Buying Gifts for Children"s Parties
Your child might share a class with 30 other pupils.
This is potentially up to 30 birthday parties to attend throughout the year and that's before you take into account friends from sports teams, clubs, societies and family.
Gift buying for such a hectic social calendar can take up a lot of time and money.
Here are five tips to try and make life a little easier: 1.
Look for the sales Sales are the perfect time to bulk buy party presents.
After Christmas, toy prices can be dramatically slashed and whilst funds can be tight after the festive season one big shop can have save you money for the rest of the year.
Clearance and closing down sales can be another good source of low cost toys and presents.
2.
Re-gift Inevitably kids get given the same thing from different people.
Turn this to your advantage.
When your child receives a duplicate present put it in your stockpile ready to re-gift.
The golden rule of course is to remember not to give something back to the same person it originally came from.
3.
Don't be too specific If you are buying in advance you should try to be careful not to be too specific.
The latest action figure in January might be old news by August.
Similarly a baby doll (gender stereotyping aside) is unlikely to appeal to many male recipients.
Try to think of things that don't date too quickly and aren't too age or gender specific.
Suitable ideas for gifts include mugs, character cushions, books and art and craft kits.
4.
Creative wrapping Get creative with how you wrap the gift.
Children will really appreciate any extra effort gone in to how it is presented - they really will judge the book by its cover.
This doesn't have to be expensive.
One way you can do this is by recycling pages of any of your child's unwanted comic books into wrapping paper.
Ribbons and button badges can add and extra flourish.
If you've followed tip one and bought in bulk then you can save time by wrapping gifts en masse.
5.
Don't get competitive It's not unheard of for parents to get overly competitive when it comes to gift buying for parties.
Don't get drawn into such games.
Ultimately it's the thought that counts there is no need to spend silly amounts of money on presents trying to outdo other parents.
This is potentially up to 30 birthday parties to attend throughout the year and that's before you take into account friends from sports teams, clubs, societies and family.
Gift buying for such a hectic social calendar can take up a lot of time and money.
Here are five tips to try and make life a little easier: 1.
Look for the sales Sales are the perfect time to bulk buy party presents.
After Christmas, toy prices can be dramatically slashed and whilst funds can be tight after the festive season one big shop can have save you money for the rest of the year.
Clearance and closing down sales can be another good source of low cost toys and presents.
2.
Re-gift Inevitably kids get given the same thing from different people.
Turn this to your advantage.
When your child receives a duplicate present put it in your stockpile ready to re-gift.
The golden rule of course is to remember not to give something back to the same person it originally came from.
3.
Don't be too specific If you are buying in advance you should try to be careful not to be too specific.
The latest action figure in January might be old news by August.
Similarly a baby doll (gender stereotyping aside) is unlikely to appeal to many male recipients.
Try to think of things that don't date too quickly and aren't too age or gender specific.
Suitable ideas for gifts include mugs, character cushions, books and art and craft kits.
4.
Creative wrapping Get creative with how you wrap the gift.
Children will really appreciate any extra effort gone in to how it is presented - they really will judge the book by its cover.
This doesn't have to be expensive.
One way you can do this is by recycling pages of any of your child's unwanted comic books into wrapping paper.
Ribbons and button badges can add and extra flourish.
If you've followed tip one and bought in bulk then you can save time by wrapping gifts en masse.
5.
Don't get competitive It's not unheard of for parents to get overly competitive when it comes to gift buying for parties.
Don't get drawn into such games.
Ultimately it's the thought that counts there is no need to spend silly amounts of money on presents trying to outdo other parents.
