Happy…divorce? The end of a marriage may not seem like a Hallmark holiday, but according to the Daily Mail, Debenhams department store in the UK is celebrating divorces by launching a Divorce Gift List. The store claims the idea was inspired by celebrities such as Katie Price and Heather Mills, who celebrated the end of their marriages with parties and presents.
Debenhams also insists the service will help those leaving the marital home to stock up on essential items such as toasters and irons for their new single life. (Because married people don’t eat toast or wear pressed shirts? Or men’s divorce attorneys really fight for these items?)
The new service has triggered outrage among pro-family groups, who condemn it for trivializing divorce — a sad event, especially when children are involved. The director of the Family Educational Trust, Norman Wells, said, “This smacks of a cynical attempt by a high street chain to cash in on the misery of people whose marriages have come under pressure.”
What do you think? Are divorce gift lists in poor taste? It all reminds me of that episode of Sex and the City in which Carrie wants to have a single registry since she always has to buy wedding gifts for her friends, even though they may never return the favor. Are divorce lists a similar celebration of independence? They sound a bit greedy to me.
I think it completely depends on how people use it. While I think it would be tacky to make a wedding type registry full of expensive things for a divorce, I think it would be cute if a friend made a fun registry for the person with gag sort of gifts and then threw the person a party. I did something similar to this for a friend’s bachelorette party–I made a registry on myregistry.com and filled it with naughty party favors and joke gifts. Then I sent it to everyone invited to the party and it made for a fun time. Something like this for a divorce could be cute.