Oldest went a birthday party a few weeks ago for a boy from his class. They have never played together outside of school, but he insisted that he wanted to go so even though it was a last minute party, we went. I went to Wal-Mart at got the gift, annoyed that I couldn't find anything for less than $10 that I thought a 7 year old would like. And something that my 6 year old wouldn't be embarrassed to give. I chose an all-weather football.
Anyway, at the party, the birthday boy received $20 cash from another boy in the class. Of course, all the boys thought that this was wonderful. It got me thinking...Am I cheap with my $10 gift? Is $20 normal? High? Low? Any thoughts on this?
9 comments:
it varys from birthday to birthday, i generally spend between $10 to $20. so, no i don't think you are cheap with a $10 gift. i don't think that it is about how much you spend on a gift as much as how excited the child is to receive it! kids don't know how much gifts cost, all they know is that they love the gift!
I bet that $20 mom forgot to get a present and threw the smallest bill from her wallet in an envelope, kicking herself that she had to spend $20 instead of her normal $10.
$10 isn't cheap, for a school mate who is nothing more than a kid who shares air in the classroom.
If they have never played together outside of school $10 is totally reasonable I think. I am usually around 15 ish with my gifts but certainly if I can find something fun for cheaper I'll do it! Like Mahina said, kids don't know or care how much things cost.
For Christmas, my kids favorite gifts were the $5 puzzles I bought.
I've thought about this same topic. I've always been a "$10 limit" mom. With the amount of parties they go to and having 3 children it adds up and just doesn't need to be more than that (in my opinion). However, it used to be that the other parents spent the same amount. I guess its birthday party inflation but people are spending a lot more now. At my daughters birthday party on saturday she got a $30 littlest pet shop set. It was almost embarassing because the rest of the girls spent $10-15. Of course my daughter loved it but I did feel it was a little excessive. Thoughtful but excessive.
Unless the kid is one of my kids' best buddies, I try to shoot for about $15. I don't think you're being cheap and I doubt if the mother thought so either. Don't stress. You did good.
I agree with Stie. I doubt very highly that the mom thought you were being cheap. You said yourself that it was a last minute party. Actually, if my kids ever got a twenty from a friend, I would be the one stressing!! That's a high water mark to get to!
I think kelly a had the right answer. That Mom probably forgot. For kids birthday's I do $10. That's it. I don't think you're cheap at all. Any kid is going to love cash instead anyway. It wouldn't matter if it was $5 or $20.
I think you're right on with a $10 gift. My favorite thing to do is to get a ton of kids gifts during the Christmas sales, so I can give a $10 gift that actually might have cost half that. Cheap? Maybe - but with all the parties lately, I don't care!
I've actually decided I'm against birthday presents at birthday parties, especially for little kid's Max's age. It's just too much for them to handle.
And yeah, I think $10 is plenty!!
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