Toilet Paper is the Latest Wedding Gift Trend (Really)

Published Wednesday, May. 21st, 2025

Is toilet paper a practical wedding gift idea? UK supermarket Tesco just launched a gift package with household items, but Costco & Target have been doing this for years! Click to see what's next in wedding registry trends.

toilet paper roll wrapped in a red ribbon, on a table scattered with paper hearts — (Photo: Jane Rubtsova / iStock)

In this economy? Practical wedding gifts pave the road (& line the bins) of modern romance

If there was ever a sign that wedding prices are too high, it might be the newest wedding gift trend: toilet paper. Yep, costs have increased so much that some couples are now registering at a local grocery store to receive household items like toilet paper, dish soap, and toothpaste as wedding gifts.

The latest news of a growing wedding-groceries trend comes from our friends in the UK, where the largest supermarket chain, Tesco, just launched a series of wedding gift packages.

Among these must-have gifts are a “£63 Tesco Really Useful Stuff” wedding gift package, which features items like trash bags, toothpaste, and toilet paper (about $87 USD); a “£39 I Love Brew” package, which includes a six-month's supply of tea and cookies (about $52 USD); and a “£72 Dine-In Dates” gift package with ready-made meals and wine (about $97 USD). (via The Guardian & The Independent)

Tesco’s new wedding lists have been knocked as “bleak” and unromantic by news outlets around the world in the 24 hours since launching. But what could possibly be more romantic than your friends and family reminding you to wipe your a** as newlyweds?

A tower of toilet paper with wood letters in front, spelling LOVE (with a roll of toilet paper as the 'o')

(Photo: Peruze Demirci / iStock)

We’re kidding, of course - there’s absolutely nothing wrong with giving couples gifts that they’ll really use, especially if money’s tight.

In fact, practical wedding gifts really are incredibly popular – Tesco’s in-house poll, announced during their product launch, found that 88% of people prefer practical household items as gifts.

In the US, the majority of Gen Z shoppers prefer to give practical gifts for special occasions (51%), along with almost half of Millennials (47%). This is significantly higher than older generations, with only a third of Gen X and Baby Boomers preferring practical gifts to fun or romantic gifts (via Statista), which shows that times (and priorities) are indeed changing. (We still recommend that you check a couple's wedding registry before putting a bow on a roll of toilet paper though...)

Young shoppers really do prefer practical gifts to traditional fun or romantic gifts!

Honestly, most couples live together before they get married (76% or more), and with many people getting married later in life, it’s likely they don’t need traditional wedding registry items like luggage sets or standing mixers. They already have them, along with plenty of bath towels and sheets, picture frames, and wine glasses. Many newlyweds simply don’t want more knick-knacks and tchotchkes cluttering up their cupboards and closets (even if they do appreciate the sentiment).

And of course, American couples have been choosing grocery store wedding registries for years already – so perhaps we’re the real trendsetters here.

It makes sense from an (unfortunate) economic perspective: The average cost of groceries is 33% higher in the United States than in the United Kingdom; and the average cost of a wedding is about 30% higher in the US than the UK (or $30,000 compared to $23,000 for the typical wedding with about 100 guests).

Will wedding grocery gifts continue to gain popularity among couples planning a wedding? Maybe, especially among couples who have been together for a while before taking their vows, or who already have large families to support.

And who doesn’t love a gift basket of cookies and tea?