A decoration swap allows everyone to participate in the fun of giving and receiving. Asking your mother for decorations is entirely different than asking a whole group of people to bring you stuff in the guise of hosting a party.

If you want to bless someone with your things, just do it. Don’t wait for someone to ask you for them. If you think a party like this would be great for a young couple, throw the party for them. That’s the way showers are supposed to work. Just because our society has gotten extremely greedy and tacky and now showers thrown by the recipients are normal, doesn’t mean that it isn’t still poor etiquette.

Just because people put registry information in their wedding invitations doesn’t make it right. People asking for specific items via registry for everything from 1 year old birthdays to vow renewals, people assuming that they get to dictate what you bring to their weddings, showers, birthdays, or anniversary parties, people who throw celebrations for themselves and ask others to kick in something for the cost. . . these are all examples of totally tacky behavior that American society has degraded to and the culture in which an “I’m broke; bring me things” party is considered a reasonable idea.

I, for one, am sick of the “I’m entitled to stuff” mentality of most Americans.

(aka “J” from above)

I think it sounds like a blast. I have a whole bunch of great Christmas stuff that I no longer use, but are in mint condition and I haven’t given them away because I’ve been waiting for an invitation like you suggested.

Years ago I would beg my mother to check her attic to see if she had an “vintage” Christmas things I could have. She happily supplied me with things I now cherish.

This is a great idea for a young couple who just got married or for a group of gal friends who may tired of their own decorations and in someone else’s house would look fresh and new, but who’s decorating “style” matches.