Children’s birthday party etiquette, presents and more

We just finished going through 4 children’s birthday parties over the past month.  They were for kids 3-10 years old and each one had a different theme.  In one facet or another they were all great, but we learned lots about how much to spend on presents, where to have the party, what to do at the party and how to RSVP that might save you some headaches.

How much money do you spend on a child’s birthday gift?

This is our guide and how much we spend on a gift.  Having said that, we’re thankful for any gift, regardless of size or cost, but if we attend you’ll be getting a gift whose cost will vary.

If your child is 6 years old and under the gift would’ve cost us $5.  This could be a great toy that was marked down to that price, a couple of all ages comic books or a series of items from the $1 store.

If your child is older than that then the cost might go to $10.  This is a big might.  It would have to be a very special gift or for a child that is great friends with our child or a friend of the family.

At our child’s birthday parties, again-thanks for any gift that we received, the costs of the gifts were as high as $30, with many of them being $15.  It’s possible that the people who gave the higher cost gifts have connections with the company, bought them at 80% off or just genuinely felt the giving spirit.  Again, all of the gifts were awesome and our kids still play with them.

Having said that, our guide for spending on a child’s birthday is to give what gift or whatever value that you want to give.

From the perspective of a child, (to a certain age) it’s about the thought.  That series of relatively cheap wind up animals might just be as entertaining, if not more so, as the $16 LEGO set.

Text to RSVP

We sent out the invitations and received a couple of emails from folks to RSVP.

In hindsight we should’ve just asked people to text.  At one party we received double the amount of people.  We were ready for them, but they were just responding to invitations the way that we do.

We just show up.  Emailing to RSVP takes too long.  Text to RSVP and you’ll get a more accurate head count.

Have lots of activities-unless you don’t need them

For the younger kids 5 and under you need to plan double the amount of activities and games then you think that you’ll need.  The weather might change, kids could do the games quicker than expected or the number of children might impact the games.

Don’t be afraid just to let the kids play.  Let them play in the backyard with their friends, put some balls, cars, sidewalk chalk or other games out and the children will figure out something.  This will probably be the most fun element of the birthday party to them, the playing and running around.

Where to have the party?

In theory having the party at your house is free.  In actuality you’ll still spend money on decorating, cakes, cleaning and other things.  Factor in the uncontrollable nature of the weather and having the party at a facility is a compelling thought.

Scout out local parks with covered structures months in advance and lock them down ASAP.  It goes back to the previous tip about activities.  A big game of flag football can be more fun, affordable and cooler for a group of tweens or teens.

Open the presents or not

We’ve been to parties where they did and didn’t.  If you open the presents then you can subtract that amount of time from the party.  If you don’t open the presents then the kids can keep on playing.  Realistically, very few of the presents will be wrapped.  Most of them will be in a bag-it’s easier and the go-to choice now. Open the presents if you come up short on activities or if the kids/parents really want to for some reason.  Otherwise just put the presents in an area and let the kids play.

We’re only 5 years into this birthday party game.  What’s coming our way and did we get it wrong?