Birthday present idea - 4 year old

[Plaidparty]

My DC has a 4 year old boys party next month and I need present ideas. Nothing plastic, no brands (Paw patrol, Peppa etc - he doesn’t get movies, tv) Has to be sustainable, eco friendly.

Looking to spend about £10.

Also, we have been asked to take non-nut, non-dairy, no/low sugar food as it is a picnic?! Any ideas for something that Is some what ‘party food’ or do I just rock up with rice cakes?

Any ideas welcome!

Books for sure. Or a lovely colouring book.

Maybe some vegetable sticks and hummus for a snack.

I admire the mum though. When I was pregnant I said no plastic toys/no screen time/no processed food etc. That soon went out of the window!

Are they expecting you to share your food with the other guests?! That seems very odd.
What exactly are they (the birthday child's parents) providing? Every party I've ever been to or hosted for kids, the food is provided.

I believe only pizza is being served - it’s in a forest.

I think a book might be the safe option.

My child doesn’t eat hummus or raw veg so that wouldn’t work. Also, he will be disappointed to find out veg is party food! 😂

Same here - although this is to the extreme.

Arts or crafty stuff? Paint pens are amazing.
cheeky parents making you bring your own food and being so restrictive. What are they even actually paying for? I’d cut your budget to £5 as you’ll be spending £5 on food!

Why are you being asked to provide food? This should be on the parents of the birthday child - they provide the food, party entertainment etc, & possibly a party bag.
You/your child as a guest just turns up, hopefully with a card & present.
I've down a party in a forest at a forest school - I prepared all the food & carted through the forest, I wouldn't dream of demanding guests bring food too?

Also - why so many restrictions? So is the pizza vegan? The No-nuts thing I get IF there is a guest who is severely allergic, but the rest? Why?

As for present ideas - my go-to has been Melissa & Doug toys - often wooden ones. You could also try Babipur for more expensive eco ones.

Sounds like a fun birthday 🙄

I'd go for a puzzle or board game (Orchard toys are really nice).

Fruit kebabs for the food contribution.

Yeah, he only uses ‘eco art supplies’? Never seen him with crayola or the like. So basically water colours and wooden pencils.

I was thinking either the same pencils he has (which are ten quid anyway). It just looks a crap present!

Yeah, definitely a first party without fruit shoots or hairbo for my son too!

Honestly no idea what to expect!

I assume it’s a vegan pizza but no idea tbh. Going to guess my kid won’t eat it and I’ll need to stop at a mcds drive through on the way home!

i think a book or a puzzle/jigsaw might be the best option!

Yeah I think fruit and maybe raisins will be my best bet!

I now have images of parents handing out contraband Oreo's & sausage rolls behind trees & bushes...

That poor child - is he allowed 'bad' food at other children's parties?

Wonder what delight the birthday cake will be?

Well, good luck to you - take lots of snacks for the car, & possibly give your child a large meal before going.

ha ha. I’ve no idea if my chocolate eating-Peppa Pig loving son with haribo in his pocket with be in the majority or minority!

i’m sure it will certainly be an experience! Also, no doubt it’s bound to rain! Typical Scottish highlands weather!

Have a look at the Whirlygig toy shops online and physical (depending on your location). There are loads of fab gifts there. Those torches with different slideshows (stars, dinosaurs etc) are pretty cool.

Can you bake? Banana pancakes can be made vegan. Could maybe get some vegan chocolate spread stuff to go with. Or frozen grapes and take them in an ice box. I realise I'm reaching here. But, as you know, this is fucking impossible.

I’ll have a look there, thank you.

I mean that might be the extend of my baking, I guess I could do the muffin version of them and at least pretend it was cake like?!

Very glad it not only me that finds this bonkers!

Usborne magic painting book of dinosaurs.

A kite, a puppet, a board game, a book, a soft cuddly toy.

Gift idea? onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/safe-water-for-a-family-of-four/product/OU9021WA

I'd normally sellotape 10 x £1 coins in the card in the shape of a 4, but not sure if cash gifts might offend this family!

I have no help really on the presents- my SIL in exactly like this with her 3 year old so we get something from scandibjorn (search for it on google). It is expensive though; so perhaps a gift card for there?
Re the food though: both my three year old and I can't eat gluten or dairy; so when we do picnics with our friends she always takes:

• Eat real veggie straws (in sainsburys and Morrisons)

-Free from jammy wheels from Asda

• Moo Free mini chocolate bars (although they're choc they are relatively low sugar and dairy free) - also in Morrisons, Asda and sainsburys.

Hth

There's also the fruit/veg options too - mine is fine eating this but yours might not be.

Have a look in the toys section of your local charity shops? Presumably anything decent from there would be acceptable - even if it's plastic it's still sustainable, and they tend to have lots of books, jigsaws and board games in anyway. Or yes, a book or book token is a great idea.

For party food, how about mini sandwiches using olive oil spread instead of butter and just avoid fillings with cheese in? Ham, tuna mayo (lots don't contain dairy, e.g. Sainsbury's organic mayo), or jam. Or summer fruit - mangoes, peaches, nectarines etc. Hula hoops.

Thanks everyone for the ideas, I’m thinking fruit with some of those dairy free chocolate.

i’ll look for a toy but I think a book or book token might be the easiest thing.

I love the charity shop idea but don’t even know if that plastic would pass the test!

I would go with a couple of books that are loosely on theme with sustainability and caring for the world around us. I'm sure ordering from Amazon would be a no but for the sake of easy links something like these:

Little Green World Series

The Busy Fox

The Storm Whale

Somebody Swallowed Stanley

Alternatively for toys somewhere like the envirotoy website or ethical superstore ( but books will be cheaper).

Food wise I would just go to the free-from section of a reasonably sized supermarket, or Holland and Barrett. Things will be clearly labelled in the respect of nut-free or dairy-free and there will be plenty of options such as crisps and crackers which could be taken with a dip or some fruit/seeds. Roasted chickpeas are easy and tasty.

Sounds interesting OP, tell us what it's like!