The Modern Girl’s Birthday Gift Registry

Registries aren’t just for weddings and baby showers any more. Birthday gifts for women are much easier to find when she has a registry.  Registries are a great option whether you’re gathering pieces for a major project, need things for an unusual hobby, or just want to give your friends and family some help when they aren’t sure what to give you.

Why use a registry?

Inevitably someone will say “I never know what to get you.” Using a registry helps avoid the two inevitable gift-giving results: bad gifts and gift certificates.

Registries are an excellent option if your friends and family don’t share your hobbies: You know what darning needle, cone wrench, seed dibler, sable hair brush, or ski shuttle you want, but for someone who doesn’t share your interest these objects seem totally alien. With a registry they know exactly what you need, even if they dont know what its for.

If someone doesn’t really know what you want, they may opt for a gift card. While not bad in and of themselves, it may be hard to buy something for yourself with a megastore gift card when you know it could be used for practical things like gas or groceries.

There’s a third way that registries can be used, benefiting both knowledgeable and clueless friends and family: putting together large projects. A computer or an entertainment system is a pricey gift by itself, but individual components are more affordable.

How does a registry work?

Most stores now have birthday or general gift registries to go along with their bridal registries. The process is the same: You sign up and use either their website or an in-store UPC scanner to add items to your gift registry. Your friends and family can then get birthday gifts at the store where they will be marked off your list.

Sites like MyRegistry, eRegistry, and TheThingsIWant let you set up a general registry. People can buy you birthday gifts at any store and check it off your registry list.

Do I want a wish list or a gift registry?

Wish lists are a double edged sword: You can use them to locate items you personally want to buy later, but you are also updated when someone else buys one of the items as a birthday gift. If you think you can keep from peeking beforehand, these might be a good option for collecting items for a project.