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  • March 13, 2010 at 9:59 PM #17197
    Coronita
    Participant

    Some I’m totally out of touch with reality, so I thought I’d ask the wiser Piggs.

    If your kid is invited to a birthday party, what is the socially acceptable amount of money to spend on that kid’s birthday present (age 3-6 group) if….

    Scenario 1)The birthday kid is “acquaintance” of your kid..That is, you don’t regularly hang out with that kid’s parents (maybe a classmate or such)

    Scenario 2)The birthday kid is a regular “playmate” but not necessarily a close friend

    Scenario 3)The birthday kid is a close friend

    In my mind

    #1 = $15 to $20
    #2 = $20 to $30
    #3 = $30 or beyond.

    However, having hosted my kid’s birthday party with 30+ kids, I’m seeing a lot of the presents are around $30 or more, even for folks that are complete strangers. So I’m just wondering if I’m cheap.

    Second question: does this amount change if you bring more than one kid to the party? (For example, the kid’s parent has an “open invite” to allow them to bring siblings).

    Third question: are there any alternatives to wrapping a present? I just think of all that paper used to wrap a present a complete waste of resources. With my better friends, we have an understanding of no wrapping paper. But for pure strangers, I think it would be kinda odd.

    Fourth question: if your kids receives a lot of presents, is there anything wrong with either returning some of the presents or regifting them (provided you don’t regift the presents back to the person who gave them to your kid)? I really don’t want my kid to have 30+ new things that they opens and plays for 2 hrs and then never plays with again….no matter how educational some of them might be (books,drawing,crafts, etc), not to mention that I don’t want my kid to get into a habit of having so much crap…. We have enough stuff as is, and my observation is that my kid still plays with the most basic things like my old tinkertoys, legos, lincoln logs, toolset.

    March 14, 2010 at 12:12 AM #525542
    CA renter
    Participant

    FLU,

    I think your numbers are right on, even though we’ve also seen the overly-generous parents with too-expensive gifts. Tough call, but a quality present at $20 is a very decent gift in my mind, even for a close friend.

    Also, I’d say the dollar amount should go up if other siblings are invited. Maybe $10 more.

    We’ve tried to tell people that we don’t want any presents at all for our kids’ birthdays, and that we just want their company, but too many still end up bringing gifts. Really, kids these days have way too much stuff.

    Regarding the wrapping, we like to use gift bags that we all reuse over and over and over again. Agree that wrapping paper is pretty wasteful. Kids might recognize the re-return of the gift bags, but they seem to enjoy recollecting when they last saw the bags. It’s only an issue if parents make it an issue.

    Yes, you can re-gift, too, but best to do it with kids from different playgroups, if possible. 🙂

    Enjoy the party!

    March 14, 2010 at 12:12 AM #525674
    CA renter
    Participant

    FLU,

    I think your numbers are right on, even though we’ve also seen the overly-generous parents with too-expensive gifts. Tough call, but a quality present at $20 is a very decent gift in my mind, even for a close friend.

    Also, I’d say the dollar amount should go up if other siblings are invited. Maybe $10 more.

    We’ve tried to tell people that we don’t want any presents at all for our kids’ birthdays, and that we just want their company, but too many still end up bringing gifts. Really, kids these days have way too much stuff.

    Regarding the wrapping, we like to use gift bags that we all reuse over and over and over again. Agree that wrapping paper is pretty wasteful. Kids might recognize the re-return of the gift bags, but they seem to enjoy recollecting when they last saw the bags. It’s only an issue if parents make it an issue.

    Yes, you can re-gift, too, but best to do it with kids from different playgroups, if possible. 🙂

    Enjoy the party!

    March 14, 2010 at 12:12 AM #526120
    CA renter
    Participant

    FLU,

    I think your numbers are right on, even though we’ve also seen the overly-generous parents with too-expensive gifts. Tough call, but a quality present at $20 is a very decent gift in my mind, even for a close friend.

    Also, I’d say the dollar amount should go up if other siblings are invited. Maybe $10 more.

    We’ve tried to tell people that we don’t want any presents at all for our kids’ birthdays, and that we just want their company, but too many still end up bringing gifts. Really, kids these days have way too much stuff.

    Regarding the wrapping, we like to use gift bags that we all reuse over and over and over again. Agree that wrapping paper is pretty wasteful. Kids might recognize the re-return of the gift bags, but they seem to enjoy recollecting when they last saw the bags. It’s only an issue if parents make it an issue.

    Yes, you can re-gift, too, but best to do it with kids from different playgroups, if possible. 🙂

    Enjoy the party!

    March 14, 2010 at 12:12 AM #526216
    CA renter
    Participant

    FLU,

    I think your numbers are right on, even though we’ve also seen the overly-generous parents with too-expensive gifts. Tough call, but a quality present at $20 is a very decent gift in my mind, even for a close friend.

    Also, I’d say the dollar amount should go up if other siblings are invited. Maybe $10 more.

