Engagement Present

[pookie]

I didn''t know about engagement presents until I started reading stuff on here. Are engagement gifts from the girl to the guy customary? How much am I supposed to spend? We''re both poor college students, and he''ll probably be paying a little under $800 for my ring (not that the price of my gift would have to have anything to do with the price of the ring). He wants a PS3 (not necessarily as an engagement gift, but in general), but that''s a lot of money for a college student with no job.

 

[poptart]

I was a poor college student too (still am!), and I just got him a ring. I figured, I got jewelry, why not him. I went to a national art fair that was held in my town, and bought him a custom made ring there. It wasn''t much money and he loved it... so that''s my idea. Jewelry for jewelry.

*M*

 

[diamondfan]

Pookie, what about making him a coupon book of nice things you both can do now that are not too pricey? when he wants one of the items he gives you the coupon...

a romantic walk somewhere he likes

you cooking his favorite dinner

a massage when he comes home

etc, you get the idea. By the way, my kids want a Wii system over PS 3 and I just got some electonics company newsletter that there are already glitches with it and the ps 3 comes out Fri! Honestly if you are not on the list for you are unlikely to get one and the prices will be nuts. you can also give him a coupon redeemable when the prices come down a bit, maybe in a few months?

you can be creative without spending a lot!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I didn''t get my DH anything. I like the idea of a coupon book. Or what about cooking him his favorite dinner?

 

[robbie3982]

I''m going to be getting FI a big screen tv which will probably cost about the same as my ring, but that''s just because that''s something he really wants. He wants a ps3 too, but he''d buy that whether I got it for him or not whether we were engaged or not so I wanted to get him something else. I don''t think you have to spend as much on his gift as he spent on yours. I like the coupon idea too. Or maybe a scrapbook or your relationship?

 

[janinegirly]

i don''t think an engagement present for the guy is necessary. it''s a nice gesture, but there''s no expectation and it might even be $ money better saved for the wedding/a house,etc. Traditionally, the man purchases the ring, but the woman''s family covers the wedding so it evens out anyway.
my bf and i have been together for some time, so i''ve already bought him gifts over the course of our relationship (not just for holidays) including a flat screen TV, so I''m not planning on buying anything when the proposal EVER happens (yes, I''m a little tightly wound over it).
If money is tight, don''t stress about it! Make him dinner at home to show you appreciate him and he''ll love it!

 

[appletini]

If you ever want to spend quality time with him again, do not get him a PS3. Not to sound harsh, but if he plays video games a lot he will be addicted. If he can play in moderation then consider it.

You can get him a watch (thats what I did for my DH), or just treat him to a yummy home cooked meal.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 11/16/2006 11:55:26 AM
Author: appletini
If you ever want to spend quality time with him again, do not get him a PS3. Not to sound harsh, but if he plays video games a lot he will be addicted. If he can play in moderation then consider it.

You can get him a watch (thats what I did for my DH), or just treat him to a yummy home cooked meal.

I'm with you - or an XBOX - my husband spends about 2-3 hours a day on that XBOX.

I think an engagement gift is a nice gesture, not completely necessary, but we get something, so why shouldn't he? My husband's engagement gift was the down payment on his STi. I would have gotten him a watch, but he never wears the really nice ones that he has.

We're horribly practical, so for Christmas I'm getting him his 50" plasma, which would have been my first choice for an engagement giftm but he wanted the car so much more, and he's getting me my stainless steel counter depth fridge.

 

[brgirl]

I surprised my FI with an engagement present, and he kept saying ''I didn''t know I got anything!'' I told him he should thank PS because although it''s the reason we probably spent more on a ring than originally planned, it is also where I read about engagement presents!

My FI is a huge, huge Beatles fan, especially George Harrison. So, I got him a limited-edition autographed book that is full of illustrations for many of George''s songs. I got it on ebay, and he was very excited about it. I will say he is scared to look at it because it is so valuable (to him...it was about 1/8 the cost of my ring!) ..but he does love how it will be a family heirloom type thing.

My other idea was something autographed by the Red Sox. I looked on ebay, but it''s hard to tell what is authentic. (I did a lot of research for the book). But I also looked on the Red sox website and found that they do signings throughout the year...I was thinking of planning a trip to get as many autographs as possible.

So, is there any sports team or celebrity that your FF loves and would be psyched about getting an autograph from? You could go the ebay route, or the in-person route. I was going to have a baseball or something autographed with congratulations or something personal and related to being engaged.

So just my idea!

