Frugal birthday party gifts
My oldest son started Kindergarten last year and within two weeks the birthday party invites began. For the first half of the school year I took him to every single party and spent between $15-20 on a unique gift for each birthday boy or girl. Seven parties later I decided that there must be a frugal way to make sure each child received a gift that they enjoyed without spending as much as I’d been spending.
I decided on a few things that would be better than a new toy which would be quickly forgotten or possibly even a duplicate. Anyway, how did I know that the child would even like the toy? Many times my son would give me suggestions based on what he liked instead of what his friend liked. 
Here are a few ideas I’ve used for birthday gifts since:
–Ice cream store gift certificates. Five dollars in ice cream gift certificates is plenty for the child and a parent to have a fun trip to the ice cream for a cone with the works.
–books! (Remember those book clubs I told you about?) Children need to read more anyway. Buy age appropriate books for them to enjoy over and over.
–art/craft supplies. Not just coloring books, folks. Check out Hobby Lobby or the craft section of other discount sections. There are fun objects to paint, beaded jewelry to make, purses or canvas bags to decorate, etc.
–movie tickets. If there is a new children’s movie out at the time, this is a great gift idea!
Check out ebay for great deals on some of the ideas above. Buy things ahead of time (don’t forget wrapping paper or gift bags) so that you don’t have to make a last minute run to the store on the day of the party. Don’t feel bad about giving the same gifts over and over in the same year. At least one child won’t be upset that another child received a “better” gift.
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