50th Wedding Anniversary Party -- no gifts please

[cgcw]

We are invited to a 50th wedding anniversary party next Saturday. The invitation says "No gifts, please". I can't imagine going without bringing one. I'm certain the event will be on the same scale as a large wedding. The couple, my first cousin and his wife, certainly have no need for a cash gift. Their grown children are my age, so I don't know them well enough to know what their likes and dislikes would be. We thought about doing a family gift of theatre tickets but didn't see anything that looked really good coming to this area in the next couple of months (I looked for after Christmas since the Holidays can be busy).

So, I'm at a loss. We could do a family gift or an individual gift. As a family, there would be my Mom and her 4 grown children with their spouses going in on the gift. We are all invited and plan on attending.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be nice? Thanks for any help.

 

[grinningghost]

I've been invited to a couple of these "no gift" parties, but found a nice dinner gift certificate was appreciated anyway. By a 50th anniversary, the couple usually has everything they could ever want - but everyone likes a nice dinner out. Just give it to them discreetly.

 

[Allie322]

We just returned home from a surprise 70th birthday party. The invitation also said no gifts. I wrote a check to our local newspaper's Santa Fund in honor of Uncle Joe turning 70. He doesn't need a thing and he loves kids so I'm sure he will appreciate this.

 

[Jasminesmommy]

I would as well donate it to a cause they care about in there name.

 

[Pam]

Why not just take lots of photos and then do up either a photo album or scrapbook of the special occasion??

 

[AlexandNessa]

When I graduated with my Masters, I also had a "no gifts" party. Some people did come with gifts anyway. If anyone wrote me a check, I never cashed it. I just wanted to celebrate my accomplishment with my loved ones.

Most respected my wishes, but some didn't. Those who didn't got me something like lottery tickets or restaurant gift certificates -- those certainly didn't go to waste, and I got a kick out of them. Some just gave a congratulatory card, which I saved for a scrapbook. That's something you might consider -- making a sort of a scrapbook (take lots of pictures at their party). When my friend turned 40, she also had a "no gifts" party, but we made her a "scrapbook" of things that happened the year she was born. That was a huge hit at her party -- it was passed around the whole party, and was quite a conversation piece.

Good luck!

 

[Mimi Q]

My parents had a "no gifts" 50th anniversary celebration. They really didn't need anything and just wanted to share the day with family and friends.

 

[KimRaye]

I also made a contribution in their names. It was better than nothing I guess.

 

[swea_pea1]

Somebody did this for a "no gifts" 50th anniversary party I attended, and I thought it was a pretty cute idea.

They made a gift basket filled with "gold" items, like Rold Gold pretzels, Gold Bond foot powder, Gold Medal flour, etc. It was everyday stuff that they could use, but sent the message that the golden anniversary was being acknowledged. And it was all wrapped in gold cellophane, of course!

 

[Margie J]

For the 50th Anniversary of my friend's parents a bunch of us put together a memories book. We all made one page and it could be anything we wanted. It could be a picture, letter, drawing, etc. Then the pages were put into a nice album and that was our gift to them.

 

[ennazus]

An old picture would be a very treasured gift.

 

[piratesmate]

Another one for the scrapbook idea...and I'm not a "scrapper." For my grandmother's 90th birthday I put together a book that may be best described as a "This Is Your Life" book. At the time (1997) no one was very concerned about acid & photos so I just used one of those magnetic pages photo albums. (I did do the outside like a padded picture frame - if you remember those.)

Ahead of time I gathered favorite pictures of my grandmother - with the grandkids, on vacations, any special moments. I added brief decsriptions or one liners of our favorite memories of Gram. At the party I gave the guests various colored paper & asked that they write similar things. As I got them back I cut them down & put them in the book; we gave it to her just before the end of the party.

That book became one of her most treasured possessions. She continued to add notes, letters & pictures to the blank pages at the end - or just stuffed them between pages. After her passing the book was returned to me. The memories captured there are very special.

 

[aprilgail2]

We had a no gifts party for Matt just prior to goign into transplant yet more than half brought him gifts anyway and for my moms 70th birthday party it was no gifts and only 2 people out of 50 didn't bring gifts.....

 

[Cruisin]

Instead of everyone having a "no gifts" party that everyone ignores their wishes any way, why don't people start having parties requesting things such as: If you wish bring a food donation and give them to a food bank, or bring a toy and donate them at Christmas to the toy drives. etc.
That way people can still bring something and worth causes can then benefit.

 

[Otto's Doll]

I love that last idea, Cruisin'Kroezes! As someone who regularly volunteers at our local food pantry, I can testify that donations are needed year round, not just at holidays. This is a wonderful way to honor a loved one, and yet to honor their wishes for no gifts. What a great idea!

 

[geffric]

Maybe you could take some time and write a note and share your memories about them from childhood memories of your cousin to what you still remember about their wedding, birth of children etc, these can be put in the scrapbook and kept and reread. i am also in favor of the donation to a favorite charity or adopting a needy family in their honor.

 

[cgcw]

I love the ideas of donations to either charity or a food pantry. I will call our township and see how I can make a donation to the pantry in their name. If that doesn't work, I'll check with my son's preschool as they are a PADS sight. As I posted in the beginning, the couple certainly does not need the money. They can well afford whatever they decide to purchase. I know this for a fact -- as they are the owners of a large corporation in this area, one my Dad was once a partner in. Giving to the food pantry will be helping others much less fortunate than they are and make me feel good in the process. I only hope they feel as good about the gift.

Thanks for all the great ideas.