OS wedding list

Rachel85

I'm getting married THIS year (I've been waiting ages to say that!) and hadn't planned on having a gift list, however so many people have asked what we want that it seems a good idea, if only to avoid a million vases.

We have all the basics (although it'd be great to get some new things) but I was also wondering about household items that might actually save us money - or time for that matter, as time equals money and all that! :money:

We don't have a slow cooker - we're out of the house for approx 10 hrs a day though, is is save to leave stuff in it for that long? I thought I'd heard Pyrex making some dishes that can go in the freezer, microwave and oven which could be good for batch cooking but can't see them anywhere - are they in my imagination?! It doesn't have to be for the kitchen, anything for the household.

So what could you not live without?

Thanks in advance!

Changingme

I brouhgt some pyrex dishes with plastic lids from Morrisons this week, there about £2.50 depending on size. Hope this helps.

EssexHebridean

Good thread - there are lots on here planning weddings at the moment so this might be very useful to them too! Congratulations on your own forthcoming event also.

When we got married, we went for a "traditional" wedding list rather than one from a particular store. As a result it had items priced from as little as 50p right up to the most expensive being about £120 - this was back in 2000 so obviously prices will have varied a bit since..... One of the things on our list which is still in very regular use is the slow cooker, we love ours and it gets left switched on all day quite happily. I usually put it on at about 7am and it then stays on until we have our dinner at about 7.30pm. Other things I'd not want to be without - really good pans and knives - I invested in Sabatier knives years ago, and a good steel, and they are still as good now as the day I got them. My pans are Analon and again, they are fantastic, although the amount they cost frightened the life out of me! Hard anodised aluminium pans, well looked after, are wonderful. |when thinking about things like Pyrex dishes, remember to take into account how and where they will need to be stored. A good solid roasting tin is invaluable - better still two, in different sizes. Ourt breadmaker gets used very regularly, and has definately more than paid for itself now.

angelavdavis

Definitely a slow cooker - perfect if you are away all day, prepare everything and load it up the night before, pop the crock pot in the fridge then put into the slow cooker in the morning and switch on.

A breadmaker is useful (though not essential) if you think you will use it - especially as you can delay the start so dough or bread is ready for when you return home from work.

A decent steamer (I have a stainless steel one on the hob) inexpensive but saves money on cooking.

Oven to tableware - most are dishwasher, microwave, freezer and ovenproof. Pyrex is one make, but there are plenty out there.

Decent set of saucepans - save you money over their lifetime.

Pressure cooker will save time and money.

If you have an established home already, it might be worth asking for vouchers. Some have a problem asking for these, but we said any Debenhams or John Lewis vouchers would also be appreciated as they enabled us to either add to our dinner service or put some money toward items as we needed to replace things - we still have some left waiting for the next item to go wrong!

I didn't plan to do a list but was asked constantly so did one at the last minute (certainly didn't do a store one - I listed items by their brand and type and varied the costs). I wish I had sent one out with the invitations in hindsight. People were so kind, but my problem wasn't an excess of vases, it was actually towels and decanters (we now have a sack of towels and ten decanters!)

Sunnyday

Hi,
my favourite-can`t-do-without things are:-

Breadmaker
Slow cooker
Remoska

in that order, the next thing is my stainless steel pressure cooker as it makes many soups and stews quickly and i use the heavy bottomed base as a huge pan for jam making etc.

You could maybe ask for vouchers so that you can put them together to buy one expensive item etc.

When we married we were in a similar situation and didn`t need anything, still many gifts were given and most were re-wrapped as gifts for others so i do think that you are doing the right thing with a list.

Good luck with your list - oh and congratulations !! :j

SD

apple_mint

Baking trays are very handy (putting dishes on in the oven as well as for Twink's Hobnobs)
Lock 'n' lock boxes - great storage. More expensive than standard plastic boxes but well worth it.
Hand blender - great for soup making
As EssexHebridean has said, good pans and knives
Serving spoons for the table (something I never invested in and consequently never have enough at Christmas or family gatherings :rolleyes:)
I love my slow cooker and remoska - they save me a fortune, but not everyone is fond of them. Take a look at the slow cooker and remoska threads to see what people do with theirs and make a judgement call yourself on this.
We love our Panasonic breadmaker and wouldn't be without it, but again some people prefer to hand make bread.
We have an electric yoghurt maker from Lakeland - which is very well used as we use a lot of yoghurt. It saves us ££££s

Great thread - useful for a lot of people who are stocking up their kitchens for an OS lifestyle as well as for wedding lists

VfM4meplse

apple_mint wrote: »

Baking trays are very handy

I agree, especialy good quallity cake tins / the reusable silicone variety / vitreous enamel bakeware that doesn't warp with heat.

If you have already set up home, do you realy have that much storage space for items within the kitchen itself? I I love kitchen gadgets but if stuff ends up being stored in the understairs cupboard / somewhere outside the kitchen how often will you really use it? I would suggest a year's subscription to Which? magazine may be a useful alternative.

Rachel85

Wow, thanks for all the ideas so far! I'm definitely going to look into a slow cooker. I didn't think they would be able to cook things as slowly as I need them to, but if they can be left on for all of a long day, then it could be very useful. We have a breadmaker which we use every now and again, more when we have visitors and want the house to smell nice! :rotfl:

Serving spoons are a fab idea - as is the veg steamer - in fact Amazon have a little one which can be easily stored - saves on gas and keeps the vitamins in!

Thanks everyone - and keep them coming if anyone else has any ideas! I am relatively new to running a household so its hard to know what will be good for the MSE OS Life!

:T

freebiequennie

from our wedding 2yrs ago one present i use all the time is a hand blender at £8 its great!!

we had some nice luxury duvet sets we wouldnt have been able to afford or warrant buying normally.

some nice royal doulton glasses again nice luxury.

LOUBOB

congrats on your forthcoming wedding!!!

Slow cooker without a doubt for me, along with good knives, and a steamer.
I went to a wedding and the b&G asked for vouchers from a travel company which paid for the honeymoon, as the gift giver I was glad to be able to contribute to the hm that they wouldnt have had without the vouchers, much better than getting duplicate items you dont need!! My friend also gave the option of giving to a charity if people didnt want to do the travel vouchers and set up their own website for the wedding with links to give your gifts-brilliant!!!