Everything you need to know about kitchen tea gifts

A kitchen tea is one of those parties that are becoming more popular within the UK. We’re now seeing many brides having first an engagement party, then a kitchen tea and then a hen’s night to finish it all off. The kitchen tea is the perfect wholesome celebration where all the bride’s closest friends and family attend and shower the bride with gifts. If you’re attending a kitchen tea soon and you’re a bit confused as to what gift to give, don’t worry, we’ve all been there.

Kitchen teas are kind of difficult to buy for because you’re already getting the bride and groom a wedding gift, spending money on going out for the hen’s and probably a new outfit and potentially accommodation for the actual wedding. The spending never seems to end when a close friend is getting married. We’re here to guide you through the whole process.

How do I know what to buy?

Traditionally, a kitchen tea was a way for the bride’s friends to help her set up her new marital kitchen. That ideas seems pretty outdated these days now that both men and women seem to cook and clean equally. So what does this mean for kitchen teas? Well, essentially, unless the bride is mad on cooking or baking, we’d say that the gift giving can be anything you choose that you think the bride will like.

A few different things might happen when you’re invited to a kitchen tea. Firstly, the maid of honour might have a list of items that the bride is keen for, like a mini registry. She might distribute this list and everyone picks what they’re going to buy from it. This way is super easy for gift-buying but not all kitchen teas will be this way.

Another thing that could occur is that you can just buy something from the wedding registry that you think the bride will like, then tick it off and hey presto, you’ve bought something that you know the bride is after. There’s an issue with this one though.

So I went to a kitchen tea a few years ago for a good friend. I used her wedding registry to buy her some beautiful linen tea towels and some baking spoons and spatulas that she said she wanted. The problem with this gift was that everyone else, literally everyone had bought her tea towels but not checked them off the registry like I had. So she ended up with probably 50 tea towels and she was not happy about it.

The moral of this story? Don’t buy tea towels. If you’re basing your purchase off the registry then go for something that isn’t so generic as tea towels, even if they’re listed.

What should I spend on a kitchen tea gift?

As we’ve already established, if you’re a good friend of the bride, there are going to be a number of events you’re going to need to attend for this wedding, including the big day itself.

A way to not spend more than what you can afford is to put a cap on each gift or thing you feel you need to buy. If you’re attending all the events prior to the wedding, you might want to refrain on spending too much at each. However, if there is only one event prior to the wedding, like a kitchen tea but no hen’s, then a bigger gift for the kitchen tea is fine too. Just as long as you can afford it.

For a wedding gift you might want to spend around £100. Yet for a kitchen tea gift, you should be spending much less. We think around £20 would be an appropriate amount.

If you can’t find anything good for that price, consider asking the other girls invited to the kitchen tea if they’d go in on a bigger gift with you. This way you can pool your money and get something big, perhaps something that was on the wedding registry like say, a waffle maker or coffee machine.

What are some original kitchen tea gift ideas?

Before we launch into gift ideas, we need to establish what kind of kitchen tea you’re attending. Do you know if the bride is trying to stock her kitchen? You’ll know this if her and spouse-to-be either live together or don’t. Couples who already live together don’t tend to need generic kitchen items like tea towels, sets of mugs or plates as they’ve likely already bought that stuff out of necessity. If the bride and groom have yet to live together, then buying kitchen-related items is perfect.

Consider the following gift ideas:

A high quality apron that has a print of something she loves on it or is in her favourite colour.
Fridge magnets – these may seem a bit bland, but it’s one of those things people always forget to pick up and you can buy some really cute ones these days.
Oven mitts or gloves – these always come in handy and you can get them in some really cute prints and patterns;
Sauces or spices – if the bride-to-be is big on cooking, get her a gift set of some unique spices, sauces or other condiments.
A cookbook – cookbooks are always a great option, but try to get something you know they don’t have, and one you know they’d be interested in. Say they always talk about making their own pasta, get them an Italian pasta making book.
Bread making kit – if you know the bride to be is mad on bread-making, consider picking up some bread stuff and making your own hamper. This could include a banneton/ proving basket or two, a scoring knife, a bread cookbook and some organic flours.
A bespoke cake-stand or chopping boards – don’t go generic with these, try to find a woodworker at your local farmer’s market who has these items for a more personal touch.

For an additional gift for the bride, consider getting all the guests to write down their favourite recipe. You can then have them compiled into her own personal cook book.