How much do you spend on birthday presents?

[LondonSuperTrooper]

Hello all,

I've probably posted in the wrong place/forum but here goes..... how much do you spend on a birthday present ? My son has just started reception and has been invited to a couple of parties from children from his class. For both parties the whole class is invited.

Also, one of the invitation is for a joint birthday party. Do spend a little less for each child?


Thanks.

[TroelsHartmann]

no more than £5

[sparkle12mar08]

£5 absolute max, and less if I can. I never buy plastic tat, ever; it's always a reading book or craft item from this house, and you can easily pick then up for less than a fiver in packs from The Book People etc. As they get older I might branch out into a nice t-shirt or something like that, but I refuse to feed the plastic landfill mountain. I loath receiving it, regardless of what ds1 wants, there's just far too much of it.

[Agapanthii]

Gosh, some people are very generous. I usually spend somewhere between 5-10 on each child, more if it's a "best" friend or a special trip for a small group, e.g. a theatre visit etc. To be honest, I feel a little uncomfortable when either of my dcs gets an overly generous gift from someone they hardly know.

I've heard of some PTA's advising their classes - "we'll all agree now - whole class parties £5 per gift maximum." I applaud that - it makes it clear and easy for everyone.

I am VERY happy if my DC's get a £5 book/amazon/build a bear token. If it's not quite enough to buy what they want outright, they can add their pocket money - it's a good lesson to learn. A couple of times, the mums have grouped together and all bought a £5 build a bear voucher each, which means the child has a nice sum to go and spend. Perfect!

[MumblingAndBloodyRagDoll]

I get the Argos buy 2for 15.00 every time and put the other away. So about 7 pounds per child. Sometmes I have spent about 10 or 12 if I can't get to Argos but dont like this!

[Catsdontcare]

around £8, less if I can get something in the sale or even better nothing if I can recycle one of the dc's unwanted gifts!

[sunnydelight]

Now my youngest is nearly 9 and there are fewer party invites I must admit I "scale" the presents. More for close friends obviously, but DD got invited to be one of four taken to the theatre to see Mary Poppins recently so I did buy an extra nice present. Another friend did a "come for cake and a play" after school and the mum said clearly "we're not doing a proper party this year" so I bought a pack of three pretty nail polishes as a token gift (which still cost the equivalent of an English fiver) but it was clear that the birthday child expected the full monty!

[shebird]

Somewhere between £5-£10 usually. There are some good gift sets, annuals etc. in M&S for under £10. Also Lego sets are available for under £10 and they are always a hit. I sometimes buy a t-shirt as I also hate receiving lots of tat! My DD is also in reception and she has been invited to 8 parties so far this term!!! I have had to decline some as i just could not afford it and its also very exhausting to go to a party or 2 parties every weekend.

[Sleepglorioussleep]

£5 max except really good friend. But usually things bought in sales so can often look at least £8-10.

[2BoysTooLoud]

Check out 'The Works' and supermarket toy/book sections. Also stationary section in Tescos good for fluffy pencil cases and glittery bits. Don't have to spend more than a fiver usually.

[AngryFeet]

About £5 unless it is a good friend. Most people have parties in reception and that is a lot of money if you spend £10 plus on each present! You can usually find good deals on books so just stock up now on nice ones like The Gruffalo. Or the craft sets you get in ELC etc are about £5-8 each.

[Onlyaphase]

I've just hosted a class party and would say that presents were mainly around the £8-10 mark, with some lower and a couple higher. Some were in new gift bags, some in recycled ones, some in random wrapping paper. All were gratefully received and opened by the recipient!

I tend to spend the same on presents for other children too, more toward the £10 if a special friend or I know the mother, less if I've no idea who the child or mother is.

[simpson]

yet another who spends £5 on a pressie.

If it is a close friend of my DC then probably a bit more.

I have a box in my attic that I keep stocked with cheap pressies which I buy throughout the year when I see a bargain which also means I don't have the hassle of going into town in a rush for a last minute invitation iyswim.

[2BoysTooLoud]

I am another no more than a fiver. I choose carefully though so present often looks better than it cost. I try to get card and paper in that price too!
Not stingy but very careful as money tight.

[sunnyday123]

i would spend the same at joint parties if both were friends equally. My DD and her friend are having a joint party and whist i imagine the class friends will buy both i don't expect either family members to buy the other e.g. i dont expect my friends sisters etc to buy my child or visa versa as they don't know her. Same when my nephew had a joint party with 2 boys i never met. The families all bought for their own and the class mates bought all 3. Personally i like it if class friends have joint parties as it gets them out the way without taking over multiple weekends!

[sunnyday123]

usually go for £7-8. I try to buy something from the 2 for £15 at argos! As a rule i try to spend the same as what the party costs - ie if its at a farm which i know it £9.50 per child, i will spend up to £10 for example.

[breadandbutterfly]

Am also shocked at the £15-20/per child!

Another one £5-6 - though if i can get abargain in a sale that looks more expensive, I will.

At this age, they invite the whole class - too expensive otherwise.

It's different when they're older. From yr 1 on, the number of parties dwindles (more only boys or only girls) and by year 5 or so it's usually just a few special friends for a meal, film etc. Then I'd say around £10 - but there are only a few of those.

i do hate joint parties though - my yr 5 child had 1 a few weeks' ago - spent over £20 in total on those as they were quite good friends. Now she's been invited to one with 4 kids!!! Only 2 of the 4 are actually her friends at all but can't give 2 nice presents and 2 not, so will cost loads!

[humptydidit]

OMG am a bit at the money people are spending.

My limit is £5 per kid.

My finances are pretty tight tbh so wouldn't consider going higher than that! 1 easy way to economise a bit is to buy birthday cards in bulk. Our local pound shop does box of 10 assorted kids birthday cards for £1 - ime the cards just get chucked out anyway.

Girls are easy to buy for, just a quick trip to claire's accesories can get you something sparkly within budget. I find boys are harder!

[hels71]

My DD has been to 5 parties in the last 6 weeks (6 if you include hers) I spent a maximum of £5 a child...but did get some things in a sale. I think that is plenty....and I intend to get a pack of something from the book people to split up next year once she is at school....

[wahwahwah]

One good way to buy presents is to get packs books from somewhere like the book people. I sometimes get the packs for party bags - so you can give books worth about a fiver that cost you a pound. Oh bugger, someone just said that (waves to 2 posts up)

[dearheart]

Oh and we always make cards - it is a lot cheaper and I think it is a nice way for the dcs to put some effort into their friends' birthdays. We have two parties coming up this weekend for one dd, and three next weekend for the other one.

[DedalusDigglesPocketWatch]

Between 5 and 10 pounds. If it is a child from DD's preschool that I don't know, then nearer 5, but if it is someone DD is very good friends with and I know the child and parent then closer to 10.

Good ideas are The Book People or Redhouse books. They often do sets of 10 books for 10pounds, so try to keep stocked up. Also I have found that playmobil is very reasonable, so a mini set (around 6/7 pounds) makes a very good set.

I also stock up on boxes of cards when I am in the cheap card shops.

[cece]

At that age £5

[schmee]

agree with stranded - parties are a great way to get to know people, and at least they are inviting everyone rather than splitting off into groups already.

I spend £8-10 from each of my twin boys unless it's a special friend.

If you have lots of parties coming up you could get a multipack of books from the bookpeople and give one or two of them. Also, Tesco do packs of birthday cards with 10 cards in for around a pound I think. I got into these when I realised I was spending about £150 a year just on cards!!

[dearheart]

£5 or thereabouts.

[Bluebell99]

I would normally spend between £5 and £10, maybe more for a close friend. It is worth looking out for bargains at places like tkmaxx or getting stuff in the sales.