...do you honor that or bring one anyway? Now that DD is in preschool we suddenly have tons of birthday party invitations and I'm wondering how to handle "no gifts" requests. It's really fine not to bring a gift, right?
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No gift!
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We just went to a first birthday party where the mom had requested no gifts. I didn't bring a present but I brought a helium "happy birthday" balloon with some cute animals on it. I think the birthday boy enjoyed that more than he would have a real present. It was a small party and it seemed like everyone honored the no gifts request.
ETA: I made sure to ask a few friends ahead of time and nobody was bringing a gift.
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So we were invited to a party where the invitation said one...I would usually bring a gift anyway, but I didn't this time. And other people brought gifts! So I would get something small like a book.
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Honestly, I would bring something small. If it was an adult birthday I would bring wine/ beer, but for a kid I would bring a book.
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I wouldn't bring one. (and I'd be irritated at anyone who did haha!)
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@Hilsy85 That's what I'm worried about. Plus she has two parties for two different classmates that weekend, and only one invitation says "no gift." So I feel bad bringing a gift for one kid but not the other. But...I also understand if the kid already has a lot of toys or if the parents don't have a lot of storage, that they might really not want anything. A book is a good idea.
@MrsF I like the balloon idea, too!
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Hmmm...the only people who have put "no gifts please" on the invite were close friends of ours so I bought a card and included a gift card and just handed it to my mom friend as we were leaving so that it wasn't a big deal
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@sandy: that's what I would do, even a small $10 or $20 is good for a kid. maybe somewhere like Target so if they don't want toys but need diapers, it's an option. I feel weird eating someone's cake and enjoying their party without bringing anything...
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I would only put that on an invite if I really didn't want gifts...so I wouldn't bring a gift!
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Maybe a small gift card in the birthday card? If you weren't sure....
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No gift. Handmade or store bought card.
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Giftcard inside regular card
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At our pre-school everyone does no gift and we honor it. In fact, if you don't say "no gift" on the invite, you will appear gift grabby! And we bring a card.
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I would honor the request, but I'd also bring one and stash it in the car just in case everyone else brought a gift.
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I wouldn't bring one. if it was someone we were close to, I would maybe slip them a card and some cash/gift certificate
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I would do a giftcards or no gift.
We're going to do no gifts for Cs second birthday because it's right before we move and we don't know if we're going to be able to transport gifts with us. There's probably a good reasons they requested it.
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I would do a gift card still.
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No gifts. At some point when we throw a real birthday party for DS, I will ask for no gifts. I feel like we have so much already that we don't need anything else.
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Haha. We had a bday party this weekend for 3-year-old twins, the invite said no gifts. This particular couple also asked for no wedding gifts and I was the ONLY PERSON who didn't bring something so am forever traumatized (they're also extremely generous with gifts to us and our LO!) so I will never honor their request again
We decided to give them a gift certificate to a local activity instead of "stuff" - I think the request is mostly born out of a small condo and way too much crap that doesn't fit. So to answer your question, I guess 'it depends'. Everyone else brought gifts so I'm glad we gave them something!
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@MrsF: I LOVE the balloon idea and I will probably steal that for the next time I am in that situation.
I have always gone with a card and usually I bring a book, preferably with the receipt tucked in it.
I was so embarrassed though, once the kids I watched were invited to a huge super impressive birthday party for their best friend and the parents somehow missed that it said no gifts on the invitation. The kids picked out something quite large for a gift (still wasn't super pricey but I forget what it was) and then something for the sister of the birthday girl. We showed up with this huge stack of presents and the parents all but refused them.
We decided to give them a gift certificate to a local activity instead of "stuff" - I think the request is mostly born out of a small condo and way too much crap that doesn't fit. Reply
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