Personalized Gifts for Dad

PD Staff Answers:

I think your idea is awesome and maybe with it add a heartfelt note along with it to let them know that you are glad that they are getting married and that you love them greatly.

PD Staff Answers:

A wedding present should be something of permanent value, that the wedding couple will cherish as long as they are married and pass on to future generations. Traditional gifts would be a piece of the bride’s formal chinam, crystal, or silver. Such gifts offer a range of prices, since a single bread-and-butter plate might be as little as $30, and a soup tureen might be as much as $500. All the individual pieces coming together from all the guests make them even more valuable. Every time the husband and wife sit down to a formal dinner, it will be as though all their friends and family are there at the table with them.

But, as a daughter, you want to give something that will stand out a little. Maybe if you gave two wine glasses from their crystal pattern, they might use them to toast one another at the wedding! Or, if you gave a bread saw from their silver pattern, they might use it to cut the wedding cake.

Nowadays, when meany people don’t have formal tablewares, you sometimes need to be more creative, but the gift should still have that sense of permanence and value. Consider a single very-high-quality carving knife (such as Henckels steel); a hardwood serving tray, or a small top-quality cookbot such as Le Creuset or Lagostina. Or, think about what you know about your mothers tastes and needs: a lovely decorative lamp for her study, or a good-quality frame for a favourite picture or photograph, or an art-quality letter opener for her hall table.

Whatever you choose for her, think about getting one small high-quality gift rather than several or a flashier cheaper gift. Quality is everything in marriage — both in the partner you choose to marry and the home you strive to make together. Wedding gifts should reflect that value.

PD Staff Answers:

Flowers or a giant canvas photograph with the family + you in it.

Something honorary.. So they can hang it up at home.

PD Staff Answers:

I had a similar situation with my mom. While a picture frame might seem like a good idea for a 5th marriage, everyone else will think so two. My mom and step dad got 5 or 6 and they had a really small wedding (30 people). Of all the tangible gifts I saw them open, I think every other one was a picture frame.

Go for something unique. You know your mother and what she likes. Maybe something funny, like his and her flip-flops. Or adopt an endangered animal in their name. My brother did that for my mom’s birthday, and they even sent her a little stuffed iguana. Cute! They don’t need stuff for the house, so don’t bother with that. Keep it small.