After yesterday's post, it seems that several people have struggled with monogram gifts and when appropriate to use initial monograms versus name monograms.
Well, let's set the records straight, shall we (at least from my point of view)? We're going to use the names:
When they get married, they will be:
For a woman, the single monogram would be:
and when she becomes married, it would be:
Of course, there are times when it's appropriate to use the single first name letter "I" and the persons full name.
And there are times when it's appropriate to use the married couple monogram, which is the woman's initial (small), then the last name initial (large and in the middle) and then the man's initial (small).
For the man, it really depends on WHAT you're monogramming as to whether you use SBH or sHb. And for the young male child, it should always be sHb until they are older (say high school graduation) when it would be changed to SBH.
Even then, when that child is older, it still depends on what you're monogramming. Other than cufflinks, I don't think I've ever seen much for a male monogrammed with their first initial only.
Now, for families with or without children, there are always the choices of the single last name initial or the full family name "the Handsomes." Of course, you have to deal with the apostrophe is such cases. If it says only "The Handsomes" then no apostrophe is used. But let's say you purchase a plaque for the front door that says "The Handsome's Home," then you would use the apostrophe as you're implying the house belong to more than one Handsome person. Make sense?
I'm not sure I would purchase anything with the couples monograms if they have children (except for master bedroom pillow cases and maybe guest bathroom hand towels, those sort of items).
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THE GIFTS
Whew! What a lot of information. But now that we've got the technicalities out of the way, we can move onto the fun part. The gift ideas! Ladies first of course!
For a single woman, NOT nearing a marriage proposal, I use the original monogram, iBr. If the person IS nearing marriage but not there yet, I will use either a single "I" or the full name "Ima" for longevity of the gift.
Let's take
Stephen Bonanno Sandals. Here I've used married monograms. This is a great idea for a close friend or family member (as they can be on the expensive side) to give as an engagement gift (not to be worn until after the wedding of course!)
Let's take Ashleigh's bag that I bought her for her birthday, I used her full name as I'm assuming she is nearing a marriage proposal and now she'll have a bag she can use for life.
Now, for items such as engravable compacts, jewelry charms, bath wraps, stamps and/or embossers etc., I think it's best to use a single "I" monogram (as some of these items can be used for years after marriage).
For items such as hand towels and glassware that are either displayed or used by more than one person, it's best to use the single last name initial. This can get tricky for those ladies nearing a marriage proposal, so it's best to save these types of gifts until after the wedding.
For a male, as stated before, young male children should use the monogram sHb for clothing, baptismal items etc. until approximately high school. I like to think of the young male's first gift with a new SBH monogram as a leather bound portfolio for a graduation gift.
Of course, even for the older male, the monogram still depends on the type of gift. For luggage, portfolios, briefcases and shirt pockets, the monogram should always be SBH. For cufflinks or keyrings, it is said you can use the younger male version of sHb or a single "H" initial however, I think I personally like the SBH full block myself and will likely continue using it in that way.
Now, for the family, a lot of the same rules apply. For hand towels, use the single "H" monogram or the couple's "iHs" monogram.
You can also use the couple's monogram for items such as pillowcases, bath towels or soaps.
And for even more personalization, you could go with the Boat-and-Tote with the full name of "The Handsomes" or for personalized stationary "From The Handsome's Desk." (Note the use of the apostrophe!)
I would use the full name versions on a gift if I know the person of family intimately as it's more personal. This little plaque would be cute for my home, given our South Florida lifestyle.
So, that' my little monogram tutorial, at least my personal thoughts on the subject. What are your thoughts? Is there anything you would change or do differently? And, what is your favorite hostess, wedding or general gift idea?
Happy Friday Y'all!