 

[eleguin]

I never heard of engagement presents for the guy either until I came to this site. I don''t think that most guys expect an engagement present. My fiance proposed on our 5 yr anniversary with the ring and I had gotten him a pair of Oakleys as his anniversary present. I guess that doesn''t really count as an engagement present. Not long after we got engaged, we moved in together and we joined all of our finances. It''s hard to say what is a present anymore since all of our money is in a joint account.

If you want to get him an engagement present, maybe you can look for something that symbolizes your commitment to each other. It always seemed odd to me that the guy buys a ring that symbolizes the commitment to marry and the girl buys him a big screen TV. I mean, there is nothing wrong with buying your fiance a TV if he wanted one, but it''s always struck me as an odd engagement present. I think a scrapbook, a coupon book are all really sweet ideas. A watch is always very nice too, especially when it''s engraved with a heartfelt message.

Funny that you mention a PS3 though. My fiance really wants one too, and it is being released at midnight today. We live in Manhattan and people already started lining up 3 days ago at Circuit City to buy that darn thing. It is ridiculously overhyped!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

A guy''s engagement present is a nice thought, but certainly not necessary. Don''t worry too much about it.

I didn''t get my guy one, as we were prepping for paying for the wedding. I gave him a card and treated him to a nice dinner.

But I certainly went all out for the Wedding present!

 

[Sparkster]

I bought my FI a digital camera as an engagement present. It''s not ''necessary'' to do so but I wanted to. We didn''t own a camera and didn''t have many photos of ourselves so when I presented it to him, I told him it was a gift where we could start documenting our lives together.

He loved it!

 

[Cyprian Artemis]

I recently found out that in Italian tradition, the woman's family gets him an engagement ring as well. Presumably the woman wouldn't have enough money to afford it herself.

There are some Italian traditions, as told to me by my mom, that I think make a lot of sense. Like the wedding is usually paid for equally by the bride and groom's families and each guest (and family) brings a card and includes at least enough money to cover their dinner. Ideally this money will act as a down payment for their new house. Oops, was that thread-jacking?

So the 'engagement present' for men is also an engagement ring. My dad's has a 1ct(ish) diamond in it and is otherwise simple and masculine. It's only fair that men can enjoy some bling too!

 

[sumbride]

I''m one of the "tv people" but I agree that engagement presents for men aren''t that customary or necessary. Considering the stage of life you''re in, it''s certainly not something to put money into... thought, yes, but not cold hard cash. The scrapbook ideas, cooking and coupons are good ideas. Give him a memory as your present, not a tangible item you can''t afford. There will be plenty more times in your life to splurge on each other, this isn''t the last one!

Our tv should be arriving soon and FI and I are both SO excited about it! It''s been just as much fun for us as the ring was, so I''m glad we didn''t do it at the same time. He''s literally GIDDY. I love it! And watching it together is something we''d do anyway, whereas a video game system would definitely take him away from you. Mine has a PS2 but he only uses it to play Madden and only when he''s mad that his team isn''t doing well in real life. I guess I''m lucky in that way.

 

[MustangFan]

scrapbook idea I like
I have been saving movie ticket stubs, hockey tickets, even directions he gave to get back to my house, when we first started dating.
One day I''m going to do something with it and surprise him.

 

[basil]

I really wanted to buy my fiance a nice watch. Not thousands of dollars, but something that would last a long time and be good quality. But multiple conversations hinting at that idea convinced me of the fact that he really really loves his $20 Casio and thinks that expensive watches are a waste of money since "they do the exact same thing as the cheap ones"

I didn''t want to buy him something he didn''t really want just because I like it.

So I bought him a nice wool sweater, wrapped it up, and wrote "will you marry me?" on the tag. It wasn''t really an engagement present, per se, but I just wanted to do something nice for him. He loves it

 

[Olive Oil]

I think an engagement present is nice! I don''t like the idea of buying something that will be outdated though, like electronics. I would want to buy something more permanent, like really nice desk for his office, or a nice chair. Something that he would love for years to come, not just until the next exciting model came out. I think my boyfriend and I will get engaged in the next couple of years, so I am saving for a present now.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I got my husband an engagement watch.

 

[galeteia]

I plan to get him a Wii, because playing video games (of a certain type) is something we like to do together, snuggled up on the couch. He handles the controller, I handle the plot.

I get all excited, and it amuses him. It''s like TV but with more participation... plus, the Wii looks like something even button-control-challenged people like myself could handle.

So in our case, it will be something we can do ''together''.