto a small cutting board with a "handle." We can hang it up by the handle onto the wall. They were clear coated and it is truly a beautiful keepsake of our special day. I'm sure it did not cost her much, but it is priceless.
Valerie

Share your thoughts about this article with the editor: Click Here

Do you need more information on this topic? Click here to ask a Dollar Stretcher Stretchpert!

Do you have a time or money saving idea that wasn't included in this article? Please send it to tips@stretcher.com. We get the best ideas from our readers!

If you liked this article, sign up for our free eNewsletter Surviving Tough Times. Just enter your email address in the box below and click Subscribe.

Follow The Dollar Stretcher on Twitter.

Contact the Dollar Stretcher at:
Dollar Stretcher
PO Box 14160
Bradenton FL 34280
Voice 941-761-7805
Fax 941-761-8301