to label presents by gender?

[miniaturepixieonacid]

I've been running a Christmas charity gift appeal and now have all the donations to wrap up and label. The only stipulation I was given was that the gifts needed to be suitable for 2 - 14 year olds and labelled appropraitely.

I can't decide whether to label by age and sex or just age. There are plenty that can obviously be unisex but I'm talking about the 'sterotypically' gendered items. Part of me does not want to get involved in any of that and I know perfectly well that children are and should be free to choose from all items and not be pigeon holed. But, at the same time, I think the vast, vast majority of 12 year old boys would be disappointed to receive a cosmetics/toiletry bag and not many 7 year old girls would want a tin of 'triple trucks' toys. Regardless of how few presents they are likely to receive this year. But of course some girls would hate the bag and some boys hate the trucks. And I hate stereotyping!

So I'm torn.
YABU - Just label '6-8 year old' 'young teenager' etc
YANBU - Label '7 year old girl' 'pre teen boy' '8-10 unisex' etc

If you're wrapping them up + labelling - are the labels being removed prior to being given to the kids? Tbh they need something labelling on them, otherwise like you said you run the risk of someone being disappointed!

I'd go with the second option - e.g 6-8 unisex, or teen boy.

Play it safe and go for age and gender. Presumably the parents of girls who like trucks or boys who like sparkles will know to pick the opposite sex gift. If something is unisex (say a selection box) then it’s ok to label unisex.

Id hate to be given a cosmetics bag as an 12 year old girl!! And now too tbh. I think you should label with what’s inside and then take the label off once it has been decided who the present is going to.

I do a couple of gifts for charity….eg ‘boy 5-7 yrs.’ And for the homeless charity, labelled ‘Male’ and I put a little Christmas sticker on the gift tag so that it doesn’t look so ‘cold’

I think they're doing it as a Santas grotto kind of thing though - like a lucky dip. Otherwise, they wouldn't be wrapped at all and the parents could pick for the children. Which might be better but it's not my event, I'm just organising the presents.

Age and gender definitely! You'll always get the odd girl who wanted a lynx Africa set or the odd boy who wanted a makeup set but generally the majority of people fit with the stereotype especially kids. Don't over think it.

Possibly for baby and toddler toys I wouldn't but for older definitely would
Could you put the age/gender as a 'suggestion' so it's 'suggest appropriate for 6-8 year old boy's so people can use discretion?

Any gifts purchased in future could be (stereotypically) gender neutral.

Why do you need to wrap them up?
If they are going to families who can't afford gifts then it would be nicer to let the parents choose some they know their DC would like

Wrapping them up denies the parents the chance to give their DC something nice, instead they have to get a random donation from a complete stranger.

Wrap by colour and have a list by likely gift by paper choice sompatenrs can direct kids based on their interest

Pink Xmas paper:
Toiletries, make-up etc

Blue wrapping paper:
Trucks, cars.

How about stereotypical wrapping paper then just label with the age, then if you have a boy who's more into "girly" stuff or vice versa they're free to pick the gift that's wrapped accordingly?

That's a good idea; thanks.

They're donations though so hard to dictate that to people who are giving. I could find a polite way to request it though, good point.

Can you buy things that would be suitable for any child, regardless of their sex and whether they conform to stereotypical interests of that sex? Puzzles, games, books etc?

I think in this situation maybe make use of conventional 'gender' signifiers rather than labelling as being 'boy' or 'girl'. So, pink paper for 'girlie' gifts, blue for 'boy' ones, neutral Xmas paper for unisex items. That (plus the age) should give an indication of the contents and not inhibit a girl who is hoping for something;g like trucks from picking a 'blue' gift and vv.

Stereotypes absolutely suck, I think this approach subverts the idea that 'trucks are for boys' iyswim.

It's because it's for an event with a Santa's Grotto, not presents to be given on Christmas morning. I suppose they could still be given unwrapped but it's not my event so not my call.

My daughter at nearly 5 decided santa wasn't real when the school Xmas santa gave all the boys lego and all the girls a doll. She's never been interested in dolls and loves lego.

I jsut went to a Christmas railway that had presents separated by colour so "girl 3-5" was blue, "boy 5-8" was orange, etc. Children got badges based on which of these they were, so "Santa" knew what gift to give them. Can you do anything like that or would it be too complicated?

Imagine the disappointment of having to be a child receiving a charity present, and then for example it’s a doll or something when you’re a tween boy?? Definitely label them to gender. I’m usually don’t buy into the gender stuff, my kids played with all sorts, but this is an exception.

Could you go with hints 'a present for someone who loves art/craft/dinosaurs/makeup/vehicles/building stuff/football' plus the age group?

It's still a surprise but gives a bit of a hint.

I still think unwrapped is better in a Santa's grotto but I get that it's not your call. It does massively reduce the number of disappointed children/wasted gifts though.

Can you make up some crude categories that don't actually give the present away, but some indication?

"Toiletries", "Puzzles / games", "Vehicles", etc?

Not every girl wants make-up or every boy wants trucks anyway.

Could you make up labels with categories of gift instead of gender?

Label as ‘6-8 y/o boy’ for example. Our kids went to a Xmas party with the footy team and one of the boys received something stereotypical for a girl and you could see the disappointment all over his face. It was made harder by the fact the rest of the team all received something they really liked!

Categories are a great idea! There might be some that are too sepcific but I will do that where I can. Thanks!