How much do you usually spend on a wedding gift?

[rupeeman]

yea it really depends on the budget but these moments come one's in a year so noone can control their feelings...so don't worry at all enjoy these memorable bits and let's have control on other expenses...

[stressedmama]

We typically spend about $10 - $15 on a young kid's birthday party gift, $25 for high school graduation for nonfamily, for our close family we give $100 for high school graduation (a little more for college graduation), $25 baby shower gift (a little more for closer friends or family members) and we will bring dinner to them after the baby is born, $15 gift (usually a little baby outfit and toy for older brother/sister) for second kid along with a dinner after the baby is born. After going to tons of weddings, baby showers, and kids birthday parties, I think we give about what most people give around here (at least those that we associate with). We might be a little on the lower end for a wedding gift, but that's what our budget allows for right now.

I find that bringing a meal after a baby is born and giving moms/dads a couple of hours of free babysitting is usually more appreciated then the gifts.

[eisor]

We try to keep wedding gifts at a low cost. Sadly, the gift kind of depends on how far we traveled for the wedding. If it is a local wedding, we can usually afford $50-75. But if we have to pay travel expenses, we can't afford as much. We are heading to a wedding memorial weekend and I spent $1 of my own money on the gift. I pulled their registry from Target, then price matched it at Sears and used a leftover Sears giftcard that we had got from cashing in credit card rewards for our freezer.

For all other occasions, I try very hard not to spend more than $5. But, I usually give a gift that has a value of $10-20.

[M-squared]

A number of my friends have started giving "no gifts" notes with accompanying birthday invites. I do it myself. Still, I hate arriving with nothing in hand. What I've started doing (and I think it is appreciated) is bringing a kid's consumable. I will buy a box of those expensive organic cookies or some other treat. The kids are delighted and the moms are happy to get something that will be gone soon!

[PrincessPerky]

A number of my friends have started giving "no gifts" notes with accompanying birthday invites. I do it myself. Still, I hate arriving with nothing in hand. What I've started doing (and I think it is appreciated) is bringing a kid's consumable. I will buy a box of those expensive organic cookies or some other treat. The kids are delighted and the moms are happy to get something that will be gone soon!

I think that is a lovely idea! We also have had folk come with cards (often hand made, which is very cool IMO) and one or two sneak in a small gift.

[neobudget]

It really depends. You can get creative and give a nice gift that only costs $20 or $30, but might be one of the best gifts! I recently got married and I know that we really appreciated the gifts that were personal, not necessarily the most expensive ones.

For example, I love coffee. Someone got us 2 bags of gourmet coffee and put them in a nice basket with some cool mugs. It probably set them back $25 or $30, but I loved it -- shoot, I wrote about it in an online forum!