“Gratefully yours,
“Mary Brown.
“June nineteenth, nineteen hundred and five.”
If a gift arrives so late that it can not be acknowledged before the wedding, the wife must write as soon as possible after the ceremony,—even during the first days of her honeymoon. To neglect to do this is an unpardonable rudeness.
The wedding gifts may be displayed in a room by themselves on the wedding-day, but must not be accompanied by the cards of the donors. In spite of arguments pro and con, it is certainly in better taste to remove the cards before the exhibition. If there are so many present that there is any danger of the bride’s forgetting from whom the different articles came, let some member of the family keep a list, or take an inventory, before the cards are taken off. Some persons attach to each gift a tiny slip of paper bearing a number. In a little book is a corresponding number after which is written the name of the sender.
The rules that apply to wedding-presents apply also to the gifts sent at wedding anniversaries, be they wooden, tin, crystal, silver or golden anniversaries.
ENGAGEMENT GIFTS
Engagement presents are frequently sent to the fiancée, but this is entirely a matter of taste or inclination, and is not demanded by fashion or conventionality. Contributions to linen showers may be included among the engagement gifts. The fashion of such “showers” is ephemeral,—a fact not to be regretted.