to be embarrassed by the tat we give as birthday presents when dd gets some nice gifts for her birthday?

[PatFig]

DD had her 5th birthday party today and she got some nice presents
All the partys she has been to this year we gave cheap rubbish (wilkos crap,3 for the price of 2 rubbish etc)

I was taken aback by the range of nice gifts she got. Should we spend a little bit more on presents for her friends the next time?

No, her friends should be grateful for what they recieve, regardless of the cost.

If you can afford it, and want to then yes.

If you will have to skint yourself then no.

no, a gift is a gift, and different people can afford different things. more expensive does not equal better or more loved gift.

you have no idea whether they bought 3 for 2, or are recycling on things their child was given as presents that they were never allowed to play with/hated/were duplicates

What counts as "nice presents" then?
Just for future reference...

Look up the book people - it's a tip I picked up on here. Usually you can get loads of books for £1 eachish. Looks more expensive than it is, and genuinely nice pressies.

I bought 20 different Charlie and lola and hairy mclairy books for £20 today.

Regardless, it's really hard to buy nice things and not spend a fortune and 5yo aren't going to care really anyway!

Personal choice.

I can't bear to buy the tat/cheap rubbish so am on the lookout all the time for nice gift esp when reduced, that being said I never spend more than £5, maybe occasionally £6.

DD got a range of nice gift and crap.

Not really sure what you mean by "wilkos"...

I recycle the really crap stuff, mainly to kids who have given crap stuff etc. The really worst stuff I take it to charity shop.

I was horrified to find that my friend had spent £26 on a birthday present for a child whose party our children were going to. For a few minutes I felt embarrassed at the fact I'd spent a fiver, but then realised a) I'm skint b) It was a bargain (set of 3 Jaqueline Wilson books in Smiths and c) £26 is crazy money!

Ideas for nice presents:

Go to ELC sale... often have stuff reduced.
Boots doing 3 for 2 on xmas toys.
Book people good, except everyone cottoned onto this now usually book people books as going home presents.
Bought DVDs in asda for £3 each.
Bought biscuit cutters & kids cake trays reduced in lakeland sale.
Bought hello kitty t-shirts in H&M for £3 or PJs in primark for £4.

I used to give crap presents , until my dd had her sixth birthday and received really nice gifts. I now spend a bit more money on presents,

What sort of stuff did she get patfig?

wilkos = wilkinsons a cheap shop

I know 5 year olds do not mind. It is the parents that are the problem

Everything she got I thought oh thats nice and nothing was left to pass on at the next birthday party she goes to

forehead
Thats the point. If other parents do put thought and a little bit more money into it then I think we should too

TK Max is a good place to get cheap presents.

how much were you spending per present?

No you should stick to what you can afford - sometimes the cheaper presents are better anyway!

I'm yet to reach the birthday party stage but FWIW I'm planning on bulk buying on the book people etc and then just picking according to which child it is.

I spend a tenner if I have it and if I don't then I scour the sale shelves in Tesco and WHSmith....I got a lot of really cute litte braceltts things with dolls in them the other day...should have been a fiver bu they were 2,50...which is fine for a Christmas thing for DDs mates...we g cheap at Christmas in her school...I dont think the kids know what costs what do they? Not at this age!

Just look out on the sale shelves.

MumNWLondon
not more than £3
Just cheap crayons,felt tips ,plastic bangles, make up sets and pink girlie stuff

and we can afford to spend a couple of extra ££££££

PAtfig...nobody would judge you...unless they were an aquisitive wanker. I don't know of ONE family who would judge a gift like the one you describe and isnt thatjust the kind of thing most kids love anyway?

Oh....just notied you can afford more...well in that case then spend a bit more. Argos does a nice toy for around 8 quid and the Early Learning Centre do nice craft sets for 8 to 10 pounds.

It's not how much you spend, it's what you get. I'm a bit concerned that you describe the presents as "rubbish" and "tat": as others have pointed out, you can get good stuff discounted too.

Heap of Match Attax cards usually goes down well, if all else fails.

I would probably spend about a fiver, Maybe ten if it's a best friend.

I think if you can reasonably expect DD to be invited to lots of parties, it'll be worth just stocking up on sale bargains WHEN you see them, rather than waiting for each individual party IYSWIM?

YANBU - it's the thought that counts.

BTW not everyone spends as much as they appear to; my friend buys gorgeous gifts for birthday parties, which I assumed cost her a fair bit, but she says she hunts around for bargains in sales and keeps a "present cupboard" at home. Also she works for a high street store and gets a great staff discount even on sale items, so stocks up there too.

I spend £5-10 but always get things that are good value so they probably look more expensive, Costco and Book People are great and I keep a box with gifts in that I top up when I see something appropriate.

I spend about £5, but I have usually been lucky to pick things up reduced, sometimes as much as half price. I am trying to keep a stock of presents in, when I see a good bargain.

Used to spend about £10 which at the time used to buy a Pingu video or similar. So I used to spend about that much.

We were the only family to get child tax credit. I felt a mug after one child gave about a £4 present - their family was worth £44 million. Yes, it's the thought that counts, but not much that of a thought apparently.