Please be a Dear, Wrap in Clear
I recently received a bridal shower invitation that said, “Please be a dear, and wrap in clear.” To be honest, I had never seen that before and wondered why the heck they would want you to do that? So I did a little research on it and I thought I’d pass it on to anyone else who had never heard of doing that.
From what I’ve read, this is for a “display shower” where all of the gifts are set out for everyone to see. This comes in handy especially when a lot of people are invited to the shower and unwrapping each gift will take up a lot of time. The bride-to-be then has more time to enjoy her guests. I also read that it is a tradition in Italy, although I am Italian American and it was news to me. Maybe I’m a little old school, but aside from the food and eating, isn’t opening the gifts a major part of the shower? Maybe only showers I’ve been to.
What are your thoughts?
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Interesting. I never heard of this before. I think it would definitely take away from the fun of opening the gifts, and eliminates time thanking each individual guest as they watch you open your gifts. One of the best parts of gift-giving is watching the recipient open it! I also think it puts more pressure on the guests, with the realization their gift will be on display. (Urges them to really go all out, even if it’s not in their budget). Not a fan!
Clear wrap presentation is not for all gifts. At the showers I attended, only the gifts that have a image on the box (dishes, etc.) are clear wrapped. It saves on time and allows the bride-to-be to mingle with her guests. The gifts are opened during the shower (not all gifts are clear wrapped). The clear wrapped are presented for the guests to view just as the wrapped gifts are. The down side is that the guest of honor doesn’t get surprised when she is handed the gift. I do like clear wrap, and I do like going all out wrapping my gifts. I am inviting guests to clear wrap for my daughter’s shower, however, it doesn’t take away from her opening her gifts. FYI in the UK the bride-to-be has an “open house” where her gifts are displayed. The ladies are the guests of the bride, her way of saying thank you. Light lunch, bruch, tea or cocktails. Very nice.