Birthday presents

[ambersrose]

I have been using my personal spending allowance for birthday gifts (friends/kids/family) but I dont have allow myself much and some months we have a ton of birthday invites.
This week I was low so I made a crayon roll for a party today that way I only had to buy a 16 pack of crayons (1.69) and a small gift tag (.99) to match a reused gift bag I already had.
Do you think a birthday gift account in our budget is nessary? Should I be more choosy when accepting party invites so avoid too much present spending? How do you handle birthday presents?

[ArtsyMomma]

Originally Posted by ambersrose

I have been using my personal spending allowance for birthday gifts (friends/kids/family) but I dont have allow myself much and some months we have a ton of birthday invites.
This week I was low so I made a crayon roll for a party today that way I only had to buy a 16 pack of crayons (1.69) and a small gift tag (.99) to match a reused gift bag I already had.
Do you think a birthday gift account in our budget is nessary? Should I be more choosy when accepting party invites so avoid too much present spending? How do you handle birthday presents?

If you go to a lot of parties and have a lot of gift giving opportunities then you should have a separate section of your budget. You could just roll over the money from month to month when you have less parties.

[vbactivist]

I have to budget for gifts (birthdays/weddings/new baby/etc) I budget 100 a month - sometimes I spend less, but I just roll it over from month to month. I do try to find inexpensive gifts for kids parties - like less than 10 - or sometimes I just give a 10 bill. For new babies, I make something inexpensive yet useful and give with a loaf of quick bread. Presents are expensive

[annethcz]

I don't have a seperate gift category in our budget- I just file the expense under household/misc. I suppose that I could have a seperate category, but I have so many already that I just don't see the point in breaking it down further.

I will say that I generally weigh the cost/benefit of attending parties. If the party is something that I (or my child) will truly enjoy, it's usually worth it to attend and spend money on a gift. If we were overrun with party invitations, it would be a different story. My kids attend parties 1-3 times/month, and DH or I attend parties to which we need to bring a gift about every other month.

[sanguine_speed]

My older kids get invited to parties once every month or two. They strongly prefer to choose something themselves for their friends' gifts, which started as they got older. So, I give them a $20 limit and take them shopping at a store and they choose something.
I keep a 'gifts' category in the budget to cover these and other gifts.

[Ianthe]

We have gifts seperate in our budget. For childens gifts we have a $10 limit, adults are $20.

[zebra15]

i would have a seperate fund for 'presents'. I usually allow $10 per party total, that needs to include a gift bag/wrapping and card. I shop during the year and keep a stockpile of neutral gifts in a closet so I can usually 'grab and go'. In your case I probably would have added a small coloring book or something to the crayons (and made my own name tag).

Now that DS is older it seems that parties are on the slowdown, or maybe his interest in going to them has subsided. There are times when I just give $1 per year, when I recycle something DS has received a present he didnt like, etc.

My 'gift' account, I try to save anywhere between 10-50$ month and that has to cover everyones b'day, xmas, wedding etc... But since I dont have very much spending $$ I really cant take anything from there.

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by zebra15

(and made my own name tag).

We often make our own gift tags and cards, we always reuse gift bags, and if we don't have any to use, I wrap with paper-bag paper and make it festive with ribbon or art work. This usually cuts out a few dollars that can go towards the gift.

[ambersrose]

I think we will have to add a "gifts" budget. I did include an activity book we had in our birthday stash at home with the gift today. You were probably right that I should have made the gift tag instead of buying one. Thanks

[Poddi]

We have a gift budget for birthdays. It's usually $20 for kids' friends. For family members and close relatives it's usually $30 - $100 per birthday. Luckily we don't exchange gifts with extended family much.

[lilyka]

We are staring to get more choosy about accepting invites. so often the birthday child just invites everyone in class....and usually last minute. It helps that parties have fortunately fallen on their dads weekends (his weekend, his call, his responsibility). When we do accept an invite we have a $10 limit. we had two parties today....One kid got an $8 toy (something that she asked for) and the other one got a starbucks tumbler on clearance for $3.50 and a $5 gift card. I had reusable gift bags at home I picked up on clearance and we always make birthday cards (so much more fun - and really have you ever seen a kid care about a card when it is attatched to a present? why bother) In a pinch I will do $1 for each year. Kids love that and it saves money.

as for budgeting we don't really budget for things outside of my kids birthday presents. I have a little side business which is handy because there is usually a little cash in that account to buy a gift or there is something appropriate in my stock to use as a baby or wedding/adult birthday gift. i will usuaully throw in a bottle of wine.

[2cutiekitties]

Originally Posted by lilyka

In a pinch I will do $1 for each year. Kids love that and it saves money.

I have a book called what would Jackie O do and she would always give the kids their age in money for their birthday. Hey if it is good enough for Jackie O

[littlemizflava]

what i do is have a spot and buy all year and stach it. i have a truck with a lock on it to keep the kids out of it because they will go threw it and open things. i know that gifts are going to be needed so i get them when cheap. i have even found gifts on kijiji and craigslist for cheap. my budget is maybe $50 a month on a good month.

[springbride]

We have big families (combined 13 bro/sis + their kids and our parents) so gifts are a big deal for us in our budget.
A few tricks I use:
* I learned how to make earrings
* I bought a few inexpensive basics for card making (joannes often has good coupons if you are patient enough to just buy 1 item/visit)
* I always check the dollar bins at target, I just got some sesame socks, crayons and coloring books for $1/ea last week
* I make it a point to go into Pier 1 and World Market once ever 6-8 weeks just to browse over their clearance section, frames & candles go onsale a lot and paired with homemade earings make a great gift.
* For guys DH often gifts a day out fishing/shooting
* Day after Thanksgiving I buy up board games/card games, last year I got some great games for $2.50/piece

Good Luck!

[KristyDi]

I'm a big fan of the crayon roll/wallet. I recently gave one that the mom later told me was the gift that was getting the most use. It's nice that they don't take much time or fabric to make too.

Since you sew you can do a lot with that. Super hero capes have also been a big hit with kids in my extended family. You can applique the kid's 1st initial or a lightning bolt and make it in any color. Fleece works great for this and you really don't even have to finish the edges if you cut neatly. Add some velcro for a safr neck closure and you're good to go.

Anyway, to answer the actual question. We don't have a gift budget, but if it's a regular expense for you I can see how it would be logical to have one. I'm personally a fan of handmade gifts and people around me seem to like it. I've actually shown up late at a party and had people say they were staying partly to see what I made for the birthday kid.

[sunnysandiegan]

My DD is 8 and will be turning 9 later this month. We used to go to a lot more parties when she was younger. Our playgroup went through a period of time (years 2-4, inclusive) where we collectively decided to not exchange gifts at parties. The parties were for fun and getting together with the whole family. It was such a nice stress-free way to do it with a large, active playgroup.

We do have a separate spending category for gifts. I allocate $25 per month and it rolls over month to month. Most of it gets spent on our nieces and nephews for birthdays and Christmas.

[karemore]

We don't have presents in our budget, but I do choose which parties we go to.

Setting aside the financial cost, I don't want to commit that much time away from family and other activities. (assuming the party is for a casual acquaintance)

I did have a gift stash of items picked up on clearance when DD was younger, but now that we only attend close friend's parties it's easier and more fun to select gifts for the child rather than a generic gift from the stash.