Will you join me in a birthday party revolution?
I love birthday parties. It's a great opportunity for my kids to have big play dates with all their favorite friends. But....
1. I am so tired of watching kids open 10-15 or more presents at every party - even if you packed up your old presents and took them to goodwill for "needy kids' (who don't want your used junk) it is still ridiculous. Who has room for all those toys anyway and what does that many presents teach kids about their real needs?
2. I hate stopping at Target in a rush on the way to a party to grab a present. My per person birthday party budget is never enough to buy something that a kid would actually want or use.
3. I am bugged that after my kids eat pizza, chips, cheese crackers and soda they leave a party with a bag full of more treats.
So I started my own little Brown kids birthday party revolution. A few years ago I told my children that I was putting "no presents please" on all our party invites. Of course they were disappointed at first but a party with friends is so much fun they didn't miss the unwrapping part. And they still get presents from parents and grandparents - so they are not totally deprived. We skip gift bags too and try to serve healthy food along with our birthday treats.
I invite you to join me. Let's start a big birthday party revolution. Have a big party. Plan fun activities. Make it a wonderful time for your child and their friends, but skip the presents and the goody bags. It's better for all of us!
PS: At Scotia's last party we collected food for a little church food pantry just down the street from her school. Each friend brought a few food items from home and we dropped the bags off at the food pantry on the way home from the party. Some friends brought homemade bead bracelets and necklaces as presents for Scotia - that was perfect!
PPS: At the last party Jaxon attended the friend asked for supplies to donate to the local pet shelter. I still had to go out and buy a box of dog food but I didn't mind at all.
I love birthday parties. It's a great opportunity for my kids to have big play dates with all their favorite friends. But....
1. I am so tired of watching kids open 10-15 or more presents at every party - even if you packed up your old presents and took them to goodwill for "needy kids' (who don't want your used junk) it is still ridiculous. Who has room for all those toys anyway and what does that many presents teach kids about their real needs?
2. I hate stopping at Target in a rush on the way to a party to grab a present. My per person birthday party budget is never enough to buy something that a kid would actually want or use.
3. I am bugged that after my kids eat pizza, chips, cheese crackers and soda they leave a party with a bag full of more treats.
So I started my own little Brown kids birthday party revolution. A few years ago I told my children that I was putting "no presents please" on all our party invites. Of course they were disappointed at first but a party with friends is so much fun they didn't miss the unwrapping part. And they still get presents from parents and grandparents - so they are not totally deprived. We skip gift bags too and try to serve healthy food along with our birthday treats.
I invite you to join me. Let's start a big birthday party revolution. Have a big party. Plan fun activities. Make it a wonderful time for your child and their friends, but skip the presents and the goody bags. It's better for all of us!
PS: At Scotia's last party we collected food for a little church food pantry just down the street from her school. Each friend brought a few food items from home and we dropped the bags off at the food pantry on the way home from the party. Some friends brought homemade bead bracelets and necklaces as presents for Scotia - that was perfect!
PPS: At the last party Jaxon attended the friend asked for supplies to donate to the local pet shelter. I still had to go out and buy a box of dog food but I didn't mind at all.
Great idea! I wished I had thought of this when my children were small. Thanks for sharing!
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ReplyDeleteAn excellent idea--I totally agree. Let's face the facts-- our kids don't need more stuff and those kids who could use some new things aren't having the parties , anyway. nana
I'm SOOO doing this!!! LOVE IT!! :-)
ReplyDeleteWith 6 kids to feed, our birthday parties consisted of their cousins, a movie or a free activity and food! I was never a fan of the "treat bag" concept so it didn't happen! I wish I had had your idea of the "service for a gift" idea...brilliant!
ReplyDeleteI love this, Jessica! My girls just had a party last month and we asked that people donate to our 5k team for brain tumor research. People were so generous and it was way better than taking home a bunch of stuff that would have been tossed aside after a week anyway.
ReplyDeleteI join the revolution!