My son's having a 1st bday party and we won't be opening the gifts at the party (way too many people to do that) and I'm worried that it won't be obvious which people got us what gift from their presents/cards. So I decided that the guest sign in sheet would double as a gift registry...I basically want them to tell me what gift they got on the sign in sheet so that I can send an appropriate thank you card later on. So I have a column for name, address and gift but then it seems kind of tacky to have them write the gift they got down on the sheet for everyone to see... Should I tell them to assign a # to their gift with a sharpie and write the corresponding # down on the sheet? Or is that too complicated? How is it generally done? I won't have anyone manning the table so I'm probably just going to point them in that general direction as they come in. Any tips? Thanks!
Thanks everyone for your input! I'll do away with the sign in sheet :)
I think it is tacky to have people write their gift. My guess would be that 95% of the people would write their name on their gifts anyways so you can send the thankyou note accordingly.
For the 5% who do not do that you can just send a general thank you note.
Oh please don't use this system. People don't want to announce what gift they brought to your son. Yes, this is tacky.
I've never had a problem of mixing up gifts and cards. People who give cards usually have a check, cash, or gift card inside.
You could avoid hurting feelings by sending out a generic thank you for the gift and coming to the party. I like to include a picture of the child. I have even had my son holding a sign that says "Thank You." or spell out "Thank You" in blocks next to the child. Get creative!
I think the idea of writing down the gift you brought is very tacky. The number idea seems to be too complicated. Most people will include a card or a gift tag so you'll know who it's from.
If you're unable to match a gift to the giver, just write a generic thank you.
You may want to have a tape dispenser on the table so people have the option of attaching the card so it won't get lost.
Do not do that (I see by your "What Happened" that you aren't). I think people will really be offended by this.
Also not sure how many people there will be there but you should open the gifts, especially if there are other young kids there. They love watching a child open the present from them. If it's going to take that long, don't do anything other than food/snacks and cake and open the presents. Serve the cake first and then start opening presents. Don't expect him to want to open or help with every one. Give him one to open or play with and then move on. Have your husband film the event, a girlfriend or mom take the presents from you and make sure the card is with the gift and another girlfriend or mom or MIL gather trash while you are opening gifts. This will make for an efficient time opening gifts.
If you don't know exactly what everyone gave to your son, that is okay. A generic "Thanks for coming and thanks for the gift" card is better than nothing. Most people (in my opinion) read the thank you and trash it.
sounds too complicated. i would just set up a gift table, that is what we do for all our daughter's parties. if someone does not provide a card or name along with the gift then that is not really your responsibility, they should have provided something so that you can know who it is from. I know personally if I went to a party and was asked to put what gift I got on a sheet of paper, or assign a number to the gift, I would just forgo the whole thing and put the gift on the table. After all, sometimes people don't bring presents, and I wouldn't want anyone to feel like we were expecting gifts by having a gift sheet set out.
Hope this helps! Hope the party is a smash!
just put some tags in the gifts and write who the gift is from.
a general "thank you for coming to celebrate our sons birthday and for the special gift", no need to personalize all of them, maybe just the ones of close friends and family that you know of.
1st birthday the parents always write out the card as the child is unable to, so it should be legible.
I personally think it is tacky and wrong to ask people to write down any of their details it seems more like a wedding than a birthday! Surely you know everyone you have invited so don't need their address! Assign a table as you have said to let them put the present down. You could assign someone to take a picture of the guests and gift at the table before they set it down, saying that it was for the scrap book making sure that you had a picture of everyone who came to the party, you can even send them a copy of the picture with the thank you note, I've had that and it is a cute idea!
We have opened presents after and have never had a problem reading who it is from, people understand and it is happening more and more now that they wait until after the party as it can get very chaotic and that is when the present and card get separated. Good Luck!
We didn't open gifts at any of my sons party and it was very clear who gave what when we opened them.
I think you should skip the sign in, just read the cards when u open the gifts
For my daughter's first birthday party, we had combined it with my husband's 40th. It was a lot of people and by the time we did the cake, it was bedtime for my daughter. I had intended to open gifts, but it didn't work out. When we opened them the next day, there was no issue with who got what. Every gift had a card, so as the gift was being opened, I wrote what it was in the card. That way, I saw what the gift was right next to the signature and/or name of the person who gave it. I think the sign in might get complicated. Maybe the guest's 5 year old runs the gift over to the table and obviously woudn't sign it., etc. I agree that a more generic thank you would be acceptable if you happen to have a card get separated from the gift. Make things simple.
