Gift Opening

[Kirsten]

Wasn't sure where to put this, so CLs should move it to the right place if I'm wrong. . . .

Are you having a gift opening? Where and when? Are you serving food? What's on the menu?

[*TanyaJeanne*]

We will be doing a gift opening the day after the wedding. We will be having it around 2pm and it will be at our place.
My mom said she wants to bring some food so probably just snacky type things.

Just our parents and siblings will be coming, and any OOT guests that want to drive to our place since its over an hour from our location of the wedding.

[Jaci]

We'll probably have a brunch that might include opening gifts, but I don't want everyone to think they have to mingle around and watch so we might open them early and just display them for the brunch. Besides, I'd rather visit with Kirsten and Zack and show off the place than make a bunch of people watch me open presents :P

[*heather*]

We had a brunch in the hotel that everyone was staying in, but not a gift opening. Personally, I feel that weddings are the *whole* weekend anyway, and I never go to the gift opening. Sometimes I'm just over it, kwim?

[lizaanne]

We only have a small guest list, 60 people, so I don't expect to get much to make it worth while. We are staying at the hotel the night of the wedding (Saturday) as well as Sunday night because my family from NC will be staying at my house. Oh - guess the will be OUR house then! hehehe

So - not sure what we will do. Probably go back to the house to "visit" and open things there, not sure. Well, now that I think of it, everyone will be staying at the hotel Saturday night with us, so maybe we can just have people into our suite. Hmmmm - guess I need to think about this.

No - I don't want to make a big deal out of it. :) Yes - I'm thinking as I type! I will talk to FH, but I'm sure he will just want to do this in private, knowing him.

~Liza

[Katnye]

We had a brunch the day after the wedding at my parents' house and we opened our gifts then. It was mainly OOT family and our wedding party. It was very casual, with sandwiches, veggie tray, etc.

[rowanmayfairs]

i doubt it will be a big deal.. We will probably open gifts the next day. I can't think of any wedding i been to my area where the gift opening was a public thing/social thing :)

I plan on taking Sat & Sun off so we can open gifts on sunday.

[Kirsten]

Besides, I'd rather visit with Kirsten and Zack and show off the place than make a bunch of people watch me open presents :P
Sweet!

I'm not big into opening presents in front of others, either. But Momzilla wants a gift opening so that's what we're doing. She's having it catered. :happysigh: Kebabs, fruit, light stuff like that. Don't have a time in mind yet, but it'll be at Momzilla's and Dadra's house. Probably on the new deck.

[nikkiana]

I imagine we'll probably end up doing it at my parents house on Sunday afternoon and whoever is around will be there... Nothing with a formal invitation... Whoever's around is around..

[belle67]

My parents are renting a room at our hotel the day after for the gift opening. We have a lot of people from OOT staying over and their house wouldn't be big enough. There will also finger food served. It will be bascially be for anyone that wants to come.

[Venus]

We opened ours the next day with close family and as there was still plenty of sliced meat, we had cold sandwiches. It was a very casual event

[nikkiscott]

I haven't talked this over with fh but I am thinking about having a gift opening. Just bridal party and family. I am also thinking about having it at my parents place. I think it would make more sense to have it at our place then we don't have to move everything. I still have time to think about this. I don't think it will be a major thing. I would just rather sit around and have drinks with friends. I hate people watching me open gifts. I was never a fan when it came to birthdays wither.

[lmhcmm]

I think we'll have a bruch at our place for the BP and OOTers. :)

[Angela]

It's not something that's done in our area, so we won't be doing it. FH and I will be taking the gifts back to our apartment and opening them alone that day....then we can make a list of what we didn't get and what we need to buy, and we'll go shopping sometime the week after the wedding. :jump4joy:

[destinationbride07]

WOW I have never heard of this so let me ask yall...since we are having a destination should I have a small one (at my moms house) back here in chicago when we return? We can open gifts and show our wedding video (which i am sure folks will love) it will be mostly for folks who did not make the wedding and who live in chi....so what yall think?

[katieandalex]

We are not doing a gift opening. I'm not really the kind of person that likes to open gifts in front of people. And like my sister told me, if you have a gift opening, you can't make fun out of the stupid gifts you get! :lol: They opened their cards on the way back to Madison, WI after their wedding and they were like "Who is this person? Well, they paid a $20 cover." :lol: You couldn't do that if you had a gift opening.

[Jaci]

WOW I have never heard of this so let me ask yall...since we are having a destination should I have a small one (at my moms house) back here in chicago when we return? We can open gifts and show our wedding video (which i am sure folks will love) it will be mostly for folks who did not make the wedding and who live in chi....so what yall think?

Hmmm, I'm not sure. Are you doing anything for the people who couldn't make it? Like a reception and stuff? I would say you probably don't want to open gifts in front of people who weren't at the wedding, but I do think it's a good idea to have some sort of event, be it a backyard barbecue or something, where you can show your wedding video and celebrate with the people who weren't there.

[KathyandJer]

We're having an "Open House" the day after the wedding in the meeting room of the hotel that most people will be staying at. This way if people are leaving, they can stop by and say goodbye, people can come and watch us open every gift if they want...or they can just stop by for a snack on their way out of town!

I'm not a big fan of opening gifts in front of a whole lot of people either, but it will give us another chance to see people who have travelled so far for the wedding!

Food will be just finger foods and snacks - leftover cake (if there is any) and a brand new cake to present to my niece because it's her 12th birthday the day after the wedding! We also plan to hide some birthday presents in amongst the wedding gifts for her, so she'll be the center of attention for part of the time :lol:

[jillian]

Honestly I have never heard of having a gift opening party. It seems very strange to me, yet how it's done intrigues me. In fact people usually leave when gift opening starts at wedding/baby showers.

[nikkiana]

Well.... Now that I've had my gift opening, I can tell you how it went! My family extened an informal invitation to whomever was still hanging around the ILs home to come over around 7 PM to watch us open gifts and look at some pictures.... From DH's side of the family, his parents, grandparents and aunt came.... and on my side of the family, I had my maternal grandparents, my aunt, my parents and several of my cousins (though they were mostly making peach cobbler instead of watching me open gifts).... and then we opened gifts.... After we were done, DH's family left and my family proceeded to play cards, eat peach cobbler, and I took pictures of them.

[KathyandJer]

nikkiana - sounds wonderful and relaxing - how perfect for the day after :)

[rowanmayfairs]

we were going to open them the next day.. but my family insists we must open them at the wedding cause guests will be EXPECT us to thank them then :)

Plus James has decided he wants to open our gifts on our wedding day also. So I guess we will do it at the reception.

So I guess we will open them at the reception. Not sure at what point yet though.

[Jules]

We had our gift opening the day after the wedding. It was a combination brunch and gift opening get-together for family and out-of-town guests. It was a blast! ;)