Gifts for school friends

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Ds1 has just started reception and the party invites have started coming through. Obviously I don't know these children as they're new friends so no idea of their interests. Also if there are 29 whole class parties coming, then I need to be careful about budget

So, what do you buy for gifts for reception parties for kids you don't know that aren't too expensive? And what's an acceptable amount to spend? I'm thinking £5 per child, is this ok or too stingy?

Try and pick stuff up in sales, check reduced sections etc. You can get some nice things for a bit cheaper.
Ask your child what the birthday child likes - they should be able to give you a general answer, dinosaurs, barbie etc.
Otherwise craft sets or similar are pretty safe. If the party is themed you could always get something to tie in - very likely that it will be a favourite theme!

I’m still reeling from sorting through piles of plastic that we got when my 2 had their bday parties recently, so I might be the birthday equivalent of the Grinch now, but frankly a £5 in a card was a very welcome sight indeed from my pov. You can buy a stack of 12 cards for £5 rather than spending £2.50 per card.

Otherwise: anything that gets spent and doesn’t need storing forever, eg colouring, craft materials, PlayDoh. Lego is great but the problem is that if a toy is on sale in a big shop near the school, 5 out of 30 parents will buy the same one.

And reign in the gender specific bullshit. My DD was so disappointed that her brother was getting “build this” and “construct that” toys and she was getting mountains of pink decorative stuff. Girls like to play too, not just be pretty and brush unicorns’ hair.

I second colouring book and pack of pens/pencils. Maybe a bag of haribo.

You can get 10 books for X price at the works these could be good to have to hand to add in as well.

Sometimes I pick up a pack of matchbox cars or similar for £5.

Other small but useable things - hairclips or bobbles, sticker sheets, peel off tattoos, bubble mix, fidget or pop toys. Notebooks small lego sets blind bags. Magazines. Bubble baths magic flannels

Usually wrap in tissue type wrap stick in a gift bag with card. The gift bags circulate as I have a stack from presents Mt daughter received.

£5-7 is generally what I go for, and only 1 thing.
Dd gets a say in the present if it's a good friend but not if it's a whole class party (mostly because she's not good at picking).

@inappropriateraspberry unfortunately ds is not much help. We have two parties this weekend and he doesn't appear to know who either of the children are so definitely doesn't know their interests. He's quite shy and seems to only play with the 3/4 kids he knew before school. I'm hoping the parties will help bring him out of his shell a little bit

My daughter loved this series of books in reception so I stocked up and gave quite a few of them as birthday gifts last year!

The. Craft/drawing stuff, books or stick to stereotypes, you'll probably get it right! Dinosaurs for boys and unicorns/mermaids for girls!

Or a £5 note int he card and a packet of sweets!

Op I'm now at the point of a tenner in a card and box of maltesers.

No kid needs 20 odd gifts at £10, very little you can buy for less than £10, even a book will be more than a fiver. And lots of kids have far too much stuff anyway.

I know it seems cold but really. It just makes it so much easier.

Craft things are usually no miss, watercolor coloring books would be great for both boys and girls. You can also make birthday collages instead of ordinary birthday cards.

Bath stuff is also good. Bubble bath, bath bombs, confetti, soap jellies, mouldable soap, crackling bath salts etc. Don't think any child doesn't enjoy bath time and the products get used up without leaving much of a mess. Most are unisex and siblings can also benefit from it.

Toys often get huge markdowns in Sept-Oct when large shops need to clear shelf space for Christmas. Best bet for this are supermarkets that also sell toys (not toy stores) because they just want to shift stock. I always check the clearance section and stock up on stuff that are 50%-70% off. Always useful for last min presents, rainy day or sick day entertainment.

I love these melissa and doug reusable sticker books. The kids have lots of fun with them. Theyre £6 each or you can buy bundles like this for £15, so it's a fiver each. I also bulk buy cards from Amazon.

At that age we had a class agreement of €10 in a card . We also did joint class bday parties . Half the price , double the fun 😅
For my 9 year old as group gets closer , it’s now around €20 and it’s back to presents ! Mainly stationary or Pokémon theme

The Works have had a lot of kids toy/craft sets in the sale recently, I've put a few away for Christmas, mainly £2/£3 each 😊
If you have the spare money now maybe just grab a few sale items now, then it's nothing to worry about for each party.
Oh and Card Factory do 10 for £1 on cards 😊

Fiver in a card is brilliant. Dont feel you need to spend more than you can afford... one of DDs favourite presents last year was a £1 Easter egg.

Eurgh please cut the gender stereotype stuff.

YY to the Works, and can I add a shout-out for Jack's Birthday Club (The Entertainer) for 20% off around your own DC's birthday. I bulk-bought little Lego sets.

In general I rate fungible or usable things - bath products, a baking kit if you know there aren't allergies, hair accessories, a sticker book. I used to be the sort of person who'd carefully try to tailor the present to the child but I'm in the thick of Reception parties and everyone except good friends are basically getting a random pick from the present drawer.

We bought a great set of 20 (?) animal-themed cards plus birthday stickers off Amazon - so DD chooses a card and then a sticker that says "4 today" or "5 today" and draws something inside - £6 on Amazon. Will dig around for a link.

Get a box set of appropriate age books and wrap one up for every party. Otherwise, colouring pencils are great, as are sticker books, spot that books etc.

Look at the Xmas bargain thread. Last year Simeon posted disney princess barbie type daughter dolls for £5

all the girls parties we’ve been to Jene had one of those