Gifts

I like giving a gift for the shower, so I go to Ten Thousand Villages for a unique gift! All fair trade items and the money goes directly to the artisan who made the product in a developing country!

If there's no registry, usually that indicates they are looking for monetary gifts.. so I would probably give money.

We registered at a few places and my SIL gave best advice she said to just pick gifts that are cute and people would be happy to give and reasonably priced and then return and get whatever you want. Just remember to communicate your registry very well so folks get it from your registry and returning is easy and don’t even need a receipt. Bed Bath and Beyond was the best place we thought.

I am assuming you are asking as a gift for someone else's wedding?

If that's the case, if they haven't asked for anything, cash would probably be the best option. I didn't have a registry because we were flying in for the wedding and could only take back what our suitcases could hold. I did receive some handmade gifts which was really sweet. We got one of our engagment pictures put on canvas from a cousin (she took the picture from Facebook), and others got us some picture frames for after we get our wedding pictures, otherwise we received cash.

For a bridal shower, I would simply ask the bride if there is anything she needs. Perhaps they want some gift cards to Canadian Tire, The Bay, or Bed, Bath and Beyond or some kind of small household appliances. If you don't live in the same city as them, check to see what is around before grabbing them a gift card.

I would consider if the couple is living together already, how long they've been together (how much stuff they've accumulated), or if they are buying a house after the wedding? This will gauge how much "stuff" they actually need. For example, my fiance and I have lived together 5 years. We are registering our honeymoon for the wedding, but I will be doing a small registry at the Bay or Bed Bath and Beyond for the Bridal Shower, for some items we would like to replace or upgrade.

Sometimes the best thing to do is ask, because often nowadays, no registry means they'd prefer to get cash...