If you ever go to register for gifts, I have one piece of advice that I didn’t hear or find anywhere. Discuss with your significant other (or whoever is registering with you) what is appropriate to register for and what isn’t.
We knew what we needed – I had read all the books and made a list and Frank had lots of good ideas and advice from first hand experience. What we didn’t agree on was what was appropriate to register for. It’s already uncomfortable enough to be making a list – it feels like you are asking for things – that you really should discuss these things before you get to the store.
Here’s some things you should think about:
- Is it appropriate to register for lots of "big ticket items"? Will you feel like someone spent too much if they get one of them?
- Should you select exactly what you want (this pooh-bear hat) or are you just selecting things to give people an idea of what you need or like?
- Should you register for toys that you don’t "need" but would really like to have?
- Should you register for all those little items that you’ll need but aren’t typically considered gift items like diaper rash cream and baby soap?
- How many of each thing should you register for? Are you going to feel greedy if you register for eight bibs instead of two?
Obviously, nobody has to buy you anything, much less anything you registered for, so it really shouldn’t be that big of a deal what you register for or don’t, but I really felt like we were asking people for something and it made me hyperconsious of everything we put on the list. At one point Frank said, we shouldn’t register for that thing because we can afford it. And my response was, we could afford everything on the list! So he said, that’s why I didn’t want to register. To which I responded but people are going to buy us things anyway and most of them like knowing what we need! We want to make sure we don’t get 30 bibs! (Or do we want 30 bibs?)
What a useful but strange and awkward custom is all I can say in retrospect.
P.S. Did you know you need a swing and a bouncy seat for a baby? The book said so and I didn’t believe it so I made it a swing "or" a bouncy seat and Frank (who thinks I’m a bit silly for reading all the books) was very adament about the fact that we needed both of them. Maybe we ought to give the baby our room and move into the smaller one ourselves. ๐