When buying a gift for a child's birthday party, are you more likely to err on the side of a smaller, cheaper gift or the side of a larger, more expensive gift?

Yesterday my daughter had a child’s birthday party to go to. The child was turning 4, I think, as he’s in her pre-school class. I forgot to buy a gift for him, so at the last minute I ran out to the local supermarket (where I would never, under normal circumstances, buy a gift for a child), desperately seeking a gift, quickly. I knew when I went out that I might have to pay more money than I would usually for a kid’s gift, because it was last minute and I was desperate.

I would normally be comfortable paying about $12 to $15 for a kid’s gift, for a kid’s party, for a classmate. I got a 10 pack of Hot Wheels cars, for about $8. I felt like that might be chintzy so I got a truck that held small cars, and the body of the truck was a case, and that was $20. That was a bit more than I would usually spend. I figured I would buy both and let my daughter pick which one she wanted to give to the boy (not both).

I ask because other people have told me they tend to buy less expensive gifts for kids’ parties.

When it comes to gifts for close friends, despite the age, I don’t choose by price. However, for kids, price is an issue because there may be one party, at least, per month, and so it adds up!

When buying a kid’s gift, do you tend to err on the side of a lesser expensive gift, or err on the side of a bigger, more expensive gift?