Parents: What are some good birthday gift ideas for your pre-schooler's friends?
Asked by
jca (
36062
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October 13th, 2010
My daughter is 3½ and has been in pre-school for all of three weeks now, and has just gotten her second birthday party invite. I am wondering what other parents think is a good gift to give or to receive for this age group.
I know kids get and have so much stuff (toys, etc.).
I know kids like to receive presents.
Do you set a “cap” amount for spending? Do you have one all around good gift you give all kids, which they all seem to like? Do you go shopping for each gift/child individually? Or do you just give gift cards (which I am not opposed to, but I know for myself, I have a pile of them and I find them hard to keep track of and therefore, spend).
The last birthday party my daughter was invited to was for a boy turning 4, and in my desperation, I asked a shopper in Walmart, who had children. She suggested Spiderman pajamas, and then I got two other Spiderman items, so it was like a “theme gift.” However, since my daughter is now invited to these two other kids’ parties, I don’t know the kids and I need some guidelines on future shopping so it does not make me crazy.
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10 Answers
Ask her teacher for suggestions. If anyone knows the birthday kid’s likes and dislikes it will be them.
My standard pre-school birthday party gift was books. They are usually pretty reasonably priced and appreciated. For suggestions you might check your local library for The Read Aloud Companion
Kids at this age like dress-up or pretend outfits, stuff to play house and balls. Legos are also good—the basic kits, not the models. Ravensburger puzzles and games.
They go nuts for those Krayola crayon boxes and a little coloring book.
Although I have a great love for books and give them to all the children in my family at Christmas I am not sure that this is the best gift for a birthday party as Kids typically don’t get so excited at receiving them especially if you don’t know the child’s interest and what books they may or may not like…Puzzles, games (memory game, chutes and ladder, candyland), Art supplies (age appropriate paints, brushes, markers, coloring books) are good gifts, however your best bet is to check with the parent. Asking the Mother or Father (which hopefully put some kind of contact info on the invite) will assure that the child is not getting something they already have as well as finding out more about his or her interest.
Kids that age are not that picky. They love bubbles. My kid does. Buy a bubble machine of some sort. or Playdoh. OMG ga ga over playdoh. Not that expensive. I spend $20 to $25. On a kid. Plus Spend like $15. on playdoh and $5 at Mcdonalds to get a Happy Meal.
Ask the parents.
I personnally love legos. The big ones for this age.
If you can’t ask the parents for some reason, most kids that age absolutely LOVE getting things they can play with using their hands. Playdoh, Moon Sand, Legos, things like that… They also like those nifty Crayola coloring sets that only color on the special paper so the child can’t accidentally mark on the carpet or wall. You can find the coloring pads with markers and they also have a painting set with clear gel that only shows up on the special paper. I think they’re called “Crayola Color Wonder”.
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