Quote Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary
And over the years I had tired of the extortion I often felt....your gift must cover the cost of the dinner??? We just wanted people to join us and we wanted to have a party to celebrate.
For weddings, I usually follow this 'rule' too - put money in the card to cover what I think my 'plate' would be there. The last wedding I went to, I actually wrote in the card "This is NOT to be used for Video Games" - my girlfriend really appreciated that, and her hubby (also my friend) got a kick out of it too (they are both close friends I've known since high school). On the other hand, I would never give money for a shower.

Quote Originally Posted by K9soul
I have never even liked it when I was asked "what do you want for your birthday?" because I don't like to feel like I'm telling someone what they should get for me. .
Ooo.. I hate that too, and it drives my family absolutely snakey! I've always gotten myself what i wanted when i needed it, so I'm really hard to shop for. My sister has been the worst the last couple of weeks about what to get me for christmas, and I feel bad because I know she wants to get me something but I don't want her to go into more debt because of me - so I told her to make me some 'coupons' instead for her to make me a free dinner, ferret-sitting, etc. and not worry too much about anything else.