What's the going rate for a birthday present for a 3yo's party?

lynneinjapan

My 2-year-old has been invited to a 3rd birthday party at a Wacky Warehouse and I'm wondering what the going rate is for birthday presents nowadays. (We're in suburban Birmingham and it's a little girl from my daughter's nursery; I don't know the family other than from when our paths have crossed while dropping off / picking up children.) I've asked the birthday girl's mum what she would appreciate and was told "anything pink" or something arty-crafty, but I'm not sure how much to spend.

I've looked up the website and the party is costing £6 per child so I thought maybe somewhere between £6 and £10?

savingholmes

Personally I tend to spend between £3 and £5 however I do usually manage to buy stuff in the sales... Try Home and Bargain, B&M bargains, pounds shops or supermarkets or Wilkos for present at good prices... HTH

McKneff

not the pound shop, please, recipients parents can spot them a mile away
agree with any ofthe others though

yummy-mummy-amy

ask the mother if there is anything the childs wants/needs and take it from there. for any kids birthday i tend to spend about £5

Lunar_Eclipse

I suggest a gift that costs £5/6. If you pay less by savvy shopping, good for you! Playdough, flashing wand, character bath bubbles & sponge or something from the Disney Store would be my suggestions for a girly 3 year old.

JF77

My DD has been to a few parties and I usually aim for a fiver. My DD had her 5th birthday last Saturday at a soft play center costing £10 per head so a total cost of £100 as there were 10 in total.

I really wanted the kids to have a great time and did not want them to feel like they had to spend a lot on presents.

Presents ranged from nothing, a princess sticker book costing a couple of quid to a very expensive looking Bratz doll which I guess was a fair bit over a tenner.

I felt a lot more uncomfortable with the expensive toys as it was like they were paying to come to the party and it was supposed to be a treat for them.

I personally would not send my wee one to a party with nothing as there are plenty of nice things for a couple of quid that show you appreciate being invited etc but, I was not bothered that someone chose not to give my DD a gift.

lynneinjapan

Thanks all - about £5-6 (or something that looks to be about that value) it is then!
No Home Bargains or B&M around here, sadly, but there is a Wilko's not far away.

Money_maker

Woolies used to do a nice art box (clear plastic) for a few pounds which was full of things to make. Failing that, there are craft kits to make specific items (dependent on age, normally on box) for under a fiver. Use the 20% voucher on discount board for instore.

Lunar_Eclipse

JF77 wrote: »

I was not bothered that someone chose not to give my DD a gift.

Whilst I fully understand this, I also think it's really rude and not teaching the child in question good manners and social etiquettes.

My daughters (7&8) were both invited to different Halloween parties this year, and whilst it is the parents who do all the work, I still sent them with token hostess gifts for their friends. They were huge spider jelly and vampire teeth sweets in a clear polythene bag with a 'Happy Halloween, thanks for having me....' hand written gift tag on. A simple nice touch that cost 30p for each hostess. I consider it part of my job to teach them such things tbh. I mean I would never turn up to a dinner party empty handed.

Lunar_Eclipse

And Wilko's have great craft supplies at low prices.

JF77

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

Whilst I fully understand this, I also think it's really rude and not teaching the child in question good manners and social etiquettes.

My daughters (7&8) were both invited to different Halloween parties this year, and whilst it is the parents who do all the work, I still sent them with token hostess gifts for their friends. They were huge spider jelly and vampire teeth sweets in a clear polythene bag with a 'Happy Halloween, thanks for having me....' hand written gift tag on. A simple nice touch that cost 30p for each hostess. I consider it part of my job to teach them such things tbh. I mean I would never turn up to a dinner party empty handed.

Yeah I know what you mean about teaching them good manners and like I said I would never dream of sending her to a party empty handed. My DD went to her halloween party with a big bag of pop corn.

Even though I was not bothered that they came empty handed I would probably have been delighted with a token gift like a picture they had drew or something. I guess what I mean is "it's the thought that counts" and it costs very little to show you appreciate being invited.