If Wishes were Bar Coded
Western concept is setting a new trend in India, imported by young NRIs and travelers abroad. Prospective brides and grooms tell their friends the gifts they want, not vocally, but through a wishlist in the form of invitation letters or e-invitations. The concept is known as gift registry, where as soon as the preparation for marriage begins a wishlist of gifts is also made and mailed to the guest with the invitation card.
Are you one of the guests who would welcome “Gift registry”?
The brides and grooms are mostly educated in the west and they found the concept of wishlist quite pragmatic and economical. Back in India, they tie up with individual shop which is equipped to handle this kind of traffic or websites that provide gift registry services, and make a wishlist of the items they wish to be gifted. The barcode of these items are mailed to the guests, who can choose a single gift or pool the money to order products from the list. Payments can be made through credit cards, debit cards or directly at the shop. On the day of the event all the gifts are delivered at the doorsteps of the host.
Do you think it will send shock waves down the spine of most guests at the “big fat Indian wedding”?
Surely, gift registry is creating cultural shocks in the minds of Indians who consider it beneath their dignity to ask for gifts. We love giving and receiving gifts of cash, gift vouchers, or gold rather than try to understand what a friend wants or needs. We love to be bestowed with gifts but fight shy of demanding them outright by making wishlists – for after all, the definition of gift is ‘something given of your own free will, and not engineered to be delivered to meet specific wants or needs of the receiver.’
Are you amongst the newly-weds who do not want to end up with junk wedding gifts?
A shift in the mind set can reduce the wastage, as the newlywed will not end up with 4 pressure cookers, 3 dinner sets and a large number of wall clocks. With a little bit of prior consultation, checking out the wishlist and pooling of money the newly wed could have an entire range of kitchen appliances to start a new home. According to owners of gift registry websites, the young generation of 14-35 years is showing huge interest in gift registry, as they are more open to and will welcome new methods of giving and taking gifts.
Gift Registry is useful for occasions like Weddings, Birthdays, Baby Showers, Anniversaries and Festivals. Gift Registry shops and websites provide an array of products in various categories for various brands including foreign brands priced as low as Rs 300 for Apparels & Clothes, Baby & Maternity Care, Pregnancy Apparels, Bags & Luggage, Books & Magazines, Cameras & Accessories, Flowers & Gifts, Home Decor, Jewelery, Kitchen & Home Appliances, Wine Glasses & Accessories, etc. Some also prefer to have experience based gifts like spa treatment, hotel stays or pet grooming sessions.
A few websites like shareurjoy.com, Wishberry.in, lamhe.co.in., have ventured into this new concept with customer-friendly services. Registering and using their services is as simple as using any other online shopping services.
Many mothers of young children would also welcome this new concept on birthdays, as the guests always bring toys that the siblings can play together like chess, badminton racket, tennis racket etc. Gift registry is in its salad days, if we make it part of our culture it will bring smiles on the face of the host and a sense of satisfaction in the minds of the guest.
- Register with a website or shop.
- Create your wishlist
- Choose the products and get the barcodes.
- Send invitation cards with the link of the site or the shop to the invites.
- Guests can view the list online or contact the shops.
- Purchase the gift.
- Payments can be made through credit cards, debits cards, net banking.
- Gift will be delivered at the door steps on the day of the event.
