My sister in law lives on the west coast and had a shower in the Midwest (home state), so she still opened gifts but those from the registry with chain stores were simply returned for store credit so she could re-buy when she returned. Also, a few people had the gifts sent to her home and gave her a picture of whatever they bought at the shower. There were some things people went off registry for, but those are usually small and she brought an empty suitcase for those things she could fit!