[quote=briansd1]flu, you’re Chinese so why not get all the kids to implement the Chinese system just like for weddings. Cash only! A check in an envelope is the best gift in my mind, no matter what the amount is.
I think a reasonable amount for a kids’ birthday is the cost of the meal (say $10/person) + 10 = $20. More if you’re feeling generous or it’s a nice party.
If everyone did that, the child would have a nice amount of cash to buy a good gift for himself.
I’m not Chinese but that’s the best way!![/quote]
Brian, I think my objective is to create a decent social environment for my kid so that my kid is more or less socially accepted by some kids. While it’s not my intention to turn my kid into a social butterfly and party animal, I do see the value in my kid having some friends versus being a totally anti-social hermit embarrassed by the perception of kooky parents.
I don’t think my main objective here is to maximize profits off of my kids’ friends/acquaintances’ parents, nor is my objective to try to be ostentatious or lavishing in gift giving in a environment whose parents tend to be professionals.
Somehow, sending like $15-20 check would probably be tacky/kooky in my book, and probably borderline insulting if the parents are professionals making decent money…Plus it would probably be annoying if you were the only one doing it, because that parent would have to make an extra trip to the bank to cash the $15 check, which after gas/time/vehicle usage/ probably ends up amount to $7.
For the past two months, almost every weekend, my kid has had a friend with a birthday party or something. While it isn’t necessarily burning a hole in my pocket (yet), it does add up…And there is a balancing act between saying too many parties versus not going at all. BTW: you can gauge how bad an economy is based on how much/little parents are willing to spend on kids. You know the crapper has hit the fan, when the level of birthday parties has fallen off a cliff (unless, your kid is a complete social-path). The number of birthday events was almost nill at the beginning of the year, despite me knowing several of her friends had birthdays during that period.
