"Typical" Birthday for kids.

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

4 gifts. One big one and 3 smaller ones. One set of grandparents sends them each a 25.00 check every year that they put in their savings account usually.

For example my DD who just turned 14 is getting her first ever Iphone, a dvd collection of anime, a poster for her room and a book she wanted.

My son turns 18 today and is getting the limited edition wii U with the zelda game that is downloaded, a tshirt I hope he likes, a steam card since he does alot of pc gaming, and an xbox game he wanted. He's our gamer and is looking at colleges with video game programming classes. Aaack.

I haven't even thought about Christmas. Each year I've been reducing the amount of gifts to keep gift giving reasonable plus a stocking.

 

[mom-2greatkids]

When the kids were little they got 1 gift from us, probably around $50. As they got older we ended up at Disney during (or very close to) one of their birthdays, so we told them Disney was both a birthday present for both of them. Well, we stopped doing Disney in late summer/early fall about 2 years ago but they haven't resumed getting birthday gifts. We do go out to dinner on their birthday, but don't celebrate in any other way.

Disclaimer--my kids don't need ANYTHING! They are involved in many $$$ activities, we take 2 very nice vacations a year, etc. We talk about it every so often and both kids would rather have the experiences (activities and vacations) than presents on their birthday and Christmas.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I tend to stick to around $150- $200 for my 2 kids. Usually when they are younger that turns out to be several gifts.

They do get a party usually at a arcade or bowling alley. But I'm cutting those off around the age of 11 or 12.

Plus we go out for supper to a place of their choice.

yes they get gifts from some of the family and kids that attend their birthdays. I don't decide what to spend on my child based on what I think they will get from others. If they get something from others that's a bonus but not expected.

 

[Brittmarie04]

My DD gets a disney cruise every year for her birthday for the past few years. We surprised her the first year then have booked one on the cruise for the following year every time.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I don't have a set limit to spend on DS15. Usually he ends up getting 1 gift or experience because he's asking for something expensive -- last year it was Lady Gaga tickets -- which I thought was a lot until I ready about the gift of a Disney cruise! We used to do parties when he was younger and we did get him something we knew he really wanted in addition to the party. I felt nothing else was necessary since he was walking away from the party with 25-30 gifts from the attendees. Even when he has an "experience" gift I will add something because I firmly believe you should have something to open on your birthday. My mom never did much for my birthday, and I was determined my ds would not have that experience -- so I might not be the best example, I have worked really hard to make his bdays memorable. He will also get about 5 gifts from family members.

His bday is in late January, so often what he gets is something he's figured out he needs to go with something he received for Christmas. When he turned 14 we took him and a small group of friends to Blue Man Group, so it just varies from year to year. I think as the kids get older, the less they are interested in a present, per se -- but knowing that you are still celebrating even when they are surly, uncommunicative beings embarrassed by our very existence, I think that registers on some level and is appreciated.

Maria

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My boys turned 18 and 15 this summer (July and Sept). This is the first time we only got them one gift each, but the gifts were substantial: laptops.

Usually, we would get them a few video games, gift cards, etc. This year they both wanted laptops and we took a big WDW trip in August. That was enough for the budget. For Christmas, they'll get some games, gift cards, cash and portable chargers for their iPhones.

 

[scrapquitler]

So I've been reading all the Christmas threads and figuring out what gifts I want to get for the kids but we have a couple birthdays to buy for first. My sons birthday is Saturday and I have been buying for awhile but haven't started wrapping until today.
Anyway I was sitting here looking at his little pile of gifts and wondering what was typical for other dis members. Especially those with teens. Do you just get one birthday gift for your kids or multiple gifts?
DS(turning 13) is getting an android phone, 16 gig mini SD card, zombie target and throwing knives for him to do with dad, an iron man t shirt, zombie head stress ball, video game and I'm looking for some unique rubber ducks as he collects them. I'm also crocheting an Afghan but that wont be done for his birthday. Looking at all this I'm thinking I overdid it. He also has grandparents that will spoil him. He's getting at least that much from DHs parents and my moms getting him a google play GC every month to put new apps and stuff on the phone. So what do you guys do for birthday's as far as presents go?

For our kids, it has been all over the place. Some years there have been a lot of things like you have now, some years there have been only a couple of smallish things, some years one big thing, some years almost nothing. It just depends on what's going in life and what they want/need at any given point.

if you think it's too much , put some of them aside for Christmas.

 

[MinnieForMe]

We typically have a $100 birthday budget for gifts per child. They are aware of how much we spend so some years they will give us an idea and others they just want to save the cash to buy other things.

I find it hard to buy a single birthday gift for my 16 and 12 year old but it's so easy for my 8 year old.

 

[richmond282]

My DD is 9 so not a teen, but I try to stick to about $100 for her bday gifts. The number of gifts varies based on what she wants. We did bday parties for a while. We have a community pool that we can rent for $35 so we did that a couple of times. Last year she took a friend with her to a water park instead of a party. This year we visited the AG store several hours away in lieu of a party and gave her $100 to spend there. We also has lunch at the bistro there to celebrate. It is definitely cheaper to forgo the party.

 

[lauradis]

I guess we are the opposite...my 13 yr old got 13 gifts (today is his birthday!), and my 11 yr old got 11 gifts. We do their age in gifts. There have been years when one of the presents was a pack of gum. . Regardless, it is a tradition (until they are 18) to get the number of presents that represent their new age.

