Parent Gifts

Parent gifts were the most difficult to come up with. We tossed around many ideas - a framed engagement picture (I'm not a fan of giving pictures of myself, my father excluded, ha!), gift certificates to a bed & breakfast (I now have a new policy of not giving gift certificates, because I've recently learned just how many gift cards/certificates I give that don't get used, and therefore equal to tossing money in the dustbin), etc.

My favorite idea was taking the money we would have spent on an unneeded chotchkie that would collect dust on their mantel, and donating it to charity. DH and I regularly donate to charity - except we couldn't this year due to wedding expenses. We had put up links to our favorite charities on our registry in lieu of receiving traditional gifts - but I wanted to do more.

For a week, I researched charitable organizations. I wanted to give to charities our parents would appreciate and connect with. Of course, reading through page after page, I wanted to donate to everyone - but had to narrow it down to just four.

For my father and stepmother, we donated to American Forests. I love this organization - every dollar you donate plants a tree. My parents live on wooded acreage, and enjoy long walks through the state parks.

For my mother, we donated to the Ocean Conservancy. They were even having a donation challenge, so our gift was doubled! My mother is the beach's biggest fan, and she raised my brother and I near it - so this donation was an easy decision. Also, I cried like a small child when I read through their website (anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that when it comes to marine life, this is a common occurrence for me - my family will no longer sit near me when visiting Sea World out of embarrassment).

For DH's father and stepmother, we donated to the Alzheimer's Association. DH's grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago, and my great-grandmother also suffered from the disease - so this was a cause that hit close to home for both our families. They are making incredible strides in research and I'm glad we could help in any way.

For DH's mother, we donated to the ASPCA. We're all animal lovers, in both families - and DH's mom is the proud owner of a rescued cat. I'm happy we could give more animals the same opportunity on her behalf.

When we receive our photos back, we're hoping to make albums for all of the parents as well. I would have loved to do this for them at the rehearsal dinner as well - but the wedding hadn't happened yet :).