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February 2014 Weddings
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Gift registry - does it suck or is it fun?

kerbohlkerbohl member
First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
in February 2014 Weddings
Is anyone at (or past) the stage of registering for gifts?  And are you or did you enjoy it, or hate it?  It is such a chore for me - if I could get away with not registering and telling guests to buy what they like or just show up with a card, I would.  But most of my guests are my old-school family who like to buy kitchen supplies, so register I must. 
And I'm worried about my FMIL.  She was on and on about us registering, and I kept putting it off because I didn't have time.  So what does she do?  She goes out and buys a $400 mixer for us, because apparently we were taking too long?  And it is a mixer that I really, really don't want, so we had to tell her to take it back.  What is she going to do now that she knows what we want?  I don't WANT presents from her - she's on a tight budget and doing enough for the wedding.  I really, really don't like this registering stage and the stress that it is bringing. 

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Re: Gift registry - does it suck or is it fun?

  • fre3domsfre3doms member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    I'm in the process of registering right now. We started our gift registry last week. We're only registering at one place. Though I might throw a few things on an Amazon registry. It was a fun experience so far. The lady helping us was lots of fun and totally understood when we said no about certain things.
    My fiance and I both still live with our parents. We have some stuff in a storage unit but still are in need of a lot of stuff. So I have been enjoying picking out dishes, flatware and matching bathroom stuff.

    It's your registry so put whatever you need/want on it. Even if it's stuff others might find silly. I told my fiance we should put a few silly things on it and see if they get bought.



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  • GabbyBarksGabbyBarks member
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    I was sooo excited to register and thought it would be so much fun... omg I was so wrong!  First of all, the lady helping us was pushing and kind of rude (Macys).  Then we had a hard time determining what we really need vs what we want; since neither of us live on our own there are a lot of things we really need so we were trying to keep that in mind.  Turns out the store we went to is kind of a smaller store, which I didn't realize until we were there, but there were only like 15 comforters to choose from and we didn't like most of them.

    As a side note... I noticed a lot of "home" items seem to be geared towards an older audience.  I wish there was more colorful/fresher items for 20-somethings out there.  

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  • fre3domsfre3doms member
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    Did you only register at Macy's? Maybe see if other stores have better choices in some areas.

    I refuse to register at Macy's because I don't like them. I'm from the Chicago area and many of us are still mad that Macy's bought out Marshall Fields.

    We're doing Bed, Bath and Beyond and then maybe Target or Amazon for a few other things they don't have.

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  • kerbohlkerbohl member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    I'm doing Bed, Bath, and Beyond as well, but this week I registered at the Hudson Bay because that is the store that will be in every town, so easier for people. 
    So mixed experiences, eh?  I didn't mind it as much as I thought when I went, but the store was going through getting rid of old stock and not having its new stock in yet, so not a lot of selection. 

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  • cruffinocruffino member
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    We aren't registering because we don't need anything, but I was engaged once before and I remember that registering was so fun! I loved going around with the scanner.
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  • PetKatSold2011PetKatSold2011 member
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    For myself and my FI it was a mix of both.  We were so excited to do it in the begining but yes, it felt a bit like a chore especially since his schedule is all over the place and I had to coordinate when to do it.  I don't live with my fiance so trying to think of how we'd set up our future home was very hard.  I guess it's a good thing that for the most part we do need the basics.  Also did Bed Bath and Beyond with two different ladies...one was a bit more pushy and just lead us mostly to the high-end stuff...the second on our next appointment was funny and fun.. Maybe the person helping could make the difference?  Overall it all pays off.  :) The scanner was pretty cool but I gave that to my FI so he could have the fun and be entertained, lol.
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  • mm0406mm0406 member
    First Comment
    We had fun at Bed Bath and Beyond once we told the lady "helping" us that we had it under control and just wanted to walk around on our own. 
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  • fre3domsfre3doms member
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    We actually really liked our helper. She was funny--joking she'd crash our party. Also seemed to give us free reign on what to register for but giving suggestions when we asked.

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  • JnL21402JnL21402 member
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    We registered at Macy's and yea there wasn't much we we're excited about at our store but if you go online you can add a lot more. We had to post pone our wedding 2 years ago bc I tore my ligaments in my ankle back then we didn't have the funniest time registering but this time it was so much better and he loved to do the scanner lol we also did Williams and Sonoma but we'll be together for 12 years on Valentine's day so its hard to register when you have lived together for so long too. My friend just did Bed Bath and Beyond and liked their attitude better Good Luck
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  • kerbohlkerbohl member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    I thought I was done registering (seeing as I registered for all the stuff that I needed from the two stores that I registered for), but now my FMIL is complaining that there isn't enough stuff on my registry.  But I really don't want anything else from these stores, and I can't see getting stuff I need from any other stores.  I'm a bit of a minimalist after almost literally living out of a suitcase for two years.  Do you guys think it really matters if I don't have a huge registry?  If people then just decide not to get me a present at all, that's fine . . . I just don't want to get pressured into registering for more stuff when I know I don't really need it. 

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  • fre3domsfre3doms member
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    Don't register for more than what you want. That might just mean people give you more cash. Which I am sure is fine.

    We have like 270 some items between the two registries because we're establishing a new household and do not have too much. A lot of my things are those little kitchen gadgets as well.

    Do what's best for you and don't listen too much to others.

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  • babeworeredbabeworered member
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    I live in Canada so this has been an especially horrible experience.
    There are virtually NO places where you can register online, you MUST go to the store, I've checked EVERYWHERE. Other sites require you to have an American address, even if guests are international. It's been a huge hassle.
    Frankly, I'm thinking there's no point in having a registry since my FI and I have been living together for almost 6 years, anytime we've needed anything we just went out and bought it, but my mother INSISTS.
    I'm really hating the idea of wasting my time going to a store and having them shake me down to buy the most expensive things. 
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  • kerbohlkerbohl member
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    @babeworered . . . and they will shake you down for the expensive things!  It is pretty crazy.  Both the Bay and Bed, Bath, and Beyond were very insistent on checking out their china.  I'm sorry, I'm not having anyone pay $10 for a mug.  That is how expensive the fancy china is, and the cups and mugs are the cheapest part of the sets.  I'll stick with my Corelle, which lasts longer and is significantly cheaper, but unfortunately is not in any store with a registry. 
    I didn't know about needing an American address for other stores - that would be annoying for international guests. 

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