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ERE Gift Registry, Second-Hand, Homemade & Time Gifts
Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 7:53 pm
by Ego
Re: ERE Gift Registry, Second-Hand, Homemade & Time Gifts
Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 9:39 am
by Smashter
Has anyone tried this? I'm considering it from my upcoming wedding.
Re: ERE Gift Registry, Second-Hand, Homemade & Time Gifts
Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:15 am
by jacob
In my/our experience, most people would rather cut a check or run a credit card than spend hours creating home-made gifts. Comparative advantage might play in here. A typical wedding gift costs less in money than 5-10 hours of effort/income for most people. Asking people for the latter might annoy them, especially if they have no skills or no time but either enough income or enough credit to buy a solution.
There's a real risk you end up with a gift that's "certifiably home-made in China" because most people feel utterly compelled to give something.
I think it works asking from people who actually enjoy the work---but that's just a small fraction of people. Over the past several years all our outgoing gifts have been either knitted work or things out of wood. We're probably talking 20-30 hours per year. That's doable for us whereas it is a lot of life-energy from people who only get 80 hours of vacation per year. It would be far easier for them just to spend the money. So not something I'd request from people who aren't into it.
As for in-coming, I've tried really hard to train people not to give me anything. Now that should be easy for potential givers to figure out, but nooo... I claim 50% success. What does come in is either regifted or exchanged for a giftcard that's also regifted. The best gift I've received over the past many years was a big bag of second-hand shorts, all my size, that SIL scored at a yardsale for a few bucks. But she likes yardsailing.
Re: ERE Gift Registry, Second-Hand, Homemade & Time Gifts
Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:54 am
by EMJ
jacob wrote:yardsailing.
yardsailing = new ere sport!
Re: ERE Gift Registry, Second-Hand, Homemade & Time Gifts
Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2017 8:55 am
by 7Wannabe5
The most fun was the Christmas when I had a big old house and my kids and my sister's kids were still young, and everybody brought extra guests, and we spent the whole weekend together, and everybody gave the present of organizing activities, and providing the materials necessary, for the group for a two hour block. We baked, went sledding, had a sing-a-long, made a video, played parlor games, etc. etc. Of course, this might only work with a group that consisted of over 90% Bohemian, Artsy, Frugal, and/or Nerdy.