is it acceptable to give vouchers for children's birthday parties?

[beforesunrise]

right, i am probably guilty of not having much fantasy but after the 3rd birthday party in a row where i give the brithday child the same thing as 2 other people, i am starting to get a bit fed up.

is it ok to give book tokens? or other vouchers (say woolworths)? and if so, how much? and if not, how do i avoid giving duplicates?

thanks!

I know where you are coming from, but vouchers are just no fun when it comes to opening gifts ....

At the school/nursery where DD goes, the mums actually get together beforehand and buy a combined gift or club together .. usually about a fiver each ..

Surely, at such a young age (3) duplicate gifts dont really matter - just a few additions for the mum to the birthday shelf and the child has something to unwrap??

but still, it seems such a waste, of money, of plastic, of everything... plus in certain cases (ie close friends' kids) i actually want to give something nice...

Message withdrawn

I think vouchers are great!
And yes,not as exciting to open maybe but surely they get enough other presents to be excited about?

I also think once they reach the age of 4 they can get really excited about taking their "money" to a shop and buy something they like.

DS1 loves getting Woolworths vouchers!

beforesunrise, I wish, wish, wish that you would speak to the mums at my DS' school. It is his birthday on boxing day and as he loves having loads of friends for his parties (in exchange for having a small present from us) the amound of presents we get is actually shocking. I would LOVE them (even just a few of them) to choose to get vouchers rather than gifts that cost £5-10 that get put on a shelf or played with a couple of times. At least if you get vouchers they can get what they want and there is so much less waste. I used to love getting vouchers when I was a kid (always fun going to woolies in the January sales). Nothing over £5 for a school present I think. I feel a bit embarrassed when people have spent a lot on a present for DS.

If you're unsure you could always get them bowling or cinema vouchers.

Acceptable imo. I like the boys to get Waterstones vouchers so they can choose books - I am happy to have hundreds of books but less happy to have tons of plastic crap that falls apart.

book tokens are the best!

better than giving cash, imo.

Get book tokens, and they can then be spent almost anywhere.

I'm sure the child will have enough plastic tat to open.

Round here it's very acceptable to give cash.

ok thanks. i think book tokens are the general consensus, right?