Kids parties and present value should be about the same as party cost?

[ElatedMauveFox]

I was told rule of thumb is that a present for a party should be generally what the party cost - eg soft play at £10 than £10 present?

Aibu

I’m guessing you’ve held an expensive party for your child in some venue and are now annoyed that your costs weren’t covered by gifts given to your child ?

Is this a genuine question @ElatedMauveFox ? Your responses don't seem to be related to your OP but regardless of course it's not a rule.

I’m guessing the OP is annoyed that she held an expensive party for her child and feels that gifts given didn’t correlate to the cost of the party.

So rich people get big presents and poor people get small presents.

When DS was around 9/10, €10 in a card was the average gift. Now he's a teen, at his last party, he received cash or gifts around €25-50. The only thing I do do is note down the amount, so that I can reciprocate at the respective child's party.

Parties here cost around €30 ahead for an activity party.

It doesn't bother me what the amount is, tbh. As long as the child comes and has fun, that's the important thing.

That’s the silliest thing I’ve heard.

You organize the birthday party to celebrate your DC and have fun with their friends and family. I’d not expect people to buy my DC expensive gifts or to match how much I spent on their bday celebration. It makes no sense.

Wow. No. This is an eye opening idea, wouldn't have dreamed anyone would cost match the present to what they think the party cost. Life is not just one big ole transaction.

No way. I would prefer my kids go to a low-key party. I think the move to more expensive and fancy is a bad one. And then I should reward that by buying more expensive gifts, or, otherwise put, the kids whose parents CAN'T afford the fancier party should get smaller gifts?

Equal for all and if anything, I would be inclined to be more generous if the party was more low-key. Sorry!

Have fun with future parties with no guests 🙁 I suppose your letting the other parents know who to say no too and have fun explaining to your kids why nobody shows up to their birthday

I always try and spend £10-20. I wouldn’t just stick a fiver in a card for a party I knew cost more per head e.g soft play. However that’s just my preference and I don’t worry about what other people give

No. Not in the UK anyway.

We always spend £10-15.

Absolutely not.

You have no power over what sort of party the hosts organise and the costs of it.

Therefore you have no responsibility to match their (over)spending.

You buy a gift you think the child will like that's in your own personal budget.

My DS is 6. Regardless of party type, whether it's laser tag, soft play, village hall, or garden, everyone gets a fiver in a card.

I'm lazy. I don't want to go shopping for random kids who I don't know. I have no idea what they like, what they already have, what they're in to, etc. So a fiver in a card it is.

I've never heard of that before

No. This is a very money-centred, materialistic view of things. Am I supposed to google the party venue and guess which package the parents have booked?

DD’s been to parties in community halls that would have been relatively low cost (should I have emailed them to check room hire rates then asked about guest numbers to work out the cost of my DD’s attendance?) and ones where a group was taken out for lunch in town and given substantial party bags. The birthday children were given presents of similar value, around £15-18. The ones with richer parents are not more deserving.

Not only is your idea ridiculous, but your costings seem off too. Hosting a party in a garden isn't £2 a head if you do food and a party bag, and especially not if you hire a bouncy castle. It's up to parents to spend what they see fit on a party and up to guests to choose a present they think is appropriate too. I do spend more if both my children attend though.

We spend about 15-20, irrespective of venue, which seems the norm round here. Some will give more, some less. I’d rather a kid came with a packet of stickers or a picture/card they’ve drawn and enjoyed the party than their parent(s) overstretching themselves financially or opting out of the party. Some hosts do extravagant party bags, some do a bag of sweets - either is fine. Parents who dump siblings at parties unannounced piss me off massively though.

Not at all- I hate getting 30 crap presents from a class party, I’d rather get none. 30 £10 presents sounds like a nightmare 😭

£10 presents are crap? Not good enough for you?

I spend between £5-£15, if at the lower end, its because I’ve sourced a discounted present in a sale. The parties DD attends often cost £500-£3,000 to host, depending on venue and entertainment, the hosts aren’t expecting to recoup the cost via gifts. I don’t link gift cost to party outlay.

I don’t understand this. If I have enough money for a £300 birthday party then I have money for birthday gifts for my child. I’d rather not have ten lots of £30 gifts that are things my child might not be interested in, she already has lots of or are clutter. I would prefer something smaller like a book, activity book, £10 for piggy bank or something edible that can used up.

I wouldn’t want my kids to have that many presents even if it was a thing. Thankfully it’s not - presents seem to float around £10-£15 but I only know that as we tend to get lego
sets a lot as well as buying them for other kids. What I spend on my kid’s party is a separate thing altogether

Go into Home Bargains - pick out the special buy toy of the week at £4.99, card for .29p.

Rinse and repeat.

I think you may be thinking of weddings?! Definitely not a thing for kids' parties 😂