Here's another one about weddings. When the invitation, says "in liue of presents, we prefer a monetary gift" or something like that. The first time I got one of those, I thought who are they to tell what type of gift to present them. I bought a nice curved vase, around $60, and shoved a $200 check in the bottom of the vase. Around two years later my wife and I were invited to their house for dinner. Instaed of displaying the gift as etiquette tells you, the vase was nowhere to be seen. Halfway through the dinner, I asked then why they had never cashed the wedding check. They looked at each other and the husband said, "What check?" I replied. The one I put in the bottom of the vase." The expression on their faces was priceless. The next week they tried to cash the check, but the time for cashing it had expired. Call me a jerk, but don't tell me what type of gift to give.