Joint birthday parties for kids

amother

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 12:52 pm

Whenever one my kids is invited to a birthday party, I have a set amount I usually spend on a gift. This seems to be in line with what other people spend too.
So now, 4 kids are having a party together and one of mine is invited.
Am I expected to pay the same amount for gifts as if they were celebrating individually?
I know it's not about the money, but the 4 families are obviously splitting the cost of the party 4 ways. If I pay for gifts of the same value as is generally accepted here, I'll be paying more for gifts than they will each be paying for the party! It just feels off.

amother

Hydrangea

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 12:57 pm

amother OP wrote:

I would get the same as if it was individual parties

amother

Hydrangea

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 12:57 pm

justforfun87 wrote:

Just buy each kid a gift from 5 below and call it a day.

But yeah, this. Or target, dollar store lol. Unless the standards in your community are crazy

seeker

Fri, Sep 09 2022, 4:37 pm

If you know all the kids and they would have otherwise invited you to four separate parties, then get them each the usual gift and bless them that you only had to drive once.

If you really only know one kid and the others are neighbors/relatives of that kid that you don't really know separately, then get something cheaper.

internationalma

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 6:58 am

I would buy 4 gifts that are smaller .. I don’t know how much u invest usually but u can find such cute stuff for cheap( I wouldn’t spend more than what I would spend on an outing )

DVOM

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 7:05 am

Curious:

What do you usually spend on birthday gifts for classmates parties?

I never spend more than 5-7$, maybe a dollar or 2 more for a best friend.

I'd just buy what I normally buy (in my case, grab a bunch of gifts from the stack I keep in my closet for just these occasions!).

amother

Teal

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 7:30 am

Do fabulous sales on toys still exist? My kids are still older and Kay Bee Toys and Toys-R-Us used to sometimes have ridiculous sales and clearance.
TBH, I would feel uncomfortable spending 3-5 on a party, even if it was a $15-20 item, unless O knew ot was super perfect for the kids. In this case, I would get the sale items that were good even if not perfect.

Alternatively, if you are being invited for only one or 2 kids and don’t know the others, I would get them something nice and a inexpensive token gift for the others. IF they are all classmates and you kid only likes 1-2, I would not do that as that is rude and insulting. (Especially if the “outsiders” are the less popular or Benny kids)

imaima

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 7:55 am

It depends on the party.
If making a joint party allowed families to make a more lavish birthday, then I would spend a regular price. If it is a basic party but for 4 I would consider spending less, but maybe I still wouldn’t because I don’t like to be considered cheap (cultural baggage).
Is your chifd friends with all four?
What does your child want to gift them?

amother

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 8:14 am

My child just started first grade last week and did not know any of them before. The whole class is invited.

People using spend around $15 on a gift. You can sometimes get away with $10 if you find a good deal but $5 or less isn't going to cut it.

SuperWify

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 8:19 am

My child has a birthday party almost every Sunday. I buy a small Lego set from Amazon stock up when they are on sale between $5-10. Can you do something like that?

(For close friends we will spend up to $20.)

imaima

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 8:56 am

amother OP wrote:

This is generally what I spend on a gift too.
If I go to a dollar store then I buy several items, e.g. art supplies

imaima

Sun, Sep 11 2022, 8:56 am

amother OP wrote:

I would definitely get all equal gifts if all of them are classmates