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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

More Registry Nonsense

I swear I'm almost done talking about registries!

On Monday when I posted about registering, Miss C made a really good point.

Miss C said...

I'm going to go out on my own here and say that I want fine china. I don't expect to use it all of the time, but the thought of not being able to bring out my "wedding china" when I'm older kind of depresses me. Like, because this generation has Ikea and Target and all of that (which I love), everything kind of becomes disposable. It'd be nice to have some gifts from the wedding that aren't.

She's right, don't you think? The emphasis on registering has gone from heirloom items to every day items. I think it's interesting, because I think that houses have done the same thing. 50 years ago (when registering for fine china was a given), houses had formal living and dining rooms. Now (when registering for fine china is not a given anymore), a popular layout for homes is a hearth/great room that is open to the kitchen instead of formal living and dining rooms. I write real estate TV shows for a living, so I see so much of this in newer homes.

Isn't that interesting though, how entertaining has changed? It's gone from a formal thing to a not-so-formal thing. Same thing with clothes, people used to get dressed up to go shopping and now I see 50% of the store in sweatpants.

Anyway, I think that if fine china is important to you, then by all means, register for it. I think that everyone should register for what really makes them happy. If that's extra activities for the honeymoon or a nice grill or an XBox, do it.

My mom has a set of fine china I could probably have, since she has never once touched it. But I think it would be really cool to find a vintage set in the next few years or so, when Ryan and I have a house to store it in. I see sets in antique stores all the time for under $100.

What is something on your registry that really makes you smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Did you register for fine china or any heirloom items?

4 comments:

  1. We set up an alternative registry and added things from Ten Thousand Villages www.tenthousandvillages.com. These handmade items are from all over the world and support fair trade. I get so excited every time I look at them! We haven't traveled the world (yet) but I can't wait until our entire house is made up of unique handmade items from around the world.

    Who needs china when they have a serving dish handmade in Bali? If I'm going to go for "mass production" I'll get something cheap... I'd rather spend the heirloom money somewhere that can help people.

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  2. I couldn't agree more. When I first started thinking about our future home together, I really wanted to start collecting vintage dishes and cookware to use. Unfortunately, I found out that my husband's tastes didn't exactly match mine, so I had to revert to registering for more modern pieces.
    We did register for a less formal china set in the hopes that we would get more use out of it that way (haven't used it yet b/c it's packed away until we finish moving). Also, my father bought us a really nice silverware set that I adore because they received one when they were married and got a lot of use out of it. I love traditional gifts!

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  3. Oh look, there I am! Thanks ;)

    I really like Hannah's idea above. Some special things that you can keep forever.

    I totally get what you mean about the design of houses these days. We don't even have a dining table at the moment. It is first thing I'll buy when we get our house though... Dinner is way more romantic at the table than on the couch :)

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  4. As I mentioned before, we didn't need to register for fine China because my mother has been buying my sister and I place settings and pieces to a fine china set since we were teenagers. So I actually already have an entire set :) I am excited to finally pull it out of storage now that I am getting married and be able to use it for family get togethers or whatever.

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