If your grown up son or daughter has recently announced that they’re engaged, you may be wondering what else you can do other than offer a heartfelt “congratulations!” How about giving them a thoughtful engagement gift as well? We’ve put together a list of the best engagement gifts that are meaningful, practical, and the perfect way to show your child and their future spouse just how happy you are for them.
There’s no need to break the bank in order to give the best engagement gift—you’ll have plenty of opportunity to do that when it comes to the wedding—that’s why we’ve filled this gift guide with a wide range of options that they’ll be able to use throughout their engagement. Whether you’re looking for something little or big to help a newly engaged couple ring in their impending nuptials, these are the best engagement gifts to give to your newly betrothed offspring.
The Best Engagement Gifts
1. For the Culinary Couple: Jot & Mark Recipe Box
Getting engaged means combining your lives. This Jot & Mark recipe box will help them corral treasured recipes from both of their families into one charming box. It also comes with recipe cards and dividers to keep things organized. Available in patterns like lemon zest and pink peonies, it’ll make a nice addition to any couple’s new life.
2. For the New Ring-wearer: Vincomic Ring Dish
This ring dish provides a resting spot for new bling — and can be personalized with the wearer’s first (or last) initial. This will prove especially handy if they aren’t used to wearing a lot of jewelry, as it provides a safe place to put their ring when they’re cooking, bathing, working out, or doing any other non-ring-friendly activity. (And don’t worry if you aren’t the only one to give a ring dish — it’s useful to have several around the house.)
3. For the Champagne Toasters: Zweisel Champagne Flutes
There’s no question that the best way to celebrate a newly-engaged couple is with a bottle of nice champagne. But what if they don’t have any appropriate glasses to drink it from or to toast with? Rectify that with these classic, understated Zweisel champagne flutes made from chip- and crack-resistant glass. Stick with a pair of glasses for now, as the couple may want to add a full set to their registry. In the meantime, though, they’ll appreciate these high-quality, toast-ready flutes.
4. For the Laid-Back Pair: Pottery Barn Robes
Planning a wedding is not what most people would call a “relaxing” activity, so these plush, luxurious robes can help them take full advantage of those brief moments of calm leading up to the big day. They’ll also add comfort to late nights spent hashing out invites and seating arrangements. If you want, you can personalize the robes with monograms to give them a bit more pizzazz.
5. For the New Home Owners: Homesick Let’s Toast Candle
If they have a new house to go with their engagement, a scented candle is a great gift for them and their new home. The Homesick Let’s Toast candle has a burn time of 60 to 80 hours and is scented with mandarin and grapefruit. It adds a delicate note of celebration to any home and is a thoughtful and budget-friendly gift for any engaged couple.
6. For the Hyper-Organized Planners: Your Perfect Day Wedding Planner
Weddings are all about logistics. (And love, of course. But also logistics.) Help them work out the details in style with this agenda that’s specifically designed for planning a wedding. Complete with slots to collect samples, sections dedicated to sorting vendors, and a registry checklist, it contains everything they’ll need to lay the groundwork for their big day.
7. For the Couple Who Have Set a Date: Pulse Brands Countdown Blocks
Once they’ve set a date, help them keep track of how long they have until the big day with this set of wedding-oriented countdown blocks. Starting a year out, it lets them adjust the blocks by the day and is perfect to keep on a desk or mantle—plus it’s great for social media posts!
8. For the Couple that Won’t Finish a Full Bottle: Rabbit Champagne Preserver
An engagement gift that they’ll continue to use long after the wedding is over, the Rabbit Champagne Preserver keeps an open bottle of bubbly from going flat. The stainless steel device holds tight to the lip of the bottle, reducing the amount of air that goes in and ensuring its bubbles stay bubbly.
9. For the Entertainers: Pottery Barn Charcuterie Board
Getting engaged usually means they’ll have lots of opportunities to host family holidays or other get-togethers. A gorgeous charcuterie board is a thoughtful and useful gift that they’ll use before and after the wedding. Available in three sizes — 6.25 x 16, 11 x 18, and 9 x 26 inches — you can also add a monogram so it’s personalized to their new joint last name.
