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View Full Version : Thank you gift question.



PurplePotato
10-19-2010, 03:13 PM
So this is day 2 of the great hosta transplantation of 2010. :D

My (very new) friend recently bought a new house and she wanted to clear out a bunch of flower beds to make way for grass so the kids had a nice place to play. They just happened to be filled with hostas and ferns which is what I wanted to put in some of my beds. So I went over, had them all dug up and now she'll put grass down. Everyone wins.

Last week (on day 1) I made banana bread and brought that over as a thank you.

Well then on Sunday she decided she wanted more gone so we dug and loaded another pick up truck full of hostas today. I think my total is about 80-90 hostas, 80 ferns and about 60 pretty fuzzy leaf things that may or may not be lambs ear. I mean, even at cheap prices I think this is at least about $2500 worth of plants. But, I also supplied the labor (roughly 4 man hours) to dig them all out of her yard. She would have had to dig them up or hire someone (more likely it was really hard dirt) to dig them up then figure out how to dispose of them.

But one loaf of banana bread doesn't seem like it is enough...or is it?

Plus we're very new friends (our sons are friends from school) so we're still in that polite, get to know you stage.

I will probably not see her again for a few weeks.

What would you do? Is the banana bread enough?

zwieback
10-19-2010, 03:21 PM
How about sending a thank you note along with an invitation to dinner at your house? Since she just moved in, she may still be up to her ear in boxes, so having a nice, home cooked meal would be nice.

LakeMartinGal
10-19-2010, 03:53 PM
How about sending a thank you note along with an invitation to dinner at your house? Since she just moved in, she may still be up to her ear in boxes, so having a nice, home cooked meal would be nice.I agree with this -- a friendly gesture, without making it seem like "payment."

PurplePotato
10-19-2010, 03:53 PM
They are settled in - they've been in a couple of months now.

I don't want it to be an over the top thing but I don't know...guess I'm just second guessing only bringing over banana bread.

MHalverson
10-19-2010, 09:38 PM
I think a thank you note and invite for dinner is a great idea. If you feel a little funny about inviting her over for dinner then maybe leave a bottle of wine and a card thanking her on her doorstep...

Beth
10-20-2010, 09:37 AM
I think a dinner or Sunday football invitation if you want to make it more casual, would be a way to let her see the plants in their new home and to thank her again for the plants without making it another gift. While I understand the second guessing, I'd also feel funny about a second thank you gift.

BucknellAlum
10-20-2010, 10:07 AM
I don't think there is anything wrong with another baked item, or small thing like notecards. Invite them to dinner, if that feels right to you in terms of the friendship, but if not, another little item acknowledges that you are happy to receive all those plants, even if it also benefitted her too.