By Vicki Little
I can remember (vaguely) being the glowing bride-to-be, walking down the aisles of Bed, Bath & Beyond just clicking away with the little device to add items to my registry. Beautiful plates, fluffy towels, random kitchen gadgets, a full martini set — all items that my beau and I would use while gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes. Then the kids came, and all those items became either useless or broken. My registry and I had a good one or two years together, but then I spent another 10 years wishing I had registered for more useful items. So here’s a list of what we think we should have had on our wedding registry. In hindsight. After a couple of kids.
1) Matching parent/kid sheet sets, including duplicates. Forget those beautiful silk sheets, they are too hot and they stain too easily. My kids have had every imaginable fluid stain their sheets at night. And then they have crawled into my bed and stained those sheets, too. And just when you think it is safe to pull those pretty sheets out again — BAM! — another round of stomach flu hits the house. It will never end.
2) A very large blanket that can be washed. Those fancy throw pillows and embroidered blankets we asked for have become nothing more than snot rags or wagons in which to pull dogs, toys, siblings, sticks, and cats. I have picked the same pillow off the floor so many times I think I may try to start a new trend of Feng Shui pillows on the floor. We really just need something that will cover a family of six. Well, a family of four, plus two cuddle buddies — and it can be thrown in the wash. A lot.
3) Easily replaced dinner plates for 12. Fancy dinnerware for 12, oh how I miss you. If you look in my cupboards right now, you will find 9 plates in three different patterns. And one of those patterns is random plastic. We would still ask for 12, because we easily lost 8 to accidental droppings, burns from “surprise” microwave dinners of plastic spaghetti, chips from getting “gently placed” in the sink, and unexplained disappearances. The majority of our “entertaining” is done on paper goods, since our guests are all younger than 8. And forget those little plates that go under tea cups or the tiny fork. They got lost in the doll house ages ago.
4) Nice bread toaster, times two. What we actually asked for was a glass decanter and highball glasses. I honestly thought I would use these, and I did for the two years before my oldest was born. Then, I hid them in a cupboard out of range of flying jump ropes (don’t ask) and instead wished for a back-up bread toaster. Because if my son is anything like my nephew, 12 years from now he will be making his grilled cheese in my top-of-the-line wedding toaster. True story, ask my sister.
Not everything on our registry is now broken, missing, stained, or hidden. Some things are still really nice and will continue to last for ages and stages to come:
- Really good cutlery set. Still cutting my meat like a pro … and a quick pro when the kids are hungry.
- Slow Cooker. My fancy one is still my favorite to come home to after a long day, but the cheaper one is the designated “teacher dinner slow cooker.”
- Stand Mixer. Still waiting for that one to be purchased off my registry … 10 years later. I think about it all the time while my kids are fighting over who gets to use the hand mixer on the cupcakes.
- Three-in-one casserole dish. Once upon a time I gave this gift a funny look. Why in the world would I need a dish that goes from the oven to the freezer to the table? I get it now.
- Fluffy Towels. They sure soak up a LOT of water when the tub overflows!
- Champagne Glasses. We still have so much to celebrate, and even more to come.
Vicki Little is a work-at-home mom with two young kids. A Colorado native, she is the Publisher and Editor of Macaroni Kid Aurora and Downtown Denver. When she isn’t writing or trying to keep up with her kids she can be found volunteering, reading, or enjoying a bottle of wine with friends.
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Dave Anderson
August 23, 2018 @ 4:37 pm
My wife and I haven’t even thought about doing a bridal registry, much less matching parent/kid sheets! I know that she would think that matching sheets are really adorable. I am going to talk to her about finding a registry so that we can put that down on our list!