I have been informed that my registries are too small...

sarawifenow

My aunt and cousin are generously throwing my shower for me. It will be on August 17th and invites went out last Friday. Since they have gone out, my aunt (and several others) have informed me that my registries are too small and that there won't be enough on them for the shower and the wedding.

 

I guess I can see where they are coming from as FI and I really do not have that much on them. Between our Crate and Barrel and our Target registry, we have approx 30 items ranging in the 5-100 dollar range. (Mostly under $50). '

 

My question is, how many items are typically on a registry? FI and I have lived together for about 2 years now, but we could definitely use some upgrades.

theartistformerlyknownas

Take it one event at a time. Don't worry right now about whether you have enough for the shower AND the wedding; just get through the shower and then you can decide if you want to add more before the wedding, or just let people take the hint to give you cash.

How many people are invited to your shower?

sarawifenow

@lolo883 That is kind of what I was thinking. It is nice to hear it from someone else. There are 27 people invited to my shower which makes me wonder if it is too small.

theartistformerlyknownas

I'm trying to find the breakdown I sent to my sister the other day... she said it was perfect, and she's my big sissy so she's always right, right? Hold on...

OK. So I have I think 75 total people invited to two showers, and 150 items total (my face is going to die from all the smiling). Here's how mine breaks down (at current sale prices. We DID register for china so it kind of inflates the counts having each plate count as an item.

Under $10: 12 items

$11-25: 85 items

$26-50 30 items

$51-100: 17 items

Over $100: 6 items

What's the typical price point given at showers you've attended? For me, it's usually between about $40-60. At your average price point, how many gifts are there? (Assuming either going together to buy a big ticket item, or buying multiple smaller items as one gift.) 

If they're all right around 40 bucks or so, I'd probably try to have 40 things on the list so people have some choice.

sarawifenow

You, my dear, are fantastic. I will have to look at my breakdown. I think shower gifts are also about $40-60 here. I am sure that I will need to add some more things. I'll look into it with FI tonight.

photokitty

I'd say you need 35 items in the $25-$50 range for a shower, so the last one of 27 people invited still has a few items to pick from - people like to have options. The under $10 items are not as popular - ever try and find that exact UPC spatula on the wall at BBB?? HELL. In my circle a shower gift is typically $30-40.

kla728

I'm guessing some of those items are closer to the $5-25 mark, so with almost 30 people invited to the shower it is certainly possible you could receive everything on there.  I would say it is perfectly reasonable to add more, especially because you mentioned you guys are in need of several upgrades.

csuave

We had about 50 items in a good range for a shower invite list of 25.  The registries were just about completed after the shower. 

You can add things as you think of them; a few more items might help people shop for you.  You may find some good ideas for things to add reading through the old posts on this board...that's where we got the idea to add a Misto oil mister and we use it all the time!

JoanE2012

SaraBrideSoon said:

My aunt and cousin are generously throwing my shower for me. It will be on August 17th and invites went out last Friday. Since they have gone out, my aunt (and several others) have informed me that my registries are too small and that there won't be enough on them for the shower and the wedding.

 

I guess I can see where they are coming from as FI and I really do not have that much on them. Between our Crate and Barrel and our Target registry, we have approx 30 items ranging in the 5-100 dollar range. (Mostly under $50). '

 

My question is, how many items are typically on a registry? FI and I have lived together for about 2 years now, but we could definitely use some upgrades.

Add those upgrades on!  New towels?  New sheet set?  Better coffee pot?  As a guest, I try and shop rather quickly after receiving an invite because I like choices.  It really stinks to only have a few random items left that are priced too low to be given alone but don't really fit a "theme" to give together.

ladybird29

I would also definitely add more. I was amazed at how generous some of my shower guests were. Gifts usually fall in the $40-75 range in my circle for showers, but some people spent as much as $160. You just never know and like everyone else says, people really like options.

theartistformerlyknownas

ladybird29 said:

I would also definitely add more. I was amazed at how generous some of my shower guests were. Gifts usually fall in the $40-75 range in my circle for showers, but some people spent as much as $160. You just never know and like everyone else says, people really like options.

Just had to come back to echo this, considering I got what I would have considered 4-5 people's worth of gifts from one friend in the mail today. Absolutely flabbergasted. And now my sister is saying "there won't be anything left for the rest of us!" 

PS if you don't have it yet, put the Cuisinart Griddler and the waffle iron plates on your registry, because it's the best thing I own.

lmcooper86

This is where I am registered and what I'm using to figure out registry items: http://www2.thebay.com/giftregistry/planning-tools/wedding-calculator/

Obviously this doesn't take into account anyone who might give cash at the wedding, and should be tailored to your crowd, but I'm finding it really helpful for figuring out approximately how many gifts to have in each price range. 

Note: it's a Canadian store, but I assume you should be able to access the link from the USA? Let me know if I'm wrong!

JoanE2012

lolo883 said:

ladybird29 said:

I would also definitely add more. I was amazed at how generous some of my shower guests were. Gifts usually fall in the $40-75 range in my circle for showers, but some people spent as much as $160. You just never know and like everyone else says, people really like options.

Just had to come back to echo this, considering I got what I would have considered 4-5 people's worth of gifts from one friend in the mail today. Absolutely flabbergasted. And now my sister is saying "there won't be anything left for the rest of us!" 

PS if you don't have it yet, put the Cuisinart Griddler and the waffle iron plates on your registry, because it's the best thing I own.

Ooohh, I second the griddler.....I love that thing.  We use it alot during bad weather/colder months when we don't want to grill outside.

sarahs616

My FI and I have been living together for 3 years but have such a mix of hand me downs and cheaper things that we decided to upgrade a lot of things- I figured if we get good sets we'll have them for a long time