Ideas in Leau of Gifts for My 5 Year Old

I love the idea about donating to the humane society! On your invitation you can simply put, "in leau of gifts, we ask that you provide donations to the local humane society." I'm sure your guests would also like that idea. You can also do a "My Wish For You" book for your daughter as a gift. It's where your guests write their wishes for her as she gets older and you turn them into a hardbound book! That way your guests feel like they are giving your daughter a gift to keep. I did one for my daughter's first birthday, and have had others do them for other milestone birthdays. The books are treasured for years to come! If you want more info on how to make the book just email me. I'll be happy to tell you how everyone made theirs!

Dear R.,
You are an amazing Mom to be teaching your daughter the act of generousity and compassion! In lieu of childrens toy's, perhap's request animal related gifts and give a breif explanation that it is to benefit the Humaine Society. Encourage guