The Unwanted Wedding Gift

I have an ugly bowl.

We got it as a wedding gift from my godfather and his wife. It’s been sitting in its box in various places round the house for the last three years. I have no earthly idea what to do with it.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a nice bowl, Lenox china accented with 24 karat gold. Unfortunately it’s also accented with sculpted flowers in relief and ::cringe:: a fully three-dimensional butterfly.

It has to be somebody’s style, but it for sure isn’t mine. Even my mom commented on it. I don’t really blame my godfather. I hadn’t actually seen him since I was about 13 when his youngest daughter was born and we went to Rhode Island for her Christening because he made my dad her godfather.

Still, after three years it raises the question – What do you do with the gifts that you would never use but never got around to returning? Do you give them away? Try to sell them?

I honestly have no idea what to do with this stupid bowl. It’s not like I can pass it off to a friend as a wedding gift, because then they’d think that I bought that thinking they’d like it. So every so often I pull it out from under the futon, open the box and look at it. Then, without deciding anything, I nestle it back in its styrofoam and put it away to ignore for another few months. The box is dusty and worn out. The ribbon on it has been gnawed to shreds by my cat, who for some reason loves to chew on flimsy, filmy materials.

I’m thinking of selling it on CraigsList, but considering that it took us four days and multiple postings to get a single response about our keyboard, my hopes aren’t high.

So, anyone want to buy a bowl?

~Liz

l'allumeuse

July 12, 2011

If I had the money and a use for it, I’d totally buy it, as I think it’s pretty. Lol. But seeing as how my room is full of crap I don’t use or need right as now as it is, I can’t afford to bring anything else in. :-p Wish I could though. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

the Specific Ocean

I’d price it on ebay. They might have something like it or the same thing that will give you an idea of what people would be willing to pay for it. Otherwise, I would donate it to Goodwill. We did that with a set of hideous cookie jars that we got for our wedding (that weren’t worth selling and no one we know would want, except the aunt that gave them to us).

Haha, I found a listing for that same bowl on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Lenox-butterflies-and-lace-Detractive-Bowl-NIB-/190539731217?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5d0d9111.

Blessed Unicorn

I actually have some Lenox stuff with butterflies! lol. But it’s glasses and has butterfly etchings and color on the stems. And I got a Lenox picture frame for our wedding from someone. It’s a nice bowl, but I honestly don’t see a purpose for it (other than putting it on a shelf to collect dust). Maybe put fruit in it in the dining room? Haha. Good luck! ~*Stephanie*~

MyNirvana

July 13, 2011

is it weird that i want a bowl like yours? i adore butterflies 😀

psychobabble

the price of gold is constantly rising, it’ll be worth more in the future. if it comes down to it you can trade it for food when the economy collapses.

RYN: but there is no transferring of files. they don’t just appear on another computer. that’d make no sense. there’s replication of genes and ideas and things like that, but that’s not the same thing as “living again”. or maybe it is. like if i write a book I’m reincarnated through them every time someone reads my book. but i think we’re playing fast and loose with our definitions here.

July 14, 2011

RYN: meh, good point about how the example fails, but you get where i was going at. I strongly agree with “standing on the shoulders of our forefathers”, we learn and we advance. I think “heaven” and “reincarnation” are concepts that can vary from person to person. i understand your reincarnation concept, and i could equally say that you can reach heaven/nirvana/enlightenment asa state of mind. anyway, there’s more to come hun, and i f**king love you for reading and listening. honestly, i’m welling up, i’m not used to getting what i get from this site in real life. *hug*

July 15, 2011

of course you have them. you live in a very stratified society. you country is worse than mine. one of the worst in the world actually. http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk

RYN: i’d rather be on the dole, which you call welfare i think. I use sign holders to point out the flaw in the system. technology slows down when you take into account that people need jobs. the guy who invents the pole is a threat. You know how there’s a bunch of people who hate Wallmart? they come in to little towns and run over the little guys? but wait, i thought efficiencywas a good thing? not when people’s jobs are concerned. we’ll have to keep creating pointless jobs for people to do in this system. we’ll have to cling on to our pointless jobs in this system.