Birthday Party Gifts
Alternatives for Being Deluged with 15 Barbie Dolls
Use creative and charitable ideas as an alternative for birthday party gift giving or receiving.
With the birthday party season looming ahead, your child is inevitably going to receive multiple birthday party invitations. He or she in turn may opt to host their own party, and then run the risk of being deluged with lots of birthday presents. Depending on your situation, you may not want to have to deal with multiples of a given toy or to have your child spoiled by receiving so many gifts at one time.
If this description fits you, don’t worry. There are viable alternatives that enable you to host a great party for your child, but still keep him or her unspoiled. Since you are the host, you set the tone for the party. Before the invitations are created, discuss the alternatives with your child and decide upon the best choice.
Here are some suggestions:
- Accept gifts as long as they are less than a certain price (i.e. $5)
- Request that no gifts or donations be brought to the party
- Request donations of used or new toys to be given to your favorite charity
- Request donations of used or new books or videos to be given to your local library
- Request gift cards to a favorite store or video store
- Request donations of money, and then during the party, decide as a group which charity will benefit from the party’s donation
- Create a gift exchange activity at the party, where everyone brings a gift of a certain price, and there is a grab bag at the party
- Request donations of canned, non-perishable foods that will be donated to a local food bank
- Request donations of gift cards to grocery stores that can be donated to a local shelter
Finally, as the parent who has to “sell” this concept to the birthday child, you may to consider using the following option. Since your child is showing significant altruisim by giving up his birthday gifts, you could allow him to select one item that he really wants, and reward his selflessness with this gift. Understandably, you will be purchasing this gift on top of whatever else you were planning to give him, but you will be teaching an invaluable life lesson.
On the flip side of this situation, when your child is invited to parties, you can use the above suggestions instead of bringing a gift. Ask the hosting parent if a donation can be made, or if the child is requesting gifts. If the latter situation exists, consider keeping a collection of gift cards on hand, to make your job even easier. Many schools and churches have gift card programs where your purchase of a gift card donates a percentage to the school/church. So, you still end up with a win-win situation.
© Text by Janice Benoit. [April, 2007]. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use will constitute an infringement of copyright
