Reception class parties. What presents should I get?

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Posting here as well as figured it might get the right traffic.
Still new to the whole class parties game and could do with some ideas and tips. How much do people typically spend on a whole class party at reception?
I live in a nice London suburb area, if that’s a useful info?
Have recently purchased some small notebooks with stickers and some packs of scented gel pens on the sale, does it make a very sad gift? Conscious not all parents will be happy with plastic tat or more soft toys etc.

Cheshire here, people tend to spend £10/20
However we now have a “present drawer” full of Smiggle bits I buy on sale. And a “card box”, our children love picking a gift out of it and wrapping.

(I do also put in here any bits they get from parties that can be regifted if not wanted)

My friend buys a very universal gift in bulk at the beginning of the year, wraps them all then just takes one out and adds a card for the child. By universal I mean like a fun umbrella, small Lego set, kite, etc.

Seemed like a great idea when they’re younger and go to lots of parties but will also be happy with anything fun.

We mainly get craft sets, Lego and sticker books. Anywhere between £3 and £15 I would say. Some more expensive gifts, but birthdays are not long after Christmas so I think we benefit from regifting of duplicates!

I always go for a jigsaw and sweets or a small Lego set and sweets or similar to what you have.

Can you share the deals for aqua beads please?

If it’s a whole class party I give £10 in a card because they end up with so many gifts. Smaller parties I will spend around £10 on a present: Lego, polly pockets, hamma beads, jewellery making kit etc.

My DC haven’t been to any parties with less than 10 children yet. Once the parties are smaller with a few friends I’ll probably spend £20.

We work on £1 for every year of the child's age if they aren't someone they know well, to £2 if they are a good friend. So for reception kids maybe £5-£10. Maybe a craft kit, Lego set, a book. One thing I'd do would be a book, a sticker book with the same characters and then pens or coloured pencils too.

Fyi, Aqua Beads can be really dangerous if swallowed. Obvs most reception age children wouldn't do that, but the thought still scares me so I wouldn't give them as presents personally.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy3llg78ygo.amp

£10 in a card here.

A tenner attached to a box of Maltesers or a bar of chocolate and wrapped. Job done.

Ours is an affluent SW London suburb but with a very mixed state school in terms of wealth. Big hits for Reception parties here are modelling clay (the air dry foamy stuff), Smiggle, Lego kits and small Sylvanian sets.

For the child whose party it is usually spend £10 - £15. For party bags get smaller cheaper things my child would like - balloon, stickers, pens, squishies, piece of b cake. Sometimes Sainsburys do deals on Lego, monster trucks etc and I go for them as good quality so I have a stock as it were 🤑

When my DC were that age, I tended to go for Lego or a board game. Please don’t go down the route of gender stereotypes, I was shocked by how many parents did this when they didn’t know the child. I never bought a gift that I wouldn’t have been prepared to give to a child of the opposite gender (unless I knew the child well and they had a very specific interest).

Exact same here, we had a present drawer of unwanted gifts (always stick a post-it on each one with the givers name!) as well as any bargains I spotted while shopping. One year I saw Hotwheels sets reduced from £20 to £7 so I bought half a dozen. Footballs often go down well and don’t clutter the house, nice paper and pens too.

Also, a bunch of age appropriate birthday cards so you’re not hunting for one all the time.

That sounds very ungrateful and wasteful

Here about 5/6 years ago a mum started a piggy bank at a party thing. Generally people put £2-£5 in the piggy bank and the party child buys a bigger gift. It really caught on and makes parties so much easier.

I have always asked the parent what the child likes and shopped based on that.

Personally I'm stunned that some people are spending up to £20. You can get such good deals. We always buy stuff in sales and deals, so the individual gift itself ends up costing no more than £6-8. I couldn't care less if people think we're cheap, I'm not made of money! If people wish to regift, that is their prerogative.

One person's 'tat' is another person's treasure, so it's impossible to please everyone. That 'tat' from The Works, as someone described it, would be most appreciated by most people as lots of kids love to craft. Mess can be washed away. How sad to not let a child craft because it makes mess 😥

I also think stationery/stickers makes a lovely gift. Ignore the snobby comment about it being a 'sad' gift that would be thrown away. Personally, I find that attitude 'sad'.

Basically, don't overthink it OP. Take advantage of deals whenever you see them/can afford them. Start a little collection of potential gifts to go in a present box (to avoid the stress of going out to buy something each time and invite comes in). Let your child pick something from the box, based on what they think the birthday child would like, and wrap it/gift it. Think nothing more of it. Most things will be appreciated. If it's a duplicate or they choose to regift for a different reason, that's up to them. If they're snobby about what you have gifted and choose not to allow their children the pleasure of crafts etc, that's on them. We're all different and it's definitely not because you did anything wrong or missed the mark in terms of what makes a lovely gift.

We're in the Midlands and gifts tend to be around £10. Will go a little more for closer friends. DD is in year 2 and had received and loved gifts like that in reception, year 1 and this year.

She's had £10 in a card a few times and loves getting to pick something.

South London. Tends to be £12-15. Usually Lego or craft set or a toy. My son wouldn’t want a notebook or a book

To be honest we barely kept track of who got what.

I don’t do whole class parties because I want the children to have a load of gifts but because they have a great time (I hope) if it’s a chore toanyone just decline!

My DC would be happy with a notebook and pens.

People around here certainly don't spend £20! More like £5-10 and we're in an affluent southern city. No one needs £20 x 30 toys. Some of the suggestions are things I'd expect family or myself to give! I'd end up regifting a lot just because of lack of space. So I also like consumables and things that don't take up much space. Occasionally if I know the kid well I buy something specific. Occasionally something secondhand (I am extremely happy with secondhand stuff myself).

A friend here has asked for no presents. I don't know what to do now, I would have been devastated if my Mum had told my friends no presents as a child!

First I thought you meant party bag gifts for a whole class party. But sounds like you mean a gift for the birthday child. Not sure why the fact that they're whole class parties makes any difference. But anyway, no more than about £10 I'd say

Lego!

I'd say about £10. I usually go for something crafty, as that way it gets used up and doesn't fill up their house for too long! Paint your own unicorn or make fridge magnets or something like that.

Not letting your kids craft because of the mess is really sad