What's the going rate for a birthday present nowadays?

[CallMeMommy]

DS (6) just got invited to his first birthday party. It's at the Y and I'm guessing the boy is turning 7. It's a boy from his class, and if I remember correctly they were also on the same T-ball team. How much should we spend on the present? Yes, stupid question in the grand scheme of things, but I'm out of the loop nowadays.

[LynnS6]

We spend $10-$15. Sometimes if it's a really good friend and there's something special we know they want, I'd consider $20, but usually we can find something for the lower price.

[IntuitiveJamie]

$10-$15 imo.

[mom2happy]

$15 or a little more, but under 20.

[limabean]

Around $15. But if a normally $15 item is on sale for $9, I won't get something else to make up the difference.

[LuckyMommaToo]

I was surprised at DS's 7th bday in September to find that $20 seemed to be the norm. We tend to do $15, unless it's a particularly close friend.
-e

[MacKinnon]

I would say $15 to $20 around here. I've done a little under $15 and not made up the difference (like $13) for people we really don't know well.

[pianojazzgirl]

We usually spend around $15-$20. For example this weekend my dd is going to a b-day party for a girl in her class who is turning 7. We got her a really nice set of paints that were $12.50 and 3 small canvases that were a total of $4.50. So $17 in total.

[MJB]

Right now we are pretty broke so we're trying to keep it at $10 but usually we do $15.

[lonegirl]

I guess we r out of the norm. We don't go to many yet but generally we spend about $30ish.

[Shaki]

we spend around 20 usually

[tinuviel_k]

$15-20

[mkksmom]

Yup $15-20 around here too.

[Ornery]

I typically just try to find something that the birthday child will really like that is as far under $20 as I can make it. Usually I try to stay around $10 because with three children going to birthday parties all the time, it can get really expensive.

[nolansmummy]

10-15$ here. Ds has been invited to ten bdays already this year! It adds up fast. Usually we get two small toys for each kid and a 99cent card. If its a kid family bday then its 20$.

[redpajama]

$10-$15 for school friends, more like $15-$20 on my friends' kids (who are friends of my kids), and more like $25-$30 on my nieces/nephews (who are my kids ages and their closest "friends").

[Dukey25]

I tend to do 20-30 for a good friend 15-20 for a casual friend.
However for me it is less about the amount of money than the type of present. I try not to give cheep plastic junk, however I will if that is what the kid has his heart set on.
The last present I bought was a Fancy Nancy puzzle $20.

[jeslynn]

It really depends. I'm a clearance shopper so usually I can get a good amount of stuff for cheap. But normally I spend around $10.

[mamazee]

Around here it seems to generally be about $15 to $20, but it isn't a big deal if people can't spend that much. There's flexibility.

[elmh23]

I spend about $10, unless I find something on sale. For close friends, we spend $20-$30.