It seems that the idea of gift registries has really

It seems that the idea of gift registries has really caught on. It used to be that a bride and groom would register their china, stem ware and flatware patterns so guests could help them purchase their set of tableware. This expanded to include kitchen needs as well as towels and bed linens. Now a couple can register for anything they want or need in a wide range of stores. Most stores from exclusive department and specialty stores to super discount stores offer a bridal registry. Bridal registries then expanded into baby registries for when a couple was pregnant. They could write down everything they needed and wanted for the baby. Now many toy stores offer gift registries for children at holiday time so grandparents, friends and relatives will know what to buy the child. I guess it is the modern day version of a letter to Santa Claus.

My mother and I were invited to my nieces, her grand-daughters baby shower. The invitation included a list of stores where she had registered for gifts. She has always been quite materialistic so I was not surprised that she had registered at four different stores. Mom and I decided to go shopping together. We went to a department store where my niece had registered. The registry was seven pages long. Included in her list of wants was beatrix potter crib bedding. My mom had said on our way to the store that she wanted to purchase bedding as her gift. She feels this is more practical than clothing. The Beatrix Potter crib bedding was sold out at this store. The salesperson told us that the new shipment would be in within a week. We did not find anything else off the registry that was within the price range we wanted to spend so we went to another store. As we were walking my mom was complaining that she did not even know what half the stuff on the registry was. At the next store I went to print off the registry. Mom said she would meet me in the infant section of the store. When I got to the infant section mom was holding a set of Beatrix Potter crib bedding. She showed me the bedding and said she though the Peter Cottontail sheets were quite so she was going to buy them. She also said they were on sale. I explained to mom that Beatrix Potter wrote Peter Cottontail and this was the crib bedding that her grand daughter wanted. This struck both of us as very funny. She said she had no idea what she was looking for at the other store when the clerk told us they were sold out. My niece was very pleased with her gift from grandma.