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Gift registries make shopping less stressful

Brandon Johansson

Rhonda Corriveau knows the worst gift she ever received: a fondue set.

It was the 1970s, and the trendy crockery sets were all the rage.

But despite the popularity of fondue sets, Corriveau didn’t want one.



“I would have preferred even a bag of charcoal,” Corriveau said with a laugh.

Gift registries weren’t around in the 1970s, said Corriveau, who works at the Kitchen Shop in Craig.



But if they were, she wouldn’t have put a fondue set on hers.

For people planning a wedding, gift registries make a stressful process a little bit easier, she said.

“It keeps you from getting things that you don’t want,” she said.

At the Kitchen Shop, the gift registry works like a standard registry.

When a couple is getting married, they come to the store and write down the gifts they want. The store keeps the list so when people come to purchase presents for the bride and groom, they know what the couple wants.

Kitchen Shop sells a variety of cooking supplies, incl uding utensils and dinnerware.

The store puts the names of the couples registered there on the window so shoppers know where to go.

When someone buys one of the items on the list, the store crosses it off so the bride and groom don’t get the same gifts twice.

“I think it’s a good deal,” Corriveau said.

Shoppers, too

Gift registries aren’t only helpful for the people getting married, they help the families of the bride and groom, too.

“I think it’s really helpful to the shoppers,” said Jan Van Straaten, owner of Vario in Steamboat Springs.

Finding a good wedding gift can be a challenge. But with a gift registry, shoppers know what the bride and groom want, and they know no one else has purchased the same gift.

“This way, you can’t go wrong,” Van Straaten said.

Practical gifts are popular

Usually, brides and grooms want the basics for their wedding gifts.

The couples often are moving into their first home and need kitchen supplies such as place settings, serving utensils and small appliances.

Van Straaten said most of the customers who use the gift registry at Vario want practical things such as dinnerware.

Serving bowls and platters usually are popular gifts, she said.

Couples also tend to choose coffee mugs instead of cups and saucers, she said.

They often want dishes and utensils that will work for everyday use and some that are a little nicer and can be used for special occasions, Van Straaten said.

At the Kitchen Shop, customers usually want practical gifts as well, Corriveau said.

Silicone spatulas that don’t melt are popular wedding gifts, she said.

Candles, tea and food mixers are popular, too, Corriveau said.

At the Kitchen Shop and Vario, the bride usually will come in and pick out the gifts.

Corriveau said sometimes the bride will come in and choose the gifts with her mother or with the groom.

She said she’s worked with a groom who was a barbecue enthusiast, and he had a ball picking out gifts, she said.

Register early for big weddings

Couples should register for their gifts a few months before their weddings.

If they are having a big wedding, they should register as early as six months before the big day.

“The bigger the wedding, the earlier you should register,” she said.

The Kitchen Shop and Vario will gift wrap presents and ship them.


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