10. For the Correspondents: ExcelMark Return Address Stamp
Between the event invites and thank you notes, weddings tend to involve a great deal of paper correspondence. Make the process easier with this self-inking return address stamp. You can customize the font, size, and color to ensure it fits the couple’s style. Give them one with their individual last names to use during their engagement, and one with their married last name for all those wedding gift thank you notes they’ll have to write post-nuptials
11. For the Memory Keepers: Floating Glitter Photo Frame
This is an easy but incredibly thoughtful gift. Pick one of your favorite photos from their earliest days as a couple, print it out, and stick it in the 4-inch x 6-inch frame. It’s a sweet reminder of how it all started — and the floating glitter hearts add a touch of whimsy.
12. For the Cake Cutters: Juve Cake Knife and Server for Weddings
Planning to throw them an engagement party that involves cake cutting? They’ll need a special cake knife and server for that! The set can be used for their wedding, too, so they won’t have to worry about registering for one.
13. For the Picturesque Pair: Define Design 11 Custom Engagement Map
A proposal spot instantly becomes the stuff of family lore for a newly engaged couple. A custom engagement map is a romantic gift that they’ll cherish for years to come. The gorgeous watercolor prints are customized with the place, a specific color, and a type of frame so you can gift them something that reflects their tastes and honors their commitment to one another.
14. For the Coffee Drinkers: Aw Bridal Matching Mugs
For many, wedding planning calls for caffeine — and lots of it. These matching, nuptial-planning-centric mugs provide a charming vessel to hold java, and the included covers ensure that coffee doesn’t grow cold. In the product’s ratings, reviewers note that the cups are high quality and the packaging is surprisingly luxe, making them a perfect gift.
15. For the Home Cooks: The Newlywed Table: A Cookbook to Start Your Life Together
Whether they’re seasoned cooks or just learning their way around the kitchen, they’ll appreciate this cookbook written just for newlyweds. The recipes are simple and portioned to make just the right amount of food for two people. The cookbook also contains valuable information about safe food storage, repurposing leftovers, setting up a pantry, planning a dinner party, and establishing new family traditions.
16. For the Box-Checkers: The Little Book of Wedding Checklists
If they aren’t sure where to begin with their wedding planning, The Little Book of Wedding Checklists is an engagement gift that will set them on the right path. As the title implies, it’s filled with checklists of things a couple should consider or look into as they’re getting married, including budgets, invitations, and information to tell guests. It can also be repurposed for different styles of weddings, from casual backyard parties to big, lavish affairs.
17. For the Sweethearts: Williams-Sonoma “Chocuterie” Board
Nothing says love and celebration like chocolate. Be the star (or the heart) of any engagement party with this heart-shaped “chocuterie” board. Filled with chocolate-dipped strawberries, raspberry-filled bonbons, and a variety of dried fruit, it’s a sweet way to instill romance (and chocolate) into the air. Plus, they can reuse the heart-shaped board once they’ve polished off the sweet stuff.
18. For the Couple with a Refined Palate: Williams-Sonoma Caviar Cocktail Party Set
If they prefer something on the savory side, they’ll love receiving this classy caviar cocktail set as an engagement gift. With caviar, creme fraîche, cocktail blinis, and mother-of-pearl serving spoons all in a reusable cooler, it’ll elevate any engagement party—plus they’ll have the pearl spoons to use for caviar service after they’re married.
19. For the Couple With a Sense of Humor: Pairs Well With Planning a Wedding Gift Bag
Don’t just hand them a bottle of champagne as an engagement gift without putting it in a cute gift bag! This cheekily titled bag is sure to elicit a chuckle from the engaged couple, plus they can reuse it later whenever friends get engaged.
20. For the Couple that Wants to Capture the Moment: Skylight Digital Photo Frame
The Skylight digital photo frame cycles through photos they can select in advance — perfect for all the pictures they’ll amass throughout their engagement. Family members and friends can also send photos to their frame, so they’ll have an incredible library of amazing shots once the wedding is over. It also makes for a fun centerpiece at an engagement party, shower, or rehearsal dinner, and would be a big hit if you fill it with some embarrassing photos from their childhoods.
21. For the One Who Loves to Show Off Her Ring: Diamond Dazzle Stick Portable Diamond Cleaner
Suddenly having new, fancy hardware like an engagement ring leads to lots of questions. Like “Should I insure this thing?” (probably) and “Wait, how do I even clean it?” This pen-sized diamond cleaner helps keep brand-new bling shiny so that it’s sure to elicit plenty of “oohs” and “ahs”. It’s especially effective at cleaning those hard-to-reach spots on intricate engagement rings.
Prices were accurate at the time of publication.
