What Are Your Friends like When It Comes to Gift Giving?

Updated on November 06, 2011
K.C. asks from Westlake, OH
13 answers

I'm having a baby shower soon, and I have tons of things on both my registries. I feel like I should take some of the stuff off, but I know my friends will buy me whatever I want. I wouldn't even be surprised if they bought everything on both registries!
What are your friends and family like when it comes to baby shower gifts?

Quinn is coming Nov. 15th. The baby shower is exactly a month before that.

I'd never put things like nipple shields and breast pads on my registry. Those things are kinda personal, if you know what i mean.

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A.S.

answers from Detroit on

Family is pretty awesome when it comes to gift giving....

Friends? What are those?

Working full time, 2 kids, husband, 106yr old house, a 10yr old car..... I don't have much time for friends. : (

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R.C.

answers from York on

I had a pretty large registry at Target and Babies R Us. It was my first child and I didn't have anything. My friends and family bought pretty much everything that was on my registry but not a single person went over-board. I sort of needed a large registry because I have a large family and I wanted to make it easier for everyone invited to my baby shower. I think it is better to have too much on your registry than not enough. I personally don't like printing a registry for someone and having nothing left to buy on it.

ETA - I also did as Katrina A. mentions....added stuff I bought or was already given as a gift and then marked it purchased. I did this to avoid doubles.

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A.F.

answers from San Francisco on

I like a large registry, it gives you a lot of selection and you can usually find something in everyone's price range.

My husband's family usually go together and get the pricer items, my parents spend more than they should, the rest of my family are generally on a budget anyways, so I am glad that they don't try to out do my husbands family and my friends vary. One gives me a lot of her hand me downs, because they are nice and she can afford that, my other close friend does what she wants. Sometimes she buys off a registry and sometimes she does her own thing, but it is always a thoughtful/needed gift.

Leave your registry alone : )

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C.F.

answers from Boston on

GENEROUS ! keep Everything on there ~ you will NEED Everything !!! I Love shopping for baby showers! SO when is Quinn arriving :-) ?? lol

1 mom found this helpful

K.A.

answers from San Diego on

I'll be honest. We put everything on there. We would even go so far as to put things we bought on there and then mark it as purchased. We did that so people could see what we needed and also to see our decorating choices were for the room. We have crafty friends and family that like to make personalized things. We also did it because stores will offer you a discount on things on your registry after your baby is born so you can get the things you didn't get as gifts. This came in handy and I was adding to the registry up until the last minute and for a little bit after the birth.
It was also nice because we'd done all the reasearch etc before the baby was born so if we didn't get it as a gift my husband could just run out and pick it up in those first days while I stayed home and rested with the baby.
I never felt like I was being greedy. I never once expected people to buy everything on my list.
With that said. My mom and MIL were in what seemed like a competition with my first child. Every other day it seemed they bought a handful of other things on the list. With my third my mom was in the store I swear every single day. My MIL was retired at that point and went on a huge knitting spree and made my daughter(my first 2 were boys) a huge wardrobe of hats, booties, sweaters, dresses etc.

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J.B.

answers from Denver on

My friends were chintzy.... I'm sad to say.

My MIL's friends were generous with luxury items like Little Giraffe blanket and swanky diaper bags....

I didn't get much in the way of necessities, though.

It's my experience that people seldom buy what's on a registry.

Best wishes with your shower and soon-to-be-bundle =D

1 mom found this helpful

B.F.

answers from Toledo on

My family will go together on a very expensive item or will buy a "basket" type of the smaller items...As long as there isnt a 70 inch flat screen TV id leave it on there ;-)

1 mom found this helpful

S.G.

answers from Dallas on

I use to go far beyond what the registry suggest. I would get a few items needed now and most for later use. I use to spend more but now i've changed due to the gifts they'd give in return were very cheap (less than $10) or no gift at all. Now, I only pick $20 worth of items from a gift registry. The same goes for family, we always gave nice gifts and got nothing in return. So now only good gifts are reserved for friends and coworkers that reciprocate the same.

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R.A.

answers from Providence on

Ah,my friends and family are nuts at gift giving. Overboard. My thank you notes are rather endless. Especially for my son, it is rather crazy..

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J.D.

answers from Phoenix on

I put everything I needed on the registry (even breast pads and pump) for Babies R Us because they have a policy where you can get any items leftover for 10 percent off at the end (all in one transaction, so it has to be in the store). For this reason, you should say your baby is born a month or two ahead of when they actually are so you can still get the items before baby arrives. Anyways, my family and friends were super generous with gift cards and cash, but very few looked at the registry. So, we just purchased what we needed at 10% off with the gift cards later.

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J.C.

answers from Cleveland on

I'm old fashioned. I would never have a baby shower for any other than my first child.

But my friends and family were still generous in what they brought my second baby when they came to visit us. They brought what they felt would be helpful or what they thought I would like. I never asked for anything.

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T.P.

answers from Indianapolis on

I put everything on my registry. Some things I got and some I didn't but I did get a lot. Some people told me there were things on the registry that I would not use. I did get some of those items and I did not use them. :)Congrats on your baby.

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J.S.

answers from Tampa on

Since when do Mom's have more than one shower? I thought the custom was to have a big baby shower for the 1st child, and then that was it. You should have your hand me downs or your own things for any other children that you plan to have. Am I not right here? When did this change? I have 4 kids, and only had 1 baby shower. I would have NEVER expected anyone to buy me things / give me a shower for my other kids. (ok, well the last 2 are not biological, but even they were sooo far apart from the 1st 2) What gives? I must just be very old fashioned!

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