    We’ve tried to tell people that we don’t want any presents at all for our kids’ birthdays, and that we just want their company, but too many still end up bringing gifts. Really, kids these days have way too much stuff.

    Regarding the wrapping, we like to use gift bags that we all reuse over and over and over again. Agree that wrapping paper is pretty wasteful. Kids might recognize the re-return of the gift bags, but they seem to enjoy recollecting when they last saw the bags. It’s only an issue if parents make it an issue.

    Yes, you can re-gift, too, but best to do it with kids from different playgroups, if possible. 🙂

    Enjoy the party!

    March 14, 2010 at 12:12 AM #526473
    CA renter
    Participant

    FLU,

    I think your numbers are right on, even though we’ve also seen the overly-generous parents with too-expensive gifts. Tough call, but a quality present at $20 is a very decent gift in my mind, even for a close friend.

    Also, I’d say the dollar amount should go up if other siblings are invited. Maybe $10 more.

    We’ve tried to tell people that we don’t want any presents at all for our kids’ birthdays, and that we just want their company, but too many still end up bringing gifts. Really, kids these days have way too much stuff.

    Regarding the wrapping, we like to use gift bags that we all reuse over and over and over again. Agree that wrapping paper is pretty wasteful. Kids might recognize the re-return of the gift bags, but they seem to enjoy recollecting when they last saw the bags. It’s only an issue if parents make it an issue.

    Yes, you can re-gift, too, but best to do it with kids from different playgroups, if possible. 🙂

    Enjoy the party!

    March 14, 2010 at 7:55 AM #525587
    jpinpb
    Participant

    That sounds about right to me. But during the bubble, I saw more expensive gifts being given. Well, let me think about this. People aren’t paying their mortgage, so they have more discretionary money to spend, so I can see more people spending more even in today’s time.

    But w/unemployment going up and fear being instilled, I think your numbers are fair, at least in my circles. If you’re going to parties in RSF, maybe those numbers are way off.

    March 14, 2010 at 7:55 AM #525719
    jpinpb
    Participant

    That sounds about right to me. But during the bubble, I saw more expensive gifts being given. Well, let me think about this. People aren’t paying their mortgage, so they have more discretionary money to spend, so I can see more people spending more even in today’s time.

    But w/unemployment going up and fear being instilled, I think your numbers are fair, at least in my circles. If you’re going to parties in RSF, maybe those numbers are way off.

    March 14, 2010 at 7:55 AM #526165
    jpinpb
    Participant

    That sounds about right to me. But during the bubble, I saw more expensive gifts being given. Well, let me think about this. People aren’t paying their mortgage, so they have more discretionary money to spend, so I can see more people spending more even in today’s time.

    But w/unemployment going up and fear being instilled, I think your numbers are fair, at least in my circles. If you’re going to parties in RSF, maybe those numbers are way off.

    March 14, 2010 at 7:55 AM #526261
    jpinpb
    Participant

    That sounds about right to me. But during the bubble, I saw more expensive gifts being given. Well, let me think about this. People aren’t paying their mortgage, so they have more discretionary money to spend, so I can see more people spending more even in today’s time.

    But w/unemployment going up and fear being instilled, I think your numbers are fair, at least in my circles. If you’re going to parties in RSF, maybe those numbers are way off.

    March 14, 2010 at 7:55 AM #526518
    jpinpb
    Participant

    That sounds about right to me. But during the bubble, I saw more expensive gifts being given. Well, let me think about this. People aren’t paying their mortgage, so they have more discretionary money to spend, so I can see more people spending more even in today’s time.

    But w/unemployment going up and fear being instilled, I think your numbers are fair, at least in my circles. If you’re going to parties in RSF, maybe those numbers are way off.

    March 14, 2010 at 9:58 AM #525627
    desmond
    Participant

    Not to get you riled up, but inviting 30+ kids and then complaining you don’t want 30+ new things for you kid to play with? Next time either invite 5- kids, or invite the 30+ and write on the card: No Gifts, please. Just a suggestion, no harm implied.

    March 14, 2010 at 9:58 AM #525759
    desmond
    Participant

    Not to get you riled up, but inviting 30+ kids and then complaining you don’t want 30+ new things for you kid to play with? Next time either invite 5- kids, or invite the 30+ and write on the card: No Gifts, please. Just a suggestion, no harm implied.

    March 14, 2010 at 9:58 AM #526205
    desmond
    Participant

    Not to get you riled up, but inviting 30+ kids and then complaining you don’t want 30+ new things for you kid to play with? Next time either invite 5- kids, or invite the 30+ and write on the card: No Gifts, please. Just a suggestion, no harm implied.

    March 14, 2010 at 9:58 AM #526301
    desmond
    Participant

    Not to get you riled up, but inviting 30+ kids and then complaining you don’t want 30+ new things for you kid to play with? Next time either invite 5- kids, or invite the 30+ and write on the card: No Gifts, please. Just a suggestion, no harm implied.

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