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How much stuff to registery for? How much is too much?
This is me and my husbands first baby. We are literally registering for everything. I am doing this because I want people to have a selection to pick from, a variety of prices and not feel obligated. However, I don't want people to feel we are being rude and truly asking for everything on the list. What is the right balance here? I want to have enough for variety for people to pick from, but not come across as greedy...
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Re: How much stuff to registery for? How much is too much?
In my opinion, registering for too much is not rude because it is just a wish list....people don't HAVE to purchase off of it so they shouldn't feel like you are being greedy. They can look at it and if they think that they see something in their price range that they want to get, then they can get it. But it does come in handy if you have a lot of people looking for something around the same price range because then they wont all be trying to get the same 3-4 items. Rarely have I been to a shower where most of the items were purchased from the registry....you will get some gear, some items you never registered for, and if you know the sex of the baby......tons of clothes (especially if it is a girl). I am going to a shower tomorrow and it is a first time mom, I looked at the registry and hardly anything has been purchased on it...and there is a ton of stuff on there. When that happened to my cousin, she ended up with a lot of gift cards because people wanted her to combine them or use them towards some of the bigger ticket items.
So register away! Register for the whole store if you feel the need (okay....totally joking). Whether your registry is long or short, people are still going to buy you whatever they want.....but I think a little longer is better so there are more options in the same price ranges.
Outside of adding an Ipod for yourself for mommy gym trips, a new grill for when baby has it's first birthday BBQ and home decor that you somehow explain away as being for baby, I really don't think you can have "too much" as a first time parent.
As PP said, it's just a wishlist- and the more people you expect at your shower, or the bigger the family you might have, the more appropriate it is to have a longer wishlist. DH and I both have big families, are expecting about 50 at our shower, and both work in large schools where we will be thrown showers there. Our registry probably has 200 items on it across two different stores.
The key is to be sure there's a VARIETY of items in all price ranges so that if people decide to shop from your registry, they can find something they can afford. Keep things as neutral as possible so that the big things can be resused for future children, too.
For me I didn't want to register for everything under the sun. Mostly because, I didn't need a bunch of crap. I didn't put any clothes, pacifiers, bibs, bottles, mostly because people will buy what they want to buy anyway.
I did however register for cloth diapers/supplies...not truly expecting anyone to buy them...but more of a hint that they shouldn't waste their money on sposies and pails as I wouldn't use them....but still got loads of them anyway. It doesn't bother me...but it also should bother them when I return their item.
As far as seeing a registry with everything under the sun on it...would not bother me. If there was crap on there that wasn't baby or mom related (ie....I would totally buy a momma breast pads, cream because nobody else would want to lol) then it is fine.
If you add everything you are planning on buying for the baby, then you can use your completion coupon to purchase them later.
We registered for a few things at walmart, but did not add that store in the envelopes. But we were able to use the completion coupon to get a discount after the fact.
I say register for everything that you want. I always love looking at registries with a wide variety of items because I feel like I have more to pick from, and I registered for everything we wanted as well. It's also good because you will have a wide range of price points on your registry for your guests. Besides, you get a completion discount, which can come in very handy!
I would say that anything you will use/need for the babies' first year is fair game to put on a registry. I wouldn't register for clothes, bibs, pacis, etc., because you will most likely get these items anyways and you really don't know if baby will even take a paci or will like what you initially register for.
Also, keep in mind how many people will be attending your shower. If you are having a large shower, then you probably need to register for a lot of stuff anyway!
It's okay to register for a ton of pacifiers, bibs, plain white onesies, receiving blankets, and socks because you're going to use a ton of them.
I wouldn't waste my time with cutesy clothes because you're going to get that anyway, whether you register for them or not.
Everything else is pretty cut and dry. Just know that not every baby is going to like bouncers or swings (I can count how many times my kid used them), you can use any flat, clean surface to change a baby, and gently used is just as good (sometimes better than) as brand spankin' new.
We are first timers too and decided to register for everything we needed. Not because we expect or even dream that everything on the list will be purchased but because Babies "R" Us will send us a coupon to purchase all the stuff we didn't get off our registry! That was appealing to me since we need everything. And since registering we have purchased things off your registry and just updated it online to read "purchased".
I might also add that I hate going shopping for baby/bridal showers and there are like 4 things on the registry...very annoying. I say go to town!