Tips to follow when buying a birthday party gift so that you won't drive yourself crazy and you won't spend a fortune.
For a certain period of your child's life, they can get invited to an incredible number of birthday parties. While it may seem like this period lasts for an eternity, it is really only a few years before the parties start to settle into a more reasonable routine of just their closest friend's parties. Still, it does help to have a strategy to help you to deal with the years of birthday party frenzy.
Should your child even attend every party they are invited to? That is a very personal decision, and may be based on a number of factors, but is obviously the first step when it comes to a birthday gift strategy. You may base this on how close your child is to the birthday child. For example, is this a friend they play with all the time at school? Do they get together outside of school time? Or is it just another kid in their class whom they rarely even talk to? Whether or not your child even goes to the party may also depend on how well it fits in with your schedule. Do you feel it is worth it for your child to miss their dance/soccer/hockey/swimming or whatever class to attend a birthday party? Does it conflict with going to church? Does it mean changing plans for everyone else in the family to accommodate time for the party? These are all important considerations. Don't feel obligated to let your child go to every party they are invited to.
Supposing you have decided your child will go to a particular party, now you need to shop for a gift. While you can take the tactic of shopping separately for each party, it can be wiser to stock up on birthday gifts. This can save much time and money. Shop discount stores or close-out sales for generic gifts, and buy in multiples. Some great gift ideas that suit almost every kid are consumable craft supplies such as sidewalk chalk or paint, outdoor toys and sporting goods such as skipping ropes or Frisbees, and board games or activity books. Buy when they are on sale and store them in one spot. It doesn't matter if your child gives the same item to each of their friends that year. Some parents are beginning to appreciate the idea of alternatives to traditional birthday gifts.
If you decide to instead shop separately each time a birthday party invitation comes home, you will probably want to set an upper limit on what you spend. Again, this is up to your own circumstances. Remember however that even if you can afford it, an overly expensive gift can make some people uncomfortable. It is better to figure out what the usual amount is to spend in that particular group of friends. And don't agonize too much over finding the perfect gift each time. Kids are happy with most gifts they receive. If you end up spending hours searching for birthday party gifts you will also end up resenting the birthday parties.
There is also a growing trend to simply give cash as a birthday gift, generally in the amount of $1 to $2 for every year of their age. Then the birthday child can shop afterwards for whatever they would like most. This idea comes in handy when your child "forgets" to give you an invitation until the night before the party, or when you don't know the child well enough to know what they would like or what they already have.
All things considered, birthday party gifts need not be stressful or expensive. Keep it simple, and make the gift giving as enjoyable as the party.
