“Let's be honest. Sometimes there is nothing harder in life than being happy for somebody else. Like lottery winners. Or extremely successful people who are 27. And then there's that hell on earth that only your closest friends can inflict on you -- the baby (wedding) shower."
~Carrie Bradshaw
~Carrie Bradshaw
I love my friends. I do. I love that they want me to share in their happiness and subject invite me to their bridal/wedding/baby showers. What I DON'T love is when they force ask me to buy ridiculously expensive gifts off a boutique registry that is CLEAR across town, ESPECIALLY when I can get almost identical stuff from Target. That's across the street from my house. For a fraction of the cost. I try to practice good gift-giving etiquette and stick to the registry, but COME ON.
I get that you are starting out and you need, well EVERYTHING. I also understand there are some things that are just expensive no matter where you go. I have no problem contributing because let's face it-I'm expecting you to return the favor when I marry/have kidlets, but come on. Are you so worried about appearances that you will make it almost impossible for those of us who can't afford the $150 car seat to give you something? If we're being honest here, and I like to think we are-I wouldn't ask you to spend $40 on a blanket for me, so do you really think I'm gonna do it for your kid knowing full well that it's gonna be used as a puke rag? And what about convenience? My idea of a fun afternoon isn't driving clear across town to the ONLY location in the state to buy over-priced binkies.
What ever happened to the days of Target and Bed Bath and Beyond? Am I totally behind the times in thinking these are completely acceptable places to register for gifts?
I'm not driving clear across town to visit one store, and I'm definitely not spending $50 on an outfit your kid will be too big for in eight weeks. Is it awful of me to buy items that aren't on the registry (but are damn near identical) from another place simply because I refuse to drive clear across town and pay double for a product I can get somewhere else cheaper?
Or am I just being a catty biotch who is bitter she didn't get a gift registry when she started out because she is still single? Do I need to suck it up and stop whining?
4 comments:
I wouldn't buy something on a registry list that is twice as much as the same item at Target. That's ridiculous.
And baby items are notoriously chosen because "everyone needs one". Listen my kid did just fine in garage sale onesies. I returned any expensive clothes for more practical ones.
I think you have the wrong friends. All of my friends register at both Target AND Bed Bath and Beyond... and I love them for it.
You don't have to stick to the registry. Some of our favorite wedding gifts were things that people gave us off-registry. We saw our registry (similarly, at both Target and BBB) as a place for people to see what we were interested in. Not as a set-in-stone, you must get us this or nothing else list. Anyone who demands that you stick to their registry is a drama queen/king in need of a huge dose of reality.
I know my registry is only at one place on the east side... but I'm perfectly happy with Walmart... :D
And I totally agree with you on the $40 blanket... that's INSANE! Who does that??
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