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Original poster

How much do you spend on school friends presents?

45 replies

allgettingtoomuch · 06/02/2022 08:50

OH seems to think £20 a time DS gets invited to a birthday party is too much and that we should put a fiver in a card.

How much would you spend? DS is 5 and in reception.

OP posts:
CoffeeChocolateWine · 06/02/2022 09:30

It depends who the friend is. I have 3 DC. My 3yo gets invited to all class parties and I tend to a token gift of around £6-7. My 9yo still gets invited to quite a few parties and I spend around £10-12. My DS is 13 and only tends to go to a few a year. They are generally his absolute best mates and we generally put £15 in a card or a voucher for that amount. For his really best and oldest friends - the ones he and we have known since tiny - we will go up to £20.

apprenticewage · 06/02/2022 09:30

My dd and Ds only have about 8 in their year and usually only goes to 3-4 parties a year so my budget is no more than 20.

Skyeheather · 06/02/2022 09:43

DS is 5 and has two whole class parties coming up in the same week, I'll be spending £10.00 on each child, it's all I can afford. You can get cards in ASDA for 28p and I always have a stash of wrapping paper rolls in the cupboard (ASDA do 10m for £1.50). I don't bother with a bag, just cellotape the card to the gift.

There are 30 children going to each party, if each child spends £10.00 that's £300.00 worth of gifts the child is getting, that is more than enough for a 5 year old!

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LovelyLupins · 06/02/2022 09:53

£10 max at primary, and £1 cards from card factory, bought in bulk. No need dir gift bags, Tesco sell really nice giftwrap in big rolls for a couple of £s.
Bulk buy Lego sets and books when they’re on offer to get the £10 down to £7 per gift.

feministqueen · 06/02/2022 10:03

£5-10 here. I bought a load of stuff in January. Fingerlings are £5 in The entertainer at the min. Hot wheels bits, maybe a barbie if I can get one for £10 or less. I'd bulk out with some chocolate or sweets too

feministqueen · 06/02/2022 10:05

Also don't buy wrapping paper - we have a massive large roll of brown paper. Any bags given to the kids for birthdays are reused and recycled so we use those too. I never buy gift bags

busyeatingbiscuits · 06/02/2022 10:05

£7-£10, plus a £1 for a card.

WhaleSnail · 06/02/2022 10:12

£20 seems too much for that age and whole class parties. I tend to spend £5-10 (lower if got bargain on sale etc). When I have my son a whole class party I was quite embarrassed that some gifts were clearly more in the £15-20 range (majority £10 and under). One child gave £20 in a card - that was awkward really to be honest. If you go to even 20 class parties in a year that would be £200-300 on present I can’t afford that. As DC get older they naturally attend less parties and celebrate only closer friends so the cost per gift goes up. My oldest has a small friendship group and I spend up to £20 now.

ldontWanna · 06/02/2022 10:26

At that age I used to do argos 2 for £15 and keep the second present for the next present or DD .

Now it's around £10 or the equivalent in Robux if the parents are happy with it.

For really close friends I spend more as there's normally some extra activity on top.

I also spent more on a couple of birthdays right after lockdown as I was so excited to be birthday shopping again.Grin

Montague22 · 06/02/2022 11:48

£8-£12 for standard friend
£20 for best friend

MissMaple82 · 06/02/2022 11:50

It's minimum 10 per head at most places. I'd ge offended at five pound. £10 I'd say is appropriate

DelurkingAJ · 06/02/2022 11:54

I have a present drawer and at the moment it has a small stash of Lego that I bought when discounted and a few books bought on deals. Usually one of each (DS2, Y1)…so total value about £8. I spend more for DS1 because he only goes to about two parties a year now (Y4).

CrimbleCrumble1 · 06/02/2022 11:57

Tenner in a card and a packet of sweets.

SartresSoul · 06/02/2022 12:45

£10 for the card, gift and bag.

FearlessSwiftie · 07/02/2022 09:28

£10 for us + maybe a birthday smartshow 3d video card instead of a store bought one.

Redlorryyellowduck · 07/02/2022 09:39

There's a habit in DD's reception class of having joint parties, some are been 3 way parties. I couldn't begin to imagine spending £60 on gifts for one day, and I consider myself to be fairly generous.
I tend to get the two for £15 gifts, or do gift bags of a book, some craft, sweet etc, again about £8. I bulk buy kids cards in the cheap shop, about 20p each.
For a best mate I spend about £20, but that's reciprocated so I don't mind.

CurlsLDN · 07/02/2022 09:44

@feministqueen thanks for the fingerlings tip, just ordered 4 to keep in the present stash!

Op - in primary school £5-10 per gift, to include the few pence a card and wrap costs. That's what I and the others in my son's class do, and seems to be a consensus across this thread. So although your generosity is kind, it's OTT in this instance so you can scale it back and spend that money on treats for your family instead!

MarshaBradyo · 07/02/2022 09:46

£10 to £12 on present and card on top

I don’t put money in card, always a present

Lipsandlashes · 07/02/2022 09:48

Reception and all class, a tenner. As they get older and form proper friendships and only a few invited to the birthday, then £20-£25

runsmidgeOMG · 07/02/2022 10:01

Probably £10-12 including card :)
Daughter in primary so we've had a few 5/6th birthdays

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