The exact cheese kits pictured from Urban Cheesecraft are available from William Sonoma for $25-$30. I picked up the Mozzarella/Ricotta kit. I have only made the mozzarella with 1% milk and it is still the most delicious mozzarella I have ever had.

No peace lilly's! We now have 5 of the things.

I had a friend years ago who gave the BEST wedding shower gift.

She would go to stores after holidays and buy up lots of decorations for super-cheap prices. When a friend got married, she would pack them a huge box containing decorations and wrapping paper that covered every upcoming holiday - enough to get the couple through the first year.

Cheap, thoughtful, and perfect. :)

One of the most unexpected and useful gifts I received when I was married (oh so many years ago) was a colorful picnic cooler set (big and little). I still have thecset. It's one of those too-practical things people rarely think to give, yet few people buy them for themselves.

Cheese boards and vases we received in multiples.

A friend made us a set of brown linen napkins with bright orange (my favorite color) thread for the trim. Ten years later and two kids later, still the most useful things in our house!

I like the cheese kit, but unless you're getting the others off a registry, don't buy home items! I had people give us things, thinking it went with our decor (assuming we would looove it), but I didn't like them. They were thoughtful yes, but a giftcard or cash would have saved me time (and space!!), and I could've gotten things we liked, and picked out ourselves. I wanted to acquire special pieces like serveware, vases, etc. and have a more curated home. The most useful gifts were kitchen gadgets, small appliances we didn't have, etc.

Wait - you're supposed to give your married friends a housewarming gift TOO? On top of the shower gift(s) and the wedding gift???

I'd rather get the box of decorations (interesting and fun as well as festive!) or the napkins than have to make cheese.

Ugh.I can't tell you how many people bought things for our home that I couldn't throw out because it was a wedding present but hated nonetheless. I've finally convinced my husband that they're taking up too much mental space storing and trying to fit into our home and it's time to purge. He agrees. In the end, those gifts ended up being anything but generous for all the time, effort and garage space they took up because I either had to return them, fret about them, or store them out of guilt.
For GODS sake, please please please don't give anyone a vase. For some reason it's the "perfect" gift that isn't perfect and you get a tonne of.

I'm with @Portlandrules As a newlywed, the 2 gifts that we received that were off registry were not hideous, but have no use in our home. We have a tiny apartment, so storing these items is not easy. If you're set on getting the couple a gift that is off-registry, consult with them first! Tell them you want to get them something that you don't see listed and ask if they need it. It will be appreciated!

I expect most newlyweds nowadays will already have set up home together. Quality tea towels and hammam-style towels, whilst not the most glamorous gift, are always useful.

Stemless glasses are also a nice gift. Glasses always get broken, and stemless ones can be used for any occasion.

As a recent newlywed, I received some great off registry items that I love, and some that I didn't. I think it is pretty rude to expect guests to only buy off registries, we considered not doing one at all, because it felt too much like "asking" for gifts. 99.9% of our gifts came with a receipt. We returned anything we couldn't use or really disliked. People, they are gifts! Supposed to be surprises and reflect both the giver and the receiver.

I'm with @babyfishmouth - I thought the bridal shower is supposed to take care of household items they need/want?
If you feel the need to get them yet another gift, make it something that can be consumed: a bottle of wine, a jar of home made salsa or spaghetti sauce, jam, a batch of cookies,.... That's thoughtful, inexpensive, and won't clash with their decor.
If you want to give a big gift, give them a visit from a cleaning service.

I don't think its correct to assume that most newlyweds have set up a home together prior to getting married. I've been to 4 weddings this summer and only 1 couple had been living together prior to the wedding. I think a cookbook is a great housewarming gift, provided you know that one or both of the people cook. It can be a thoughtful, practical gift, that hopefully won't just take up space, and likely won't be something they registered for. After one couple got back from their honeymoon and settled into their new home, I gave them a cookbook produced by one of their favorite restaurants. They loved it.

All of those gifts above would end up in my garage sale.

I've been giving the same wedding/housewarming/shower gift for years... it's inexpensive and fun and shows that you thought about them rather than simply going off the registry (which I NEVER do by the way - to those of you who are married and whining about getting "useless" stuff, buying/making a gift can be just as much fun as receiving one, so let your guests and friends have a bit of fun with it!). Here's what I do - I hit up antique stores or online (depending on how much time I have) and buy a few vintage newspaper/letterpress stamps http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=printing+press+letters&_sacat=0 and then buy either quality white pillowcases, sack cloth bar towels, or some other fabric piece that they will use that's "flat", and a permanent fabric ink pad from a craft store. This adds up to about $25. Using these supplies I monogram a set for the couple, and then wrap it all up (including the 3 letters and the ink pad) in a cute little box/bag (with instructions) and give it to them as a gift -and- something they can use to monogram or just play around with down the road. The only time this has been a problem was once when I waited til the last minute to make it and realized I didn't know if my girlfriend was taking her soon-to-be husband's last name... so Monogramming was going to be difficult. I just went with the first letters of their first names. I still receive compliments on this gift from a few of the MANY couples I've given it to. Never once has anyone whined about it not being on the registry.

at jewish weddings, it's customary to give money (usually divisible by the number 18, which is lucky) instead of a bunch of stuff that will take up cupboard space, get returned, or get sold at a garage sale. money may seem impersonal, but if two people are starting their life together, being able to pool a lot of little cash gifts into big must-haves (furniture, car payments, mortgage payments, paying off the wedding costs) actually helps prepare them for life a lot more than a serving set ever will.

if i ever get married, i plan on asking for no gifts. donations in our name would be nice, if people felt so inclined to do something. their presence at the wedding would be gift enough.

My husband & I got married last year - the best gift(s) we got was cash. We put a ton towards a honeymoon, and the rest towards a mortgage. These days, most couples (huge generalization, I now) have already lived together for some time before getting married. Candles & vases are NOT NEEDED.

However, I would have to say our 'favourite' gift was a Dyson. A must for living with a husky.