What's a reasonable amount to spend on presents for children you don't know?

[mummyluvsyoo]

My DS aged 3.5 is being invited to lots of 4th birthday parties, both boys and girls, from his nursery.

None of these children are home playmates of DS, they are his nursery friends and I have never met their mothers! I am happy to go to the parties to meet other mums and for DS and I to make friends.

I never know how much to spend/what to buy for the children and I am worried about spending too little and looking really tight or too much and embarassing the parent. The last present I bought was a big art set from Tesco for a little girl which came to £7.00 - it had lots of stickers, foam, crayons, etc etc and I thought this was reasonable considering I didn't even know the child.

Also if these children have invited DS to their parties should I reciprocate the invites even though they never become home playmates in the future and they will have left nursery to go to school by the time of
my DS party in October?

What do you guys think?

I spend around £7 on presents for children's parties. More if it's a close friend.

The most I would do is £5 - and also wouldn't worry about reciprocating the invitations; especially as they'll have left nursery by the time your DS is 4.

A fiver.

I spend around £5.00

I used to spend about a fiver, but what you can get for a fiver seems to be less and less each year - so probably spend about £7 now.

About £5 ish.

Don't worry about the invites. Just ask who your child is friends with. Mostly it works out that you'll invite the ones that invite him anyway as they must like each other if your ds gets invited to theirs iykwim.

I try to spend a fiver too. I usually go to Woolies and buy lots of BOGOF's or 3 for 2 if I know shes got a few parties coming up.

I never spend more than a fiver on a birthday party present unless it's a very good friend. I quite often buy stuff up if I see it on offer so I have a stash of presents too.

If you've lost touch with the children by the time your ds has his party then so be it. I don't think it matters one bit if you don't reciprocate in these circumstances.

I buy 3 for 2 at a bookshop for all children, so I guess effectively £4 per child.

bonus if i can recycle one of ds's birthday presents that he had a duplicate of.

sometimes i do second-hand stuff of ds's but unless it's pristine (v unlikely) I have to know the mum and child pretty well to feel OK about that.

Phew! I thought about £7.00 seemed reasonable.

Another thing is that we tend to throw home parties for DS. Last year we had 11 children plus all their mums/dads and we did pass the parcel, dancing, pinata, statues and got a lady clown for the last half of the party. (Our house isn't huge by the way - just a normal 1930's semi).
Everyone said I was mad - but I had a lovely time and wasn't stressed at all, and DS was so excited over all the preparations, going with DH to get the helium balloons, watching me make the food etc.
But I have noticed that DS has only ever been invited to parties at play places or halls. I find the play place parties very impersonal and the food really awful. ALso DS doesn't like play places and won't go on anything.
Am I unusual in throwing home parties.

Brave for the home parties and the bigger they get the less appealing it will be. I loved home parties when DC were small.

No, not at all unusual - DS is 6 now and he had a soft-play party this year because that was what he really really wanted, but up until now I've done home parties. It's about 50/50 here. I think possibly parties at a venue are more common if you are in a situation where you feel you have to invite all the children at nursery and you don't know the parents - easier to have everyone at a hall etc than a bunch of strangers in your house.

I'd say £7 is plenty and agree get 3 for 2's, go to TK maxx for branded toys or use the Book People to get a selection of activity books etc

Yes that's what I thought. All the people at our party we knew from Tumble Tots or music group and also people from those groups went to his nursery too, so they knew each other or had seen each other. It might have been more stressful had it not been that way.

If we end up doing a venue, I'd do what my friend do and hire a hall, an entertainer/bouncy castle, but do the food, party bags, decor myself. I just love it!

£4-5 tops

I'm with the £5 gang.

I do tend to go for "neutral" pressies for children I don't know, like art stuff or books. I'm going to have to start buying then and putting them aside in readiness. That art set in Tesco's was brill - cost about £7 and the box was impressively big and packed with goodies - might go and buy some more actually.

God Moomin - what can you get for 4 quid?? Please please tell me

I buy sets of books from The Book People and either give a few of these or buy a small gift and add a book. They also do really nice crafty-type books for £3-5, that look a lot more exp.ensive

never more than five pounds

£5, always buy a book!

Last week I went to that Bazaar shop (someone will knwo the proper name - they do online too) and got a grow your own Venus Flytrap for £1.99, a little stamper set for a girl at the same price, a little choc dispenser in shape of a pig that 'poos' the chocs out - just stuff like that and a book or two. I keep a drawer of stuff with these kinds of things in now.

Yup, a fiver

I think you are unusual in having a house large enough to fit in 11 children plus parents, yes

I only have 2 friends I can think of who could do this

Hawkins Bazaar ?

my little ponies are £5
so are little craft boxes in woolies
or a top from Asda for £3-5

no more than that no way!