good wedding gift for amish couples?

[blisterine]

a nice amish dude from the farm my friend uses to get horses shod has married a nice amish girl from a neighboring community. i would like to get them a wedding gift. but what do you get people who live in another time period than we do?

 

the only thing simple enough i can think of is a case of mason jars.

 

i thought of sheets or towels, but what color? or is white too bright?

 

everything else is too modern, i wonder if a manual can opener is too technical?

 

any suggestions?

[ilovetchotchkes]

Money is always appropriate!!!

[failsafe]

How about some nice bake/kitchenware?

[Jinger_Cat]

I think any useful, "not too modern" household items would be great. How about something like baking dishes, pots and pans, coffee mugs, gardening tools, etc?

[Witsec7]

Buy them some bees at Heifer.

[moreorlessnu]

How about some nice bake/kitchenware?

Bingo. Can't beat a good Calphalon roasting pan or set of fry pans, a Le Creuset dutch oven, or a really heavy duty set of cookie sheets. If you don't want to spend too much, Lodge Cast Iron pans are good quality but not too expensive.

[Buzzard]

I'd second the money suggestion. They'll likely get a lot of household goods from the community.

[snarkbillie]

My joke answer is a few packages of Velcro.

My serious answer is cash and a nice homemade card.

[Peas n carrots]

Http://www.amishamerica.com

This would be a good resource. However, I think the suggestions for plain linen, sheets etc would be good.

[snarkykitty]

I think that money is always an appropriate gift for a wedding, especially when you don't know what they can/can't use or need. I would stick to cash versus a check, though, because I don't know if the Amish use banks. (That sounds really stupid but I really don't know!)

[gilora]

Cash. Let them decide what they need/want.

[vicka]

cash and maybe a serving dish or something like that. something personal (and inexpensive) plus cash so that they can get the stuff they really need.

[bananacat]

The Amish don't shun modern technology because they thinks it's bad. They live the way to do with the intention of avoiding pride, or competition between people within their community. I wouldn't give them much of a gift, especially if it makes them stand out from their neighbors. Instead, maybe you could give something to the community in general, although I can't think of what that might be. Otherwise, I'd just go with a nice care and well wishes.

[SamuraiKatz]

Maybe a gift certificate to: http://www.lehmans.com/ purveyor of all things Amish and low tech..Congratulations to the happy couple.

[SunnyAndrsn]

Cards don't have to be homemade. The Amish understand the source of the gift. They are also known to shop in some modern stores for household items.

A friend of mine made the invitations for her Amish friend's wedding. It caused quite a stir because she did them on the computer. In the end, since the source was my friend who was not Amish, it was accepted.

Give a gift from your heart, that will be the most enjoyed/appreciated.

[clibbyjo]

Maybe a gift certificate to: http://www.lehmans.com/ purveyor of all things Amish and low tech..Congratulations to the happy couple.

I considered suggesting Lehman's as well because I have been there several times. However, its mostly Amish men who go in and they are buying farming equipment and tools and boring stuff like that. The only "woman stuff" they really have there are oil lamps and cooking stuff which is meant more for tourists. They have the most beautiful stoves I have ever seen but for 5K + those aren;t going anywhere.Lots of "homesteaders" get composting toilets,washboards,hand crank radios stuff there. Go with cash.

[Mamajane]

I think that you could give the man a giftcard to some place you know he will go to and to the woman you could give her a giftcard to a local quilting shop. I know that sounds silly but amish women take great joy in quilting and the woman would be very pleased she has a giftcard that only SHE can spend, knowing that her husband would never quilt. Just think if you give them money than most likely her husband gets to decide how to spend it.

[Conuly]

Different groups of Amish have different rules and different ideas about what parts of the outside world are acceptable. (And it's my understanding that there's some rules lawyering going on as well, which I guess is only to be expected.)

If you're unwilling to simply ask what they would like, I would go with a gift card to one or two (as suggested, a "his and hers" set of gift cards might be extra thoughtful) useful but nice stores, or simply cash.

[Witsec7]

Please take care if you are buying kitchen ware. No colors.

Perhaps some big white bath sheets?

[Jessica]

What about a nice pie dish?

[leree1019]

A fun gift would be a gift certificate to a local restaurant they like. Ask your friend where they like to go. That and a card would be special. Let them get all the date nights in that they can before the babies start commin'!

[Black Aliss]

Too bad Lehmans.com and yodershardware.com don't have bridal registries!

[HOTW]

Best thing to do is ask if they have any needs. They don't go much for vanity items lehmans is a good idea, also where I live we get everything from Old Order Amish to Pregressive Mennonites in th eWalMart! Also a good idea might be to get a hole of a Bakers Creek Seed Catalog they have heirloom seeds as opposed to hybrids, that might be apprecuited for the wife's garden!

[Guest]

SPAM! Glorious SPAM!

[Stephers831]

I know this will sound strange but I'd offer to drive them somewhere as a gift, since they can use a driver but can't drive a car themselves. Also a useful gift could be a set of canning jars like Mason jars, that's defdinately something they'll use and in no way fancy.