What to get best friend for wedding gift?

[Deleted]

My best friend got married about a month ago in a very tiny ceremony with parents only present.

She lives in Europe and will be in the states over Christmas so I would like to give her a gift while she's here. I am really stumped.

She has excellent (and high-end) taste, but is a girl who has everything (and this is a second wedding, and she has a lot of nice stuff from her first wedding). Has to be easy for her to bring home in luggage. Not a silver tray because that's what she got us for our wedding They just bought an apartment so this will also kind of be a housewarming gift. I don't know what the decor in the home will be -- I don't know what her husband's decorating taste is like so I wouldn't want to get anything that is too hard to match with stuff.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

[ijack]

Can you get them a gc for an activity or dinner out?

[Mrs.Beagle]

Cash is king.

[Deleted]

GCs are difficult to buy because she isn't in the US... a lot of places near her won't take an American credit card by phone.

No way to cash. I'd feel really weird giving cash to my best friend, and she's of the cash is gauche mindset anyway. (And I never like giving cash as a gift)

[Deleted]

Take her for a spa day to celebrate?

Is there something the two of you used to do/share that was special and you could somehow give something that recreates that or will remind her of it? Something a little more personal.

[jennistarr1]

that's really really tough...I'm thinking maybe you could treat to a really nice dinner and then more of a token gift

[Deleted]

Experiences with me would be tough because she's going to be really pressed for time when she's home (not only is it Christmas, but her sister is getting married that week), and we have dinner plans already but with other friends too so it wouldn't be a treat to a very nice dinner opportunity (which would be a great idea otherwise).

[Deleted]

Hmmm. Could you get them something engraved? Like expensive wine glasses?
Or something from Tiffany's? They do wedding gifts.

[Deleted]

Ok, what about a nice blanket/throw with some candles, lotions, things that will travel easily but you can still as much or as little as you want and still have it look nice?

[Roc A Bee]

Is she sentimental? Picture gifts go over with my bff. I've made albums/books before.

[Deleted]

A nice vase - something really heavy to add weight to her suitcase -- j/k.

What about something that she can have in the country she lives in -- there are plenty of stores that you could have shipped directly to her home. I know when we visit the US, anything heavy that we need to lug home we side-eye unless we bought it ourselves.

If you really want her to open something up I would do a nice frame or something like that which is not so heavy.

[countthestars]

Small piece of art?
Jewelry?
New luggage?

[Deleted]

Bottle of expensive champagne to consume while in the US.

[Deleted]

Maybe Amazon ships to where she lives?

[Deleted]

To continue to my annoyingness here, she's pregnant so she can't drink champagne until April, and she used to work at Tiffany's (and registered there for her first wedding), so she has, like, every home item they ever made.

[Deleted]

A nice heartfelt card? A Christmas tree ornament?

Art might be on the right track if you have any idea of her taste.

[Deleted]

I may go the restaurant gift certificate route. I've emailed her mom and sister to see if they know of anywhere they've wanted to try.

[audry80]

The best present I received was from my two best friends. They surprised us and paid for a dinner on our Honeymoon. They kept asking me about our dinner reservations that I had made for our Honeymoon. They called one of the places and gave the credit card info. When we got our bill it had a message on the receipt from them and that our bill was covered. It was such a nice surprise and a thoughtful gift. I felt bad for ordering the most expensive dish!

[raangoli]

Can you get her a gift card to a higher end store in the city she lives in? Not as thoughtful, but that way she won't have to ship it and then it can be used to decorate, etc. to their style.

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2012 12:31:35 GMT -5 littlespitfire said:

Is she changing her name? I loved monogrammed stuff when I did.

I think so, but she hasn't yet and his last name has a hyphen in it. How do you monogram things with hypens?

I certainly do love a monogrammed anything...

[pinkroses]

Can you find a photographer in her area and buy her a package? She could use it for maternity/just married photos or save it for when the baby comes.

[cosmowife]

Hermes cashmere throw. I am sure it is really expensive (not sure what you want to spend) but I see them in almost every spread in Elle Decor.

[jaybird]

When my sister lived in Milan I bought a weekend stay for her birthday at an inn in Turin, about 1.5 hrs away. We let her pick dates, then booked it and paid for her. As we were researching places some were even willing to send certificates so she could book on her own (I should point out here that my mother speaks Italian which made this easier).