Apologies to Miss Manners

John and I spent the morning registering for baby products at Babies R Us and Target. If Miss Manners is to be believed, this makes us incredibly tacky. In response to a question in one of my parenting magazines about birthday gifts, she bemoaned the state of gift giving and gift registries in particular.

I have no particular desire to stick it to Miss Manners, but I disagree with her assertion that gift registries are only for rude and presumptuous parents-to-be. I actually think that gift registries are a courtesy for friends and family who want to purchase a gift. They provide an easy way to see what the recipients want, need, and have already received. They also help people who, like us less than six months ago, know nothing about baby gear and become disoriented in the aisles of their local baby superstore.

Right or wrong, we had a good time researching and selecting the items on our list. I even managed to pry the scanner from John’s hand long enough to scan one or two items myself.