Do you keep a stash of gifts for DC’s friends having parties?

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Tempted to buy a few I have found on offer, it’s nice arts & crafta types of gifts suitable for both genders. We have 5 bday parties to attend over the coming months and I suspext there will be more to come.
I don’t know these kids but DD does as they are frienda at reception. Do you usually buy ad hoc gifts for each child or keep a stash at home whenever you see offers?

I used to but got out of the habit. It’s a good idea.

At Reception/younger primary age where the parties tend to be bigger and the DC don't know each other so well, I did.

As they get older and the parties are smaller and they are closer friends, I would buy a gift that was a bit more individual for the child.

I did when mine were little. By the time they got to y3/4 I knew the friends and was able to be less generic with presents.

I did when my son’s were little, generally bits that weren’t too specific, so packs of hot wheel cars, playdough sets, sticker books etc.

Stopped when they got to about 8 or 9 as the parties slowed (less all class parties) and children were more aware of what sort of thing their friend would like.

For the 3-6 range I had a gift stash. It started with an item I needed to return and then realized I could just save for the next gift. I would buy things on sale and could get much nicer things that way.

Yes I do this. I buy them when there is a good deal. I keep them in storage so I dont have to spend time looking for gifts specially at the last minute. I am ready for any parties and events. I also buy small token gifts when I see good ones so I always have something for paly dates or as a little treat.

Yep. When the kids were little we had a cupboard containing gifts, wrap and cards. Gifts were Lego sets or the tat du jour. There was ONE party we were invited to where the birthday boy requested gifts on a specific theme. Everyone else got cupboard gifts.

I also used to do this when they were little, but stopped as parties got smaller and friends were closer (so picking more personal gifts).
I have over the last couple of years started stashing a few bits again as they are teens. Example VS body sprays, all the friends love them but £18 each. Buying 4 for £40 at next and giving with sweets/ gift card/ adding to girt bag etc makes sense. Similar with the boots xmas 3 for 2 offers on the small Bubble'/ Byoma gift sets.

No, that's what cash is for. But if you like giving gifts and are at the stage where there's lots of whole class parties so your child may not know what the birthday haver wants, makes sense.

You mean gifting cash? I see this a lot on MN but I have never witnessed that in real life, I don’t think it’s a thing in my area (London).

I’ve heard people on Mumsnet who do this but I never have, how do you know what the child would like? Is it just generic crap or do you give ‘Peter’ a Minecraft toy when he’s never even seen it? How does it work?

In my case I would stick to things can anyone can like (so no cartoon characters etc). Like lego, plus plua blocks, arts & crafts activity pads with things like scratch to reveal drawing, foil art etc.

Yes I used to buy a ton in smiggle sale for example. I also have a batch of kids birthday cards from Amazon - 30 for £8.

Yes. All the gifts they have been given that were not needed or unsuitable. Used to also pick up things from toy/book shops and keep in a box under the stairs and then let DC choose from the box for whoever's party it was. Worked for us

Yup, have next year's stash sorted too - lego sets.
I dont expect class gifts to be perfectly curated to my child, they'll be happy with anything at age 5. So I make life easier for me with my stash!

Its more generic and something that anyone can enjoy like play dough, craft set, books.

Or in the case of minecraft, if the toy is something like lego maybe Peter would enjoy it because its lego even if hes not seen minecraft.

That's why it only tends to work with younger children who your DC doesn't know particularly well - you're going to be getting them a generic craft set/lego kit etc anyway, so why not pre-plan.

I have no idea what these children like anyway. I don’t know Elsie from preschool from a random child in the streets. So I get arts and crafts bits, books, just generic kids things. It’s not that deep. These kids get 20-30 presents what they don’t like gets gifted on or lands on vinted or the charity shop.

Yes, when I see small Lego sets I buy them and give them with a packet of sweets, or I have colouring books and magic markers or jigsaw puzzles and joke books. I hate getting children vouchers!!!

A stash for reception parties of those Argos 2 for 15 toys. They get about 25 presents so if they aren't keen they can always regift!

I have a range of things, but as DD1 gets slightly older (6 now), skewed towards her friend group's interests. They are mostly quite crafty, so craft kits and drawing stuff are over-represented, but there's also things like jigsaws, lego sets, pocket kites, Orchard games and playdoh for the younger ones, etc.

I ask DD1 or DD2 what sorts of things their friend likes, pull out a couple of options, and they pick. If it's a whole class party and they can't really tell me, then yes, it's pretty generic. On the flip side, if it's a close friend and they have a specific idea that's affordable, I'm happy to try to get that.

Yes. Incredibly common here to give a card with money in it, but I'm northern. Can't speak to what goes on in London.

I do (we’re fully into the whole class party phase here). There are plenty of presents that suit 90% of six year olds, so unless they’re a very close friend (so I can be more personal and I’m happy to spend more), they get… whatever looked good and was on offer in Sainsbury’s when I last stocked up.

I suspect DD’s friends do the same. Her last party resulted in a tonne of fairly generic craft sets, which is fine as she likes them and I get them out wherever we have a quiet moment in the year.

I did when mine were little. I had a drawer for them. Yesterday in the card sharp the woman next to me was buying a whole stash of “you are 6!” birthday cards, presumably for the same reason.

Although I think it’s a really good idea I never actually did it myself, required advanced thinking and I can operate on that level for the basics but for superfluous things such as parties we were always more on the “oh crap; let’s grab something from Sainsbury’s on the way and bring wrapping paper and sellotape in the car!” way of thinking 😂
once dc got a bit older and parties became smaller and they knew each other better they started having ideas about what to get them themselves which was nice. And once they hit teens then tended to get money in a card!