It’s absolutely normal to see a link to a gift registry when you’re invited to a wedding or a baby shower. These celebrations usher in a new chapter of life, and a registry helps the celebrants get the items they need to get started (and you always run the risk of getting unneeded or duplicate gifts).
But now parents are noticing a new trend: more and more kid birthday invitations include a registry link, too.
Over on the Reddit Parenting forum, one parent said that they feel like every kid party invitation they’ve got recently has a gift registry… and they’re not sure what they think about it.
“I’m a 90s baby so our parties were in the backyard with a bouncy castle, aunts and uncles would grab a toy they liked at the local toys R us, some people would give a crisp $20, a few people might reach out to the parents to ask what the kid is in to, etc. Very casual, typical birthday,” she began.
Sounds fun to us!
“I feel like every birthday party invitation I’m receiving now has a registry/gift list,” she continued. “It kind of makes the whole thing feel shallow. Registries were for bridal and baby showers to give couples and parents the things they needed for a huge life change, and now I’m getting invitations with registries filled with toys, some being $50+, for a 1 year old’s birthday party.”
While they are mostly a turn-off, the original poster does kind of see the up-side, too.
“I get the logical understanding of not wanting to receive a bunch of random junk, and I did get an invite a while ago where the parents just asked for books or clothes for the next season to avoid the junk, and I thought that was great,” she concluded.
Popular e-invitation sites like evite are adding registry buttons — which might be encouraging people to add them (or making it look like parties have registries when they actually don’t). But it seems like many people are seeing registries where they didn’t before.
Down in the comments, opinions were very mixed.
Some commenters pointed out that some people appreciate having a list to work from.
“I wouldn’t send it, but I keep a running Amazon list for my kid, with stuff from $5 up, so if someone asks I send them that for ideas. Some people (Me) want lists,” one popular comment read.
“TBH that sounds oddly great. I don’t have to worry about buying them a fourth copy of Dragons Love Tacos or whatever,” another agreed.
“I was the first one out of all my family to have a kid so I know how overwhelming birthdays/holidays can be with STUFF, especially when the kids are little so I always make it a point to ask the parents what the kid NEEDS/wants and if they have a list so I can avoid adding junk to their home,” another explained.
Others, though, do not want kid birthday registries to become a thing.
“That’s ridiculous,” another poster argued. “I have never, ever seen a registry for a birthday party. I can’t even imagine what area of the world or socioeconomic level this is or anything, because that’s so incredibly wild to me. Gifts are just that– GIFTS. If you don’t want junk just ask for no gifts, but a registry for a birthday is the height of entitlement.”
“And here I am begging people NO GIFTS,” said another popular comment.
Maybe the best middle-of-the-road answer is that it’s great to keep a running list of gift ideas for your kid — just share it with people who ask for ideas.
“I make a wishlist but I only share it if people directly request it,” a sensible person offered. “Otherwise it’s a free for all, we want your presence not presents lol. I do the casual typical backyard party for my littles.”
