When It's Time to Meet the Parents

I am thankful for my husband for about a million reasons, not the least of which is that I don't have to date ever again. I can understand why some people enjoy the whole dating process--a reason to fancy yourself up, butterflies in your stomach, the prospect of new adventures, first kisses, the whole allure of the unknown--but frankly, I always knew the millionth kiss with the right person was going to blow that first kiss out of the water. Uh, and I also wasn't very good at dating. The whole thing just felt so awkward and forced. Either I knew right away this person would be in my life for a while and we could just skip right over what we do for a living and jump into most traumatic childhood memories or it was immediately obvious that there was no relationship potential. I've never been very good at the in between. 

So those of you who thrive on dating, I commend you--getting to know someone new is hard work. What makes it even harder is that eventually you also need to get to know the person's family, specifically the parents. Rarely does the first meeting go completely smoothly (which is why they were able to make whole movies about it), so why not grease the wheels a little bit with a little gift that says, "yes, I'm the girl/guy who is dating your son/daughter, but it's ok because I'm a nice person."

You can always go the wine route since a decent bottle of wine or a fun wine accessory (this is my favorite right now) usually read as mature and thoughtful gifts. My only word of caution is to confirm with your significant other that his parents aren't teetotalers so as to avoid the cringeworthy moment where you present a recovering alcoholic with a lovely Bordeaux. Below are some safe alternatives.

A pretty vase filled with simple flowers is always appreciated. Left to right: striped vase from prettyrandomobjects and white on white stripe vase by redhotpottery.

Homemade baked goods show that you put time and effort into your gift. I'm sure you would win loads of points if you showed up with lemon yogurt anything cake or pear and pecan tea cakes. Try wrapping them in a tea towel for an extra cozy touch. Left to right: egg tray motif tea towels by thehouseofbouton and chalk filigree unbleached linen tea towel by FlowerPress.

Show up with a basket full of apples or other seasonal produce. Extra credit if you and your significant other pick them yourselves. Small snow forest basket by printparty.