This year, son got 2 books, 3 video games (for computer, DS, and gameboy), minecraft sweatshirt, DS holder, mouse, headphones/microphone, Bluetooth USB plug for his computer and 2 $20 dollar bills (wrapped separately). Oh, and he got a phone early (that we would have needed anyway for my piece of mind).

This is very cute. Never heard this one like it a lot.

 

[MomToOne]

I set a $200 budget for DD13s birthday. She can design her own day, however she wants it, within that budget. If she wants a party, it has to fit within that. If she wants to go out to eat, it comes out of that budget. Any gifts come out of the same budget too. And once the budget is gone, it is gone.

Given that, for the last few years, DD has chosen to just take the cash and spend the day shopping

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

This is very cute. Never heard this one like it a lot.

The kids love the tradition..counting to make sure I have the right number of presents, the teasing that one present might be gum.

 

[Leighbra]

The kids love the tradition..counting to make sure I have the right number of presents, the teasing that one present might be gum.

Had you ever seen the blog where a dad gave his 3-year-old a pack of raisins for Christmas?

This is the follow up blog that includes the 1st year's response & then the equally hilarious response when the child was four:

http://www.thesneeze.com/raisins-for-christmas/

Maybe one of your gifts next year should be raisins!

 

[powelweb]

DD just turned 10, and we're sitting here this morning addressing her invitiations to her party at a new trampoline place (which I'm happy to do instead of having the party at our house and having to deal with keeping the kids all busy, out of trouble and cleaning up afterwards).

We usually buy her a couple of presents, but this year, when we asked her what she wanted, she came back with "I don't need anything, so can we ask for gifts to the Hospital instead?"

Granted, I work at the local Children's Hospital and she has joined me for the annual charity walk in the past, but we had to miss it this year.

So after talking with her a little more, she decided to include a note in her invitations requesting donations to the Children's Hospital to support their pet therapy program in lieu of gifts.

I'm very proud of her decision, and where she is our only- if I had any concerns about her being spoiled, I'm not as worried now.

 

[Cindy B]

Usually one gift or cash.

If you feel you overdid it, hold some back for Christmas.

 

[Priorityonecb]

We don't set limits on numbers or price. It depends on the child's interests and desires at the time. Some years it's been a $20 gift and always an experience of the child's choosing. Some years it's a $300 gift and dinner with the family. I agree that we "spoil" them, and they get whatever they want for their birthdays. Thankfully, they are sensible, great kids who have never asked for anything outrageous.

For dd's last birthday, it was her sweet 16. We spend about $500 on her party which was a sleepover at a hotel with friends, mall time and dinner at a Hibachi place. She wanted a Claddagh ring with her birthstone as a gift which she got along with 15 other small gifts to match her age. Those gifts were all under inexpensive, Bath and body works, favorite lib balm sets, etc.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

Had you ever seen the blog where a dad gave his 3-year-old a pack of raisins for Christmas?

This is the follow up blog that includes the 1st year's response & then the equally hilarious response when the child was four:

http://www.thesneeze.com/raisins-for-christmas/

Maybe one of your gifts next year should be raisins!

Oh, that is hilarious! RAISINS?!?!

 

[sk!mom]

One big gift and then usually 3 or 4 smaller. The smaller things are typically things they would need anyway.

DD17's birthday is at the end of May so she has gotten a new swimsuit every birthday as a smaller gift. When she was young , I would pair it with a gift of goggles, or pool toys. This year the smaller gifts were a bikini, cover up, and a new beach bag for our trip to Hawaii, a complete outfit to wear to school that day, and a new maxi sundress to wear out with her friends that night and then in Hawaii. So basically only the big gift is something that I wouldn't have bought over the next month or so anyway.

 

[BenbowInn]

We overdo it. For our sons 5th birthday he got 18 presents from us, but most of those were school related (he's homeschooled) like logic puzzles, books, board games, etc.

The few toys he got were bought used (a huge box of Legos and an imaginext castle), got them both for under $30 at a yard sale.

He's really into the solar system so he got an expensive telescope from grandpa. That was one of his big gifts.

He loves Mario (it all started with a Mario shirt i bought at Goodwill) and so we introduced him to all the Mario games we had on the Wii that we played growing up and he quickly became obsessed. He gets to play a few hours every 3-4 days and its a great motivator. Anyways, A few weeks before his birthday we got a used Wii U since he wanted the new Mario game for it, so we got that instead of a party, which we normally spend a few hundred on with food and decorations in the house. Plus to be fair, me and DH wanted to play the newer Mario games anyways.

So he gets a lot for his birthday (and Christmas) but he doesn't get much throughout the year and a lot of what he gets is educational things I would have bought anyways or a big item (like the Wii u) that hubs and I wanted too.

I don't think there is a right or wrong. Getting kids a lot is okay as long as you're not replacing parental love and attention with material things.

 

[Mamakop]

My two kiddos are going to be 6 and 2 in January. We love birthdays and we love to celebrate them! Lol

For my daughters' party this year(they turned 5 and 1) we had an Aladdin/Jasmine themed party and rented camels for the kids/adults to ride. We do parties big! They each got probably 10-15 gifts.

This coming up January we are going to either do a old fair theme and rent a Ferris wheel or have a magician!