Gift Rules!

Some people have been getting stressy about gifts. The thing is, we don't really need them, which is why we've suggested that people either give to charity as a celebratory gesture, or contribute something to the wedding/receptions. But that's not good enough for some people! They seem to really want to give us some actual THING! That is, of course, very nice of them. But giving us a thing can be a burden to us if you're giving it to us in the US.

We can't carry gifts back to the UK with us. We'll have been travelling for about three weeks, through three climates, with wedding clothes and honeymoon clothes and hanging around in hot weather clothes and souvenirs of Iceland. We just won't have luggage space. Really. So, if you're in the US and want to give us a gift, please:

1. Contribute something toward the reception in the US--such as flowers, cake--or to our stay in the US with Phil's family. One thing we really need on the day of the US reception is a data projector (i.e. that hooks up to a computer or DVD player) and screen, for showing clips from the Brighton festivities. One should be able to hire such things, but maybe someone out there can borrow one from work?
   
2. If you want to give us a present-present, please don't give us anything larger than your hand. OR
   
3. Buy the gift via the internet, in the UK or Europe, and have it delivered to our house. (But watch out--if you're seeing the prices in pounds, you need to double them to see what the dollar amount on your credit card bill will be.)
   

You may have noticed that I don't suggest that you ship us something from the US. If you do, it could be very expensive for you, and possibly very expensive for us, as we will have to pay the import duty for anything worth more than £18 ($36).

Doesn't all that sound like a pain? Maybe the charity-giving idea is looking better now!