Ok, Ok... I know... You are the ones getting married. So ideally you should be the ones getting gifts right!? It's your wedding for Pete's sake! (whoever he might be).

Well, it seems to be a long standing tradition that you give a small gift to the attendees of your wedding. Usually these are friends and family, but not always.

Here I am going to discuss a few things you can make are nice, simple, cost effective gifts that you can help celebrate the occasion.

Step 1: Ideas...

There are a myriad of different things you can do for this gift. Many people will just do bubbles, bird seed, or rice (depending on the laws of your State/Province/Country) for you to hurl at them. But once you are done blowing or slinging your chosen items then what do you have to show for the occasion?

Some people also have elegant looking bowls on the tables at the reception and they put water and some floating candles in them for the guests to take. Well with this, people don't always know the candles are for them to take, and also there is nothing signifying what they are for or associated with. There is no way to put a tag on one of these saying, "Thank you for coming" or even just you and your new bride's names.

What I did at my wedding was to have both a small bottle of bubbles and a sack of mints with a tag tied around the top with a bow that matched our invitations (see my other Instructable here: https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Wedding-Invitations/). The bottle matched the programs we had since they both had hearts on top. I could have also done the vial of bubbles with the heart handle too, but I got a great deal on the other bottles.

Depending on what you are planning you should be able to pick up most of the items at your closest craft and hobby store, dollar store and/or party store. Online places are also great resources... eBay, Google searches, etc...

Below are some images for a few ideas. Keep in mind that with each new elements (i.e. a silver basket or plastic wine glass) there are additional costs. A lot of these items are fairly inexpensive alone (.15 cents or so each), but once you start combining them then the price can escalate fairly quickly.

Step 2: All Wrapped Up...

Ideally with the mints... you can usually buy a large carton (looks like a huge milk carton) full of these assorted colored mints from your local buy in bulk grocery store (Sam's Club, Public's, Cosco, BJ's, etc...). Depending on how many guests you will probably only need one carton.

The other thing you will need is the ribbon and tulle (sheer fabric). You can buy both these things at your local party and/or hobby store.

I added paper tags to mine, similar to the tags you see with Hershey Kisses. I tied them on with the bow holding the tulle closed. The tags I was able to type up and get printed at my local office store.

I was able to save money in that I laid out my type multiple times on an 11"x17" tabloid sheet. So when I went to print them out for .7 cents a copy I was able to fit roughly 100 tags per sheet. I only had 120 guests to RSVP so I only needed two sheets of paper printed. I was then able to use their paper cutter for free of charge (since I was operating it and not them). I used my one hole punch and enlisted my soon bride-to-be to help tie the ribbons on.

Step 3:

No matter what you do this is your day. It's something special for you, your family and your friends. No matter what have fun and enjoy yourself, cause even a year from then you won't remember most of it and wonder where that day went. Thank God for pictures and videos!

Good luck!