3 days ago
Would you want toilet rolls and kitchen towels as a wedding gift?
THEY may not be the sort of gifts that would send the recipients into throes of ecstasy, but at least they're going to be of use.
Bypassing the usual crystal wine glasses, fine china tea sets and his and hers jewellery, Tesco has launched a wedding gift registry featuring everyday items like loo roll, bin bags and shower gel.
The supermarket chain's Really Useful Stuff bundle also includes toothpaste, kitchen towel, antibacterial hand wash and shampoo.
If you ask me it's a great idea. Unlike many wedding presents these items won't end up at the back of a cupboard for years, but will go straight into everyday use.
Wedding gifts are problematic, both for the couple on the receiving end and for friends and family. When I got married we invited only a handful of guests, all close family, who asked what we wanted.
Our presents included a microwave oven, a duvet cover, a lovely glass vase (also still in use) and a gorgeous wooden salad bowl, all, bar the oven, still in use today.
My now sister-in-law, who had been living in China, gave us a pot of Chinese rice wine, traditionally drunk by the bride and groom to bring good luck. We were delighted with everything.
But had we had a big wedding with a large number of guests, I can say for certain we would have stipulated no gifts, to avoid accumulating 18 sets of bath towels, 13 toasters and ten personalised chopping boards.
As a guest, choosing a present, especially if you're not familiar with the couple's lifestyle, can be tricky. It's not only about what to buy, but how much to spend. You don't want to break the bank, but neither do you want to appear a cheapskate.
Most couples already own a toaster when they tie the knot. Picture: Pixabay
This sort of dilemma is perhaps even worse with wedding lists. These place people in a quandary. I've been to a few weddings where people's names are flagged up beside the gift they have chosen, so everyone knows who has opted for the set of three tea towels as opposed to the 13-piece Ultimate Le Creuset Cookware set.
We were once invited to a wedding, prior to which the John Lewis gift list contained numerous ludicrously expensive items such as a sofa and a dishwasher. It was a morning suit affair too, so I was thankful that we managed to come up with a fictitious trip to Tasmania that sadly clashed with the date. We sent a gift voucher based on what we could afford.
Wedding lists, and indeed presents generally, are intended to equip the happy couple for their new start in life, but nowadays most couples have already been living together for some while - as my partner and I had for more 12 years - so their household needs have already been met before tying the knot.
Research carried out for Tesco found that many couples are ditching items typically associated with wish lists, like fine china and furniture, in favour of more practical goods. Cost increases mean the average couple now takes a year to pay off their wedding, which could be behind their desire to receive household essentials rather than luxuries.
I like the traditional Greek wedding idea of pinning money on the bride and groom's clothing or throwing it towards them as they dance. It's a fun was of giving, with no way of anyone - guests or newlyweds - knowing how much anyone has donated.
We recently attended a lovely wedding, at which there was no obligation to give anything, but if we so wished we could donate towards the couple's honeymoon, which we were happy to do.
I wonder, does anyone still stock up their 'bottom drawer'- traditionally the place that a young, unmarried woman would put things - mostly household items like towels and tablecloths - to use once she was married?
