5 ideas to reduce the cost of gifts for your little one's birthday

A child wearing a crown, perched on a throne, opening presents one after another, without even time to look at them, as if it were a competition or a contest. To one side, the wrapping paper piles up, and the gifts are transferred to large bags that their parents will carry, once the birthday party is over, like expedition Sherpas, and which will most likely end up at the top of the closet. Does this image sound familiar? Whether you have to organize a birthday party or have been invited, we're going to give you five tips to help you avoid that situation.

The best gift is you.

And it's true, you can use this phrase to tell your guests not to bring gifts. Birthday parties are a time to spend with those special people. You'll teach your child the importance of people themselves. A vaccine against materialism.

A good time for reflection.

You can talk to your child and ask if, instead of receiving a ton of birthday gifts, they'd prefer to receive a few (or none) and donate the rest to a worthy cause, such as Clowns Without Borders, the children's school, a health center, or any other organization of your choice. You'll be amazed at your little ones' response, and you'll feel very proud of them.

Make sure the gifts are appropriate.

Children learn through play and toys. Therefore, it's important to understand what toys teach them and decide if that's what we want for our child. If we want to be in complete control, we can make a birthday gift list to ensure that the "intergalactic hitman with flashing lights and screams of real agony" or "the little pink princess who was only good for cleaning the house and taking care of the children" doesn't appear. This will also make things easier for those who don't have children in close proximity and find it more difficult to find suitable gifts for their children.

Unity is strength.

Instead of each of you making a low-budget gift, which will likely be of poor quality, both materially and educationally, you can all get together and give something truly worthwhile, something the child will appreciate and that will last.

Reuse.

If the birthday boy or girl is younger than your child, we can ask them to choose one of the toys they no longer use. Once again, they'll surprise us by choosing their favorite toys to give to their next friend. In doing so, we're teaching them one of the R's of ecology: Reusing the same toy for several children.

What may initially seem like an avalanche of unnecessary gifts can be transformed, in a simple way, into a way to teach values ​​to the little ones.

Still having trouble deciding? Check out the best gift ideas for boys and girls.

Do you know any other tricks? Share them with us.