Groomsmen Gift Idea: Pens

If you're like me, you find the typical groomsmen gifts kind of lame.  Well, ok, not exactly lame, but it seems that the whole world assumes that groomsmen are primarily interested in drinking, hence the prevalence of personalized beer mug options for gift giving.  Not that there is anything wrong with giving beer mugs- they can be fun and personal in the right context, and J. and I love putting his in the freezer for cold drinks- but what if your groomsmen are no longer in their 20's or aren't necessarily enthralled with the glory of drinking anymore?  Or what if you have so many friends who are already married, that the beer mugs have already been done?  And of course, one's next options are typically golf related (again, not a bad idea if appropriate, but not everyone loves golf).

So when my friend B. told me about his groomsmens' gifts, I totally loved them!  B.'s groomsmen are, much like ours, mostly professionals out there in the "real world" who live in NYC and don't have room for much clutter.  And so I thought these pens were a terriffic idea for a gift!

[caption id="attachment_1054" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Roller Pen from the Cross Townsend Collection"][/caption]

B. Purchased these at Joon New York and he received a considerable discount just by talking to them about his plan.  Using his finely tuned Fordham negotiation skills (which anyone can use), he basically said he would either be buying five pens or zero, depending on whether the price was right.  Needless to say, the store worked with B. and he got these great pens to give as gifts.  He's planning to have them engraved with each groomsman's name and job title, where applicable.

I have to say, I think this is a stellar gift idea.  I myself have received some good pens as gifts, and I even wrote my bar exam essays with such a gift (a gorgeous pen gifted for graduation from a family I used to babysit for- I used it for good luck, and I think it worked).  People always forget about pens, but I think even bridesmaids might like to receive one!

Free beer mug image courtesy of FreeFoto.com