Gravy boat anyone? Bridal shower game exposed my antiquated gift ideas-

November 2022--Went to a bridal shower today for a wonderful young lady on our lake and we played Bridal Bingo—that’s where you fill in all the squares on the paper with gifts you think the bride-to-be will receive. If you get five correct answers in consecutive squares, you win a prize. I had my eye on that gift bag with the bottle of wine—but it just wasn’t to be.

Once I added the gift I purchased to a square, (I at least knew I'd get one right then) I was racking my brain trying to think of what I should put into the other squares. We were given only so much time before the bride-to-be would start opening gifts, so I had to think fast.

Most of the people at my table were 50 and up—but there were a few younger ones. We all told each other what gifts we brought so I figured I’d have a lot of the squares filled with correct answers. I was wrong. Most of the others at my table gave the bride money to be put toward home improvement projects or the honeymoon, or just to purchase something else they needed.

I haven’t been to too many bridal showers lately, so I just thought of what I got at my bridal shower. And I couldn’t have been any further off the mark. Four of us at the table who have been married a long time—threw out some pretty great answers. Great—if you were getting married in the 70s or 80s. But not great by today’s standards.

With each item we mentioned, Stefanie, Lisa and I laughed---partly because we soon realized nobody gives the kind of gifts we mentioned. Not anymore anyway. The younger ones at the table had no idea why we thought these ideas were funny. Heck, one of the young ladies at our table didn’t even know what Princess House is or what you do with a gravy boat. Really? I remember going to a lot of Princess House home parties and they were all the rage.

We threw out the idea of giving an iron and ironing board. We couldn’t live without those. I know some people who have always ironed their bed sheets, window coverings and their jeans. Do today’s young couples iron anything? Or did they just buy that on their own?

I remember one of the gifts I got was a set of matching luggage—complete with the train case-- called that because it was designed to help women carry their toiletries and makeup in one small bag while traveling—and that was usually on a train. It was something that all the aunts got together and bought for every one of us girls getting married. I’ve not seen anyone recently ask for or get a set of luggage. Backpacks, duffel bags, briefcases and carry-ons, maybe—but not a complete set of matching luggage.

We also tossed out the idea of a teapot. Once very popular—I don’t think many people use them too much anymore. (Let me know if I'm wrong.) It’s much quicker to toss a cup of water into the microwave or make a stop at a local coffee shop.

Wait—we got it. A toaster! The woman next to me, Kay, said she recalled when she got married (more than 50 years ago) she received a four-slice, pop-up toaster. It’s like you hit the jackpot when got a four-slice toaster vs. a two-slice model. And one that could toast both sides of the bread at the same time. Prior to the 1950s, the toasters only did one side at a time, and you had to manually flip over the bread. Today—I’m thinking pop-up toasters are a little passe´--betting most people today have a toaster oven that will toast, bake, broil and even air fry.

We talked about mix masters. The one I have--you hold it in your hand and snap in the two beaters. (You knew you had the deluxe model if it had more than two speeds.) Today—I don’t know of too many who use a handheld model. The highly sought-after KitchenAid stand mixer is one of the more popular gifts—you can use it to do almost anything in the kitchen that requires the blending of ingredients. And you can get attachments that will shred, whisk, grind meat, spiralize vegetables. So why would you want that little two-beater hand mixer? Well, I still have mine and I gotta tell ya’, it does a mean mashed potato.

One of the ladies at the table recalls getting a large Atlas for a shower gift. For those of you who are not sure what an Atlas is—it’s a printed book of maps, obviously pre-GPS. She said they were thrilled. She was in charge of mapping out their trip when they went on their honeymoon and it was fun to see where they were, where they had been and where they were going by tracing her finger along the page. The Atlas was always in alphabetical order, so it wasn’t always easy to trace your finger along your journey--especially if you were in Illinois crossing over to Wisconsin. Seemed like you were forever flipping pages to find the state you were in at the time.

We rely heavily on our nav system built directly into the car and we once relied heavily on our handheld Garmin that plugged into the cigarette lighter (now a USB port). But, I still like looking at a printed map (now in large print) to see where we are in relation to where we’ve been or where we’re going. I’m constantly flipping pages as we leave Michigan, head into Ohio and Indiana, through Kentucky, then Tennessee, a brief run through Georgia and then into North Carolina. The Atlas would be easier to use if only we traveled to states in alphabetical order.

We also talked about how we used to get a round platter—usually made of hard plastic or ceramic—and it was called a cheese tray. You would fill it with different kinds of cheeses, meats, crisp vegetables, perhaps some olives, crackers and a bowl or cup in the middle that held the dip—or sometimes a cheese ball. Today’s version is along the same lines with the same kinds of finger foods but with a much fancier name and it’s on wood. I’m guessing today’s charcuterie boards cost a whole lot more than a cheese tray.

It was a lovely shower, and I enjoyed the company and conversation. I also learned a lot about what to give and not give to the next bride-to-be. No worries—if you invite me to a bridal shower I will be sure not to show up with a gravy boat or a toaster.

Take it one day at a time.

jodi marneris

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