gift (ɡɪft)
noun
1. a thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present.
2. a thing that Blueprint loves to help you register for and we hope you’ll cherish forever.
Can we all agree that presents and gifts are a beloved token of affection? We think so. And when it comes to gift registries for your wedding (or new baby, or birthday, or literally any big life moment—we don’t judge) receiving presents is a fabulous and intimate opportunity for guests to share their love with you.
A gift from a registry comes with a bit more responsibility, however. You’ll need to actually pick the types of gifts you’d like to receive and make sure you write Thank You cards afterwards. It’s a process that takes time and organization, and we’ve always sought to help our users manage it all in one, central place.
But we have some good news: Among our recent launches, updates, and new features is one of our favorites: we’ve given the Gift Tracker a much needed revamp! Stay tuned for a complete run-down of features and functionalities, and get ready for organizational bliss.
The New and Improved Gift Tracker
Adding Gifts
One of the biggest changes we made to the Gift Tracker is including even more comprehensive Gift Data to help you build and track your dream registry. Gift Data will help you get a higher level view of all the gifts you’ve added. You’ll have access to the number of gifts added, what type of gift they are, the retailers you’ve chosen, and price points.
We have a slew of registry tips and how-to’s for when you’re seeking more insight, but in the meantime, there are a few formulas to help get you started:
- We recommend adding 1.5 times the gifts than you’ll have guests (# of guests x 1.5 = how many gifts you should add)
- The Rule of 3’s: ⅓ of your gifts should be below $50, ⅓ between $50-100, and the final ⅓ $100 and above.
These guidelines are important for several reasons, but the main goal is to make sure you don’t run out of gifts at any given price point. Your Gift Tracker and Gift Data will help you look for trends in gift purchases, so you know where you may need to add more. Your Gift Tracker will display the gifts at each price range so you can keep an eye on it at any given time.
Tracking Gifts
Once guests start buying gifts and marking them as ‘purchased’, you’ll receive email alerts, as well as real time updates within your Gift Tracker. You’ll immediately have access to shipping information (whether the guest is shipping to you or themselves), order numbers, and the original links to view the products again if needed. Because you have access to order numbers within your Gift Tracker, you’ll be able to use it to track a package or process any future returns with that retailer.
Aside from physical gifts, however, this is also the location where you will be able to track and redeem your cash gifts and cash funds. There are a few redemption options including a free bank transfer (available after your event date), PayPal transfer, or applying it to a gift card. Remember, although you may have created multiple cash gifts or marked physical gifts as group gifts (you can track that progress here, too!), the way you decide to spend the cash is ultimately up to you. And it’s not store credit either. Your money is yours to spend however you decide—on the designated fund, or anything else your heart dreams up.
Don’t Forget the Thank Yous!
A crucial part of gift-giving is making sure the gift-givers are properly thanked. We designed the Gift Tracker to help out with that, too.
When gift-givers are shopping your Blueprint registry, they have the option to mark themselves as ‘Anonymous’ after purchasing a gift. The front-end of your Gift Tracker will reflect this choice, but you can ultimately access gift-giver information when you download a gift summary. When you’re ready to review, your gift summary will list full details—names, gift description, order numbers, etc.—making thank you card writing easier than ever.
Final Thoughts
As much fun as wedding registries can be, there is still a little bit of housekeeping that comes along with it. Because gift-giving should always be meaningful and uncomplicated, we try our best to make the tedious parts a bit easier. Blueprint is your one stop-shop for all things wedding registry, and your Gift Tracker is the only tool you need to keep it all organized.