Registries

So it might be a bit early to be talking about this, but I have been thinking about the registry situation. In Germany, they don't really do registries, at least not really. It's still stuck in the old-fashioned days where you actually have to go to the fancy store and they give you all kinds of advice about what fancy schmancy stuff you should put on your grown up fancy schmancy list and how you need a roasting pan to go with your sauce pan… Part of the problem is, Germany is woefully lacking in wonderful stores like Target, Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. Lovely stores for the normal people of the world who like gadgets and household stuff but don't want to spend a million dollars or drive all the way to ikea to buy some plastic bins(ok, I know that Williams Sonoma is actually kinda fancy… but it's also kinda wonderful). I have been browsing the amazingly designed registry sites of those stores and bemoaning Germany's medieval stance on weddings. The other problem is, there are about a million things that I want at Target, Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma precisely because I CAN'T get them here in Europe: Jalapeno roaster pans and measuring cups and Ziploc bags and stuff like that. But of course, who wants to schlep a Bundt pan across the ocean?

So here's the solution I'm thinking of: we will register at the above mentioned three American places, but only for things that are packable. That way, people who are interested in giving us the joy of lovely American products that we otherwise couldn't get will be able to do that, if they are willing to schlep them in their suitcase. Then, we will go to snooty Kustermann (who has really really nice stuff, but they are still snooty) and having one of those archaic registry meetings and pick stuff like plates and glasses and silverware that people otherwise wouldn't want to pack. And we will probably also use something called the "wish gallery" which is a German website where you can make your wedding registry from a bunch of different online shops who were too lazy to make their own registries, so people can then order directly from those stores (like amazon, karstadt, etc…). That seems like a rather unwieldy solution, but the best of both worlds :)

Not that this thing is about the presents, or anything :) Just a thought in the planning process… (hope this didn't come off as to egotistical and material!!)

How did other expats deal with this? Did anyone follow the German tradition of just asking for money? Does anyone else think that is pretty boring? Hmmm..