I'm pretty sure that the five guys who will be my groomsmen do not read this blog with any sort of regularity, but I'm certain that their girlfriends, wives and other friends do. So, if you are one of my groomsmen and are catching up on some reading, don't go any further. And if you are in any sort of contact with one or more of the guys, please don't tell them about this post. You've been warned.
I had debated for a long time what to get the guys. There are five of them: two in New York, two in Boston and one, my future brother in-law, in Milwaukee.. (There's also an honorary groomsmen, S, who can't come to the wedding because of a conflicting acting gig that weekend.)
It's a diverse crowd as far as groomsmen go, and I knew the typical gifts for groomsmen I was finding online wouldn't do. Spending $100 for a silver flask with their names engraved was a) financially impossible for me right now and b) stupid, since at least two of my groomsmen hardly drink. Most of the other stuff traditionally given as groomsmen gifts tends to be in the sit-on-a-shelf-and-collect-dust category, which was also not something I wanted to do.
So, in true metro fashion and in keeping with the tradition of this blog, I decided to get the guys things they could really use: a whole lot of stuff from Kiehl's. During my trip to Boston, the salespeople at the Newbury Street store helped me load up a bunch of boxes with shaving cream, aftershave lotion, toner, and some other "product." The salespeople told me that quite a few grooms had come in over the past few months looking for gifts for their groomsmen and that many felt the same way I did. Stuff that winds up at a garage sale is not good; stuff that winds up giving you baby-soft skin is fantastic.
Granted, had I had a little more time I could have done personal gifts to reflect the individual gifts of each of the guys. Some are big musicians, one's a big sports fan, another likes biking, but thinking of my groomsmen as a great team, I think buying them all the same thing was a good idea. Now, let's just hope they are all okay with embracing their softer sides so they can enjoy the gifts.
Posted by The Groom at August 23, 2004 10:25 PMvery nice gift!
Posted by: Sandra at August 24, 2004 05:59 PMAs I prepare for cohabitation with my sig. other, we are planning an upcoming garage sale. On the top of the pile is ... still in its original packaging ... a rather stately SHOE POLISHING KIT. Nice groomsmen gift for a bunch of guys who, living in the Bay Area, rarely take off their flip-flops...
Posted by: JB at August 24, 2004 06:59 PMI got a flask once. I never drink hard alcohol so it's in a box somewhere unused.
Posted by: rc at August 25, 2004 11:10 AM