Registry Items Shipped to House

Ljames102 · March 2014

Hi All,

Not sure if this has been asked before (searched but no luck). Our baby shower will be held in May, however we have already begun receiving gifts shipped directly to our home. Wondering what the etiquette protocol is on opening and sending thank you cards. My initial thought is to open upon recipt and send thank you cards immediately. However, some people have said I need to bring the gift to the shower and open it there. Not to sound insanely rude, but why ship the gift to me if you want it opened at the shower, why not ship it to yourself?? Not sure what I am supposed to do??

wildbutterfli2001 · March 2014

I did it as I recieved them that way I knew for sure I got the thank you's out in a timely manner

SingleMom31 · March 2014

I'd err on the side of caution and open them immediately and send thank yous. If I send a gift, I wonder whether its gotten there until I hear from the recipient... Plus, like you said, I think it's silly to ask you to haul everything to the shower to just take it home again.

khaalid00 · March 2014

Send thank you notes soon after you receive the gift at home. This way the gifter knows that you got the gift. It would be silly to bring the gift to the shower to open it and than bring it back home. Don't make more work for yourself. You had given the option to have guest to send the gift to your home especially large items. If the gifter wanted to bring the gift to the shower than they have the option to have it mailed to their house at checkout. I order from registries all the time and do either option. If I can't attend the shower than I send the gift directly to their home. In addition to thank you cards, thank the gifter again in person if they are attending...that's is more than enough.

ccam · March 2014

I would open them and send thank yous immediately. I think it's silly to send gifts to you but ask you to bring them to the shower. I would leave them at home but maybe do a quick thank you while opening gifts at your shower - "I also want to thank Aunt Betty for my stroller and Sally for the cute clothes". I did this for my Mom and MIL's gifts.

jtmomma13 · March 2014

ccam said:

I would open them and send thank yous immediately. I think it's silly to send gifts to you but ask you to bring them to the shower. I would leave them at home but maybe do a quick thank you while opening gifts at your shower - "I also want to thank Aunt Betty for my stroller and Sally for the cute clothes". I did this for my Mom and MIL's gifts.

This. I sent out cards right away because I wanted them to make sure that I had gotten it. And it was also good for me because it was one less card to send out later. I also made sure to say a thank you at the actual shower in person if they were attending.

Also- keep some extra cards at home because you'll still be getting gifts after the baby is born. Always good to have those on hand and send them right out!

*sparky* · March 2014

If it were close to your shower, I'd say you could wait but your shower isn't until May, so I would open the gifts and send a thank you now. If they are at the shower and you want to mention the gift at the shower as a PP suggested, that would be a nice gesture, but I would not bring all of the gifts you receive at home to the shower.

A&DPritchett2be · March 2014

I say open the gift when it arrives and send thank yous ASAP. Most gifts that arrive early are probably from people who can't make it to the shower or would be traveling to the shower. I sent a baby shower gift to our out of town friends directly to their house and then simply took a card to the shower. Since we were flying to the shower, it would have been a hassle to take with us. The mother to be mentioned our gift when she opened our card and also mentioned that we were visiting from Mississippi and the shower was in Ohio. It worked well for us. They called us when they got the gift and sent the formal thank you after the shower. The mother to be knew we were attending the shower, but it was a surprise to her husband who is my DH's best friend.

MMason12 · March 2014

I would not cart a gift shipped to my home to the shower just to open it. I would open it when it arrived and immediately send a thank you note. If you hang on it, the sender may wonder if you got it or not.

wrightpalomo · March 2014

mkquinnwedding said:

Weve only had this happen once so far (shower in 3 weeks). It was from someone who I know cant make it. We let them know we received a package from them (since their name was on the shipping paper) and that we will be opening it at the shower. That is what the host of our shower decided was best...so she came and picked up the gift from our house and will wrap it for us. Not sure if that is the "right" way of doing it, but its how we plan on handling the situation. We also did that for our wedding.

Wait, you opened gifts at your wedding?

BethanyAnn27 · April 2014

Etiquette for wedding gifts are that you open them as soon as they arrive and write/send a thank you note immediately. This way the gift-giver knows that you have received the gift (that it wasn't lost in the mail, broken, etc.). For baby shower gifts, I am going to operate on the same etiquette. If I sent someone a gift, I would want to know they actually got it.

I wasn't able to attend a friend's shower (we live in different states and I already had a trip planned). I sent a gift almost right after I RSPV'd so she got it about a month and a half before the shower. I didn't get a thank you until a month after the shower. I did find it rude that I had to wait for 2+ months to get a thank you...it got to the point that I didn't think I was going to get one because so much time had passed. So open the gift and send a thank you asap. If the sender wanted you to open it at the shower, they would bring something that day.

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