Anonymous wrote:If you feel awkward about not bringing a gift - bring a bottle of wine for the hosts if it is at someone's home. Always appreciated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I feel like if you don’t want your kid to have birthday presents, just don’t throw him a birthday party. Can’t you just have a few friends out to movies and lunch one day. Take a few friends laser tagging and then a sleepover. I agree with another poster. The parties are so big and impersonal.

Not all parties that are no gift parties are "big and impersonal." Our next door neighbor had a party with eight kids. It was a no gift party. We didn't bring a gift. We tend to have larger parties because DS has separate groups of friends from his public school, our church, and a supplemental school that he attends on the weekend for our native language/culture. The kids seem to have fun and get along, and frankly, I see nothing wrong with it.

Oh, you mean parent-engineered friends thru your over-scheduled activities? Not actual friends your child makes. Yeah, we see this all the time too. Big parties where most kids don’t know each other because mom cherry picks her favorites from every activity the child is in. Sounds so PC and grand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I take them at their word.

+1

+1,000,000. A homemade card with something nice written about the birthday child by my kids is all I would bring.

I do wish that Jeff would make one of these threads a sticky and start to delete new ones. It comes up like clockwork every week.

Which shows you how awkward the no-gift parties really are.

Anonymous wrote:

I feel like if you don’t want your kid to have birthday presents, just don’t throw him a birthday party. Can’t you just have a few friends out to movies and lunch one day. Take a few friends laser tagging and then a sleepover. I agree with another poster. The parties are so big and impersonal.

Not all parties that are no gift parties are "big and impersonal." Our next door neighbor had a party with eight kids. It was a no gift party. We didn't bring a gift. We tend to have larger parties because DS has separate groups of friends from his public school, our church, and a supplemental school that he attends on the weekend for our native language/culture. The kids seem to have fun and get along, and frankly, I see nothing wrong with it.

I feel like if you don’t want your kid to have birthday presents, just don’t throw him a birthday party. Can’t you just have a few friends out to movies and lunch one day. Take a few friends laser tagging and then a sleepover. I agree with another poster. The parties are so big and impersonal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I take them at their word.

+1

+1,000,000. A homemade card with something nice written about the birthday child by my kids is all I would bring.

I do wish that Jeff would make one of these threads a sticky and start to delete new ones. It comes up like clockwork every week.

Anonymous wrote:We make a card, and sometimes include a sheet of stickers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I take them at their word.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow people are insane.

I have enough to do. When a host asks for no gifts I'm happy to have one less thing to do.

You have enough to do? Pity party. Then stop sending your kids to every party they are invited to. Stop inviting 15+ kids to your kids parties. The irony of parents bitching about being too busy. YOU make your schedule busy. You overschedule your kids. You over invite and want countless mom friends and friends for your kids. You want to impress with having Pinterest parties or planned venue packages that indulge every child but your own? Teach all the kids about what is important? Friendship or how cool the party is going to be? If you had a handful of simple birthday parties for only your child’s closest friends each year, you would have much more time to go get a gift for those few events. And it would be meaningful.

The problem is the parents. The fact that you all sit here thinking it is great to ask for no gifts is missing the whole point of why it is just too much to buy presents for parties these days.