14:23 - Love it!!!! You can bring cookies to my party anytime.

(I actually was a great baker when I was under 30 and had no kids - used to be a hobby. But as you point out - no one needs mediocre home made snickerdoodles when Heidelberg is available.)

No, go to Heidelberg. Baking cookies yourself for your in-laws to-be the first time is such a brown nose cliche. It's way too domestic for someone under 30 with no kids. Bringing nice pastries is elegant, thoughtful, and suggests that you have far too much going on in your life to slave over a hot oven in summer.

And....What if your cookies aren't that good? I've known lots of women who think they are God's gift to baking but make those horrible, sickly sweet cookies and cakes from the box that taste like cardboard marshmallows.

Or even better you could bake some cookies of your own and put them in a nice box...

How about an assortment of nice cookies, like Italian cookies or something from a bakery? Comes in a bakery box. Sugar + carbs = they like you!

I think a fruit salad is a great idea. Instead of bringing it in a bowl, I really recommend making a "basket" out of a watermelon. It is really quite easy yet never fails to impress, and isn't too horribly akward or difficult to transport. There are lots of ideas online, some fancier than others (I just do a zig-zag "handle" on the top, easy). You can bring it in a cardboard box with crumpled paper around so it doesn't tip over. I'd use that in the car and then just pick up the watermelon and carry it in the park.

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/index.php?option=com_resource&controller=article&category_id=160&article=18831

http://homecooking.about.com/od/garnishing1/ss/watermelonsbs.htm

Wow--just enter "fruit salad watermelon basket" in google images--so many good ideas!

Anonymous wrote:question/tip from a foreigner... sorry to kind of hijack your post OP...
back home when we bring food to a party we put it in a very nice fancy bowl so the host can keep it.
would it be a nice idea to do such a thing in America?
if yes, OP that's my suggestion. if not please let me know... i've done this a couple times before (mostly to fellow mommy friends - bringing cup cakes/brownies in a nice dish when coming for dinner or some home made food from my country in a fancy container for them to keep).
did i make a mistake?
thanks

If someone brought me food in a fancy bowl, I'd return the bowl (washed) to them later unless they told me otherwise!

PP, that's a great idea actually - never that of that!

question/tip from a foreigner... sorry to kind of hijack your post OP...
back home when we bring food to a party we put it in a very nice fancy bowl so the host can keep it.
would it be a nice idea to do such a thing in America?
if yes, OP that's my suggestion. if not please let me know... i've done this a couple times before (mostly to fellow mommy friends - bringing cup cakes/brownies in a nice dish when coming for dinner or some home made food from my country in a fancy container for them to keep).
did i make a mistake?
thanks

I like the idea of fruit salad! Good choice! I might just have boyfriend check with the parents because they might prepare one already and feel like they wasted their time. My husband has given me all sorts of "off" advice re:inlaws and at this point I think I understand them and what theyw ant better than he does. Plant works for me too and flowers sounds nice as well-though hard to take back from a picnic to the house. I like a fancy fruit beverage as well for the picnic. Not into candles. Some types pollute the air and a lot of people are afraid to use something that could cause a fire if a family pet knocked it over. (No offense to the person who suggested it. I know it is a common gift). I like a classy understated picture frame too, but since you don't know if he's the one and it's a picnic, don't think that works. You certainly don't want them asking for a photo of you and him to include in it! Good luck. It'd thr thought that counts and you are bringing something so all is good.

Great point, PP. I was under the impression that it would be a backyard bbq type of thing, which was why I was hesitant to give something like flowers even there, in front of a bunch of other family/friends. I wanted something smaller, less obvious, that I could give them.

Anyway, fruit salad it is!

Hmm, I don't know if the boyfriend is the one. It's still pretty new (a couple of months) so I'm having fun (and assessing, of course .

Well, the fact that it will be in a "public" area, I would say a fruit salad is a great idea. Giving them a "gift" is a very intimate and private thing, and you don't want a bunch of strangers to be part of that.
So fruit salad now, and once you are invited to their home for a private dinner - a more personal gift would be appropriate!

Let us know how it goes. is he THE ONE?

Don't worry, I won't go empty handed (OP here).

I just found out that it's a Father's Day picnic in a public park, so I think flowers are out. BF seems to think there won't be many healthy food options, so I might make a fruit salad.

Either that or I'll bring a plant for mom and dad to take home.

Any other ideas?

Do not go empty handed. How about a special dessert? FWIW, I don't think a plant is too much.

Most anyone appreciates flowers. Candles are nice too. What do they like to do? If the mother likes to cook, perhaps a basil or other herb for her to plant/grow?

I'm meeting my boyfriends parents for the first time soon, and I don't want to show up empty handed. It will be a casual dinner at their house for another event (so not specifically to invite me over and meet me). They are not drinkers, and are pretty laidback, low-key people so I don't want to go overboard. I feel like even a plant or flowers might be too much. Any other ideas?