Gifts For all Those Kid's Birthday Parties!
by Cyndi Roberts
Description: Gift ideas for children's birthday parties.
Are your kids invited to numerous birthday parties
throughout the year? Buying a gift, paper to wrap
it in, ribbon and a bow, plus a card every time
can get expensive and tiresome, can't it!
Through the years I have discovered some easy ways
to save money and time and always be prepared for
those invitations.
My three children are older now, but when they were
young, it seemed as if one of them was invited to
a friend's birthday party almost every week! Usually
the invitations didn't arrive until 1 or 2 days before
the party. I got really fed up with running to the
store in our small town and trying to find an
appropriate gift on short notice.
I realized the first thing I needed to do was to get
organized. So I set aside a box in the hall closet and
started to fill it with gift items suitable
for children around my children's ages.
Each time I went to the discount or dollar store, I
looked at the clearance sales; especially after
Christmas. I tried to keep at least one gift for each
child on hand at all times.
I love to make things and I was always on the lookout
for anything I could craft that kids would like. One
item I came across that the kids really liked was gift
jars. I would fill a pint or quart jar (reused mayo
or pizza sauce jars) with small items. Some of the
things I used were pens, erasers, notepads, small cars,
toy soldiers, hair ribbons, stickers. Anything I found
that would fit. I would often buy in bulk and divide the
items into several jars.
Children love anything with their name on it, so I would
paint their name on the side of the jar or cross-stitch
it onto a cover for the lid. Then all I had to do was
add a bow and there's a great gift!
Little girls always enjoy receiving more clothes for
their Barbie dolls. If you sew, you can make gifts
your daughter's friends will love from your scraps of
fabric and lace. And the clothes you make are
usually much better quality than the ones you pay
premium prices for in the store.
One last secret to giving great birthday gifts is:
remember that children love to open a package! Just
taking tissue out of a gift bag is not the same!
But wrapping a package doesn't have to break the bank
either. At garage sales, always look for anything
that can be used to wrap gifts--wallpaper,
drawer liner, just use your imagination!
Dollar stores are a great place to pick up inexpensive
wrapping paper in a pinch. The flat, folded kind is
cheaper than buying it on a roll, just cover the
creases with ribbon. Kids aren't going to take time
to notice, anyway!
Even an inexpensive gift will bring raves from the
birthday boy or girl when it's wrapped imaginatively.
Tie a lollipop on top or write their name in glitter.
Use your imagination and get creative!
Your children will love it when the gift they bring is
the hit of the party!
Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another"
bi-weekly newsletter, bring you creative,
practical tips to help you "live the good life"...
on a budget! Visit the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" website at
http://www.cynroberts.com.
Related articles:
5 Frugal Birthday Parties
Plan a Princess Birthday Party-the Frugal Way!
Birthday Party Fun: Goodie Bag Alternatives
