"Dave Smith" wrote in message ...

On 08/12/2012 12:11 PM, MaryL wrote:


> I also like gifts that are meaningful and that make me think about the
> person who gave them to me. When I first saw gift registries, I thought
> the idea behind them was mercenary and self-centered. As time went on,
> I saw real value in them. Items are checked off as they are purchased,
> so there is no problem with someone receiving duplicate or unwanted
> gifts. These lists help the giver find a gift that is truly wanted, and
> most people select a variety of prices. If only very expensive items
> are on the list, then I go back to my original thought of "mercenary and
> self-centered."

I don't know if my brain just hasn't kept up with inflation, but there
seems to be a much higher expectation of wedding gifts these days. When
we got married almost 40 years ago most of the presents were in the $20
range. We had selected a flatware pattern that was $18.50 per setting,
which was relatively expensive for flatware at the time and such that
people tended to give one setting rather than two. I ran into that when
buying a wedding gift for a nephew and he and his wife to be had
selected a very expensive pattern, so they got one setting not two.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exactly. I had planned to buy a place setting of china for some young
friends, but I discovered that the pattern they selected was so expensive
that I would only have been able to buy a single cup or saucer. I ended up
picking out something else from their registry. I don't know them well, so
I wasn't willing to pay close to $100.00 for a single place setting.
Fortunately, they did have other options on their list.

MaryL