Hey there! You’re listening to the Mighty Mommy with some quick and dirty tips for practical parenting.
Are you ready to party? This week’s guest writer is Lisa Kothari, Kids’ Party Expert, Owner of Peppers and Pollywogs, and author of Dear Peppers and Pollywogs…What Parents Want To Know About Planning Their Kids’ Parties.
Present-less Parties
When planning kids’ parties today, there is a trend to request No Gifts on the party invitation. Parents are deciding to opt out of including birthday gifts at their parties for several reasons: either they want to limit the extravagance of the party, or they want to teach their children a philanthropic lesson that helps or includes everyone.
Unfortunately, when people see the request No Gifts on a kids’ party invitation, there are always a few guests who will still bring them because it is ingrained in society to do so. It can be awkward when many guests follow the request, while others don’t when they meet up at the party! You can imagine the scene.
If your intention is to limit extravagance, provide a price limit for the party gift and reiterate this on the RSVP phone call as well. As an example, you can write, “Gifts under $5 would be greatly appreciated.”
Alternatively, if you are looking for ways to include everyone in the gift giving and receiving at the party, here are a few ideas to implement:
Hold a book or gift exchange. For the book exchange, guests bring a gift-wrapped book and everyone gets to take one home. You could have guests open the books on the spot or take them home still wrapped. If it’s a gift exchange, keep it inexpensive. This is nice because everyone receives a gift. You can coordinate a gift or book exchange, by placing all of the items into a large box or bag. When gift time arrives, request that the children sit in a circle and have each child pull an item from the container. Of course, if the child chooses his own package, have him place it back into the container and choose again. Each child can open their book or gift in front of the others or take the item home to open later.
Another idea is to give your child an experience rather than a party. If you allow friends to be invited, let the experience be about the celebration, not about the stuff. Experience refers to taking the birthday child on a fun outing, perhaps to an amusement park, or to a bowling alley, or rock climbing. Let the outing be the birthday gift. Instead of inviting an entire group of children for a party on this outing, invite only a few and let them know that their gifts are their presence. You provide an experience because the birthday child wants to do a fun outing and it is an alternative to a traditional party.
The third suggestion is known as The Hobbit Practice, which follows the motto it is better to give than to receive. At most parties, guests receive goody bags. You can provide goody bags as gifts to the children, or some other small gift that matches your party theme. In your invitation, make the request for No Gifts, but at the party the birthday child can hand out goodies to his friends. The birthday child's present is the party itself along with the time he gets to spend with his friends. He then returns the gift of giving when he presents his guests with gifts to thank them for coming. This teaches your child excitement about giving to others rather than only receiving.
If you are looking to instill the value of philanthropic giving in your child, try out these ideas:
- Request art supplies and donate them to a shelter.
- Request a donation to a great organization such as Heifer.org (http://www.heifer.org/.)
- Contact your child’s favorite charity and ask for a wish list of items the organization really needs. As an example, the humane society may need leashes, collars, and toys. Request that your guests bring these items in lieu of birthday gifts. Let them know that your child wants to donate the gifts and make the wishes come true!
- Ask for presents appropriate for kids in the hospital and have the birthday child deliver them.
If you are looking to combine presents with philanthropy, check out the website ECHOage. The site provides parents with the opportunity to spend part of their party-gift money on a charity. Also, it’s a green option, as the entire set-up is paperless.
Giftless parties are a new trend today, but one that is certainly catching on! Good luck planning one!
Lisa Kothari is an expert at planning parties and she’s giving one away! If you are listening to this podcast near its release date, head on over to http://www.pepperspollywogs.com/contest/ to fill out your entry form today. One lucky winner will win the prize of having Lisa organize and execute an entire party just for them! Sign up soon. The contest closes on July 31st.
That’s it for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed the show. Thank you for listening. Also, thanks again to this week's guest-writer, Lisa Kothari.
If you’d like to request a topic for the Mighty Mommy you can e-mail me directly at mommy@quickanddirtytips.com or leave a message by calling 206-202-2185.
This is your friend the Mighty Mommy wishing you happy and fun parenting!
