Blimey I think I am going to go bankrupt with all these birthday parties!

[nikki1978]

DD started reception in Sept and already there have been 5 invites so I am guessing at this age everyone does the invite the whole class bit. Am sticking to a budget of £10 per child but it will still cost me £300 this year including cards and wrapping paper - eek! And that doesn't include DS who has been invited to one so far and has a nursery class of 20. DD was never invited to anything at nursery so this sudden influx of parties has come as a shock - shouldv'e known really we did it when I was in primary school.

They must all get ridiculous amounts of toys for their birthdays!

[mary21]

I always stuck to a fiver, shame woolies has gone.+picked up gifts when saw them going cheap. Not everyone invites the whole class. Some invite just a few around for tea. My sons 5th party was shared with 2 other boys. we invited the whole class but said to please only bring 1 present so each boy got 9 presents. that was enough.

[MumNWLondon]

I never spend more than £5 and I look out for offers, esp after christmas and bulk buy. Asda or the big tescos are quite good, often you can get something suitable for £3.99. don't ever spend money on cards - either use tags, or get cards in primark 10 for £1 or just put a sticker on wrapping paper, always buy cheap rolls of wrapping paper.

Also DD knows after her party she has to "recycle" around 1/3 of the presents she didn't like so i always write down who gave what.

[Clary]

Ah yes regifting is the way to go.

Also buy bundles of books from Book People or Red House and split up.

Or look out for Bogofs of things like Spiderman figures in TrUs sometimes.

yy £5 per child is OK if you can do it.

You may find it tails off after first term as kids get to know friends to pick out rather than blanket "whole class".

Also it's easier in yr 1 IME when the sexes often split off - DS2 (now in yr 2) got zero invites from girls last year after going to about 20 parties in FS2!

[savoycabbage]

Yes re-gifting is necessary! I usually get my dd to make a card

One of my friends had three parties in a weekend, on of which was my dd2 and she made play-doh and gave them each a plastic box with five different coloured play-dohs in. My dd loved hers.

[saintmaybe]

Agree books from the book people

Make cards and wrap in brown paper that the dcs can decorate if they want to

[smee]

£10 - NO...! Honestly don't go that high. It's a vicious circle. Parents see the type of presents people give and feel they have to match that, then you're stuck for years. £5 max no matter how much whingeing you get and if you see something good and cheap, then buy in bulk. Saves a lot of time

[katalex]

Dd was invited to 8 parties in 3 months early this year when she was in pre-school. I stuck to £5 gifts from ASDA and 6 for £1 cards from Tesco. The paper I got was 10 sheets for £1 from the market and I made tags with the left over bits.

[fridayschild]

I agree re books from the book people. If your DC is an early birthday you can re-cycle the cards too!

Ds1's best ever birthday present was some Ben Ten PJs from Asda which still had the £4 sticker on them.

[Avendesora]

I do a big shop of general craft stuff in January, and top up with the Book People. Never spend more than £6, usually less but it looks more. Plan ahead!

[NowtonTelly]

Books bought in bulk on amazon. I bought 12 books suitable for 4-6 yr olds in January (cost me £30) and they have done us for the entire year's worth of pressies. DS makes the cards now

[Claire2301]

Not sure if there is a Notcutts garden centre near any of you but I brought two big floor jigsaw puzzles (in a cute carry box) for £5 for the two.

[forkhandles]

we make our own cards, I make an order from Yellow Moon of blank cards and envelopes and some stickers and the DC make them up.

Agree about £5 a present, nobody at our school spends £10.

[cyanarasamba]

Card Factory great for cheap cards and paper - 10 for £1. Steer well clear of Clinton's.

[onemoretimetoday]

I go through phases of presents. Sometimes book people books, I've just finished a primark pyjama phase, all £4 each. Am currently buying tops from h&m at £3.99 and I have a collection of puzzles for nursery age from TK Maxx also reduced to £3.99. Tesco had some Hello Kitty plates, cups, cutlery, bowls for a £ each so I stocked up on those = £4. Cards are always 10 for £1 from primark and I buy the big rolls of wrap there too, one for boys, one for girls.

[IdrisTheDragon]

I spend a maximum of £5

[crokky]

£10 is too much, you should cut that down IMO.

[choosyfloosy]

We have had some joint presents round our way recently. Sounds grim (and is) but blimey it cuts the price down.

Otherwise max £5 I agree.

[wonderingwondering]

Does anyone actually want their child to receive all these gifts? Is it acceptable to offer a card and a £5 voucher for a local toyshop, or is that not the point? Seems more sensible to me.

[choosyfloosy]

The joint presents cut the pile to one large present. that is the best thing about them.

(also, as a money collector for a recent one, the fun of buying a large present i could never normally afford!)