When You Don't Need Gifts
When You Don't Need Gifts
Nov 02, 2015
Weve entered November, which means the holiday season is almost upon us. As that magical time of year rolls around we tend to think a lot about giving and receiving and making and baking and buying, but its also a great time to think about donating.
Which is why I bring up the idea of charitable donations in place of wedding gifts. Many couples, particularly those who are already living together, or who have well-established living spaces, find they dont need a lot from a wedding registry. They dont want to ask for things they dont need, but they also want to give their guests the opportunity to contribute. They might already have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and more cutting boards than they know what to do with, and so they turn to the charitable donation. Theyll feel good, their guests will feel good, and a good deed will have been done for someone or something that needs it.
But maybe you dont have your dream Kitchen Aid mixer in Tiffany Blue. Maybe you are just starting out and could really use a cutting board. Thats fine, too. There is still a way to add an element of charity to your wedding. Instead of asking your guests to donate in lieu of gift for you, you can donate in lieu of a gift for them. Take whatever money you would have spent on monogrammed wine glasses or personalized candles and donate it to charity. No one will miss the wine glasses or the other favors. They might pause a moment to read the card that states a donation was made in honor of each guest. They might give a thoughtful smile as they ponder the reasons you chose that charity. They might feel proud and glad. Then again your guests might care for the donation as much as they would for the wine glasses, but at least youll know the money was better spent.
You can set up a donation site through your wedding website really easily and you can even give your guests a few options of places to donate. That way they might be able to pick a cause that is important to them, too. If youre looking for a place to start, The I Do Foundation makes things really easy. You can set up your registry quickly and easily and your guests can make donations in just a few minutes. Its definitely a lot easier than trying to figure out how to wrap a frying pan, and it comes with a pretty good feeling too.
{Lindsey}