A Better Alternative
Opening up the email which had come through from a friend, I smiled. There was the ideal alternative (in my opinion) to typical gift registries. I couldn’t help but remember the bit of controversy stirred up by my musings, previously. Here, this new bride-to-be had come up with what I would think the perfect frugal “registry.”
Listed on the email, sent through her friend and from the soon-to-be-bride, were items needed to begin homemaking. Using some brand names and offering other items in a generic fashion (such as stainless steel cookie sheets), this bride was letting friends and family know her needs and tastes, yet still providing opportunity for those needing to shop frugally to find these items at the best price.
Some additional ideas I thought of are the bride-to-be’s friend could offer the service of oversight of the list as her gift to the bride. Those so desiring to participate could purchase their gift and then email the information to the friend so the items could be removed from the list. The friend would then monitor the list and send out periodic updates.
Certainly, I understand this could be a bit cumbersome if the wedding or shower was large. And I know at times duplicated purchases could be made before one would notify the caretaker of the list. However, typical gift registries are not always updated properly and duplications occur. Some even suggest using the typical gift registry in this fashion and purchasing the desired gifts at another more reasonable store, but then the purpose of the registry can defeated as items purchased appear to be still available.
Perhaps, living in a glorious season of wedding bells, with three shower gifts and three wedding gifts to buy in a six week period, I have taken to this idea with more gusto than some, but I think there must be other shoppers out there with a busy wedding season who would find helpful this frugal alternative to gift registries.
What do you think?
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8 Responses to “A Better Alternative”
August 19th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
I love wishpot.com for this purpose.
You can merge multiple lists. I have items from walmart to mom&pop sites all on the same list.
Friends can reserve items. You can add notes to each item and they can be searched by tag and/or price range.
It can also be put on your facebook profile.
Best of all.. It is a free service
August 19th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Krysta:
This looks like a wonderful resource! Can these lists be accessed by other people?
August 20th, 2010 at 9:59 am
myregistry.com is another alternative
August 20th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
My mom said that this is what she did back in 1977 when she got married. Well, ahem, not via email, but she had a list and my grandmother and aunts sort of passed the word on tastes, colors, what was needed, etc. Of course, there were a lot less options then!
August 20th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
I have bought registry items from another store where I found the identical item cheaper, and then called the store with the registry, simply told them I’ve bought that item and asked them to please remove it from/update the registry. I’ve never been asked questions or told no.
August 20th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
i guess i am just terriblyl old fashioned…i ignore the registries and gift lists..and i give graciously from the heart especially if the newlywedded are close family/friend. and extra especially if the newlywed is a mere acquaintance, because they might just make my gift a memory.
August 21st, 2010 at 8:13 am
Yep. They have some nice privacy settings that can be individualized for each list.
You could make a registry open to the public and also have a Christmas list that only you cab see
September 16th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
I have a perfect wedding/shower gift, that everyone loves to get, but garners a few strange thank you notes. I buy fire extinguishers. Something no one thinks of but everyone needs. I go with the ABC types, so it covers any regular household fires. One thank you note told me they hope they never need to use my gift, but if they had to, they would be grateful they had one. Also consider smoke detectors and/or carbon monoxide detectors. I watch for sales with rebatres at the big box home improvement stores, or 2 packs at warehouse clubs.
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