How much money do you spend on birthday presents for your kids’ friends?
Part of me bristles each time we make the trek to a big box store to find a decent gift for under $15 (that’s my usual budget), knowing that it will probably only get played with for a few minutes and eventually end up rotting in a landfill somewhere. Of course, we want to make the birthday girl/boy feel special and loved, and I really enjoy giving gifts; I just kind of hate the consumerism machine we can all get caught up in and I wonder how it really affects our kids.
I like the idea of giving consumable gifts…something that can be a creative experience and not just a hunk of plastic that will collect dust at the bottom of the toy box. I try to find craft projects, something that the child can actually work on and take pride in completing. And as a fellow mom, I know how great it is to have something new that keeps your kid happy and occupied for a few minutes.
I’ve got this one friend who is really creative and she often puts together a little baking set as a gift for kids: a cookie mix, a mini-spatula, and a small baking tray. I love that idea! You get to spend some time with your child baking together, then you get to eat the delicious cookies, and all the supplies can be reused again. She’s a genius!
Do you have any favourite gifts to give your kids’ friends? Have you been to parties where the kids don’t give gifts, but rather bring a donation to a charity or a contribution for a larger item the birthday boy/girl wants? What’s your take on it all?
i love that idea! my budge is usually 20-30 dollars depending on what i find. but i do feel that there is so little that kids need these days. there’s so much of everything – toys, books, crafts. but i like the idea of a gift that encourages the child to DO something, like this baking set, and something that could be used over and over! thanks for sharing!
My budget is $20 for elementary and $30 for high school. This year my youngest daughter will have a make-up/hair salon party, we’ll do hair, nails and make-up. It’s all at home. It started with 6 girls and now we have invited 9, but I’m OK. For lootbags I spend a little more than usual, since I don’t pay anything for the party place. I’ll have small make-up bags with nail polish, hair brush bothe from dollar store and lip smacker from Avon. For sweets I have nutri-grain bars and Kisses.
Other ideas for lootbags: Chapters $5 gift card, home made bracelets, pins, etc, that the kids can work on before the party, a ceramic animal or some box/wooden thing they could paint at the party.
Gifts: books, art materials, craft sets, clothes (buy when is a huge sale), purse, cosmetics, soccer balls, feather hair extensions for girls, posters, WagJag or other vouchers, purse holder, scarves, remote controlled cars, USB sticks, headphones, dream catcher, fudge, jewellery (in Erin Mills mall Charms store has some very good 50% discounts for silver chains, earings around $25-30). It depends if we know the family and the child, how close friends the kids or families are.
For younger kids is clothes, dolls, cars, stuffed animals (you can never have too many!), build-a-bear gift cards, etc.
Gift cards: Chapters, De Serres art store, build-a-bear, restaurants (older kids), Subway, Timm’s, Pizza-Pizza, Sheridan Nurseries (for plants or workshops) or for a shopping mall.
After trucking another 3 bags of toys to Goodwill last week, I have to say I am with you ladies!! Lately I too have been giving small project type gifts. A set of markers or stencils with nice notepads is a favorite. And books are always at the top of my gift list. To avoid the “awwww,he only got me a book!” comment from those little unappreciative buggers, I will often attach a pack of some cool gum and lollipops to the book.
And don’t get me started on the crappy loot bag items that also end up in the bin. Here’s a tip, many “loot bags” discount stores put together are full of even worse junk they couldn’t sell separately. My favourite loot bags are books, new pens or crayons, maybe some fun stickers.
I HATE the idea of crappy plastic stuff that just ends up in the garbage… I like to give books. They’re not as flashy as the things that light up and make noise, and kids are not exactly thrilled about it, compared to the other items they receive, but a) they generally fit the budget better, 2) a whole bunch of other people will buy crappy plastic stuff, and lastly, it won’t (likely) end up in the trash after 2 days use. You can get a great book for $15… and it’s a gift I can feel good about giving.
And, is it me, or is there a birthday party EVERY weekend?! Holy crap, life is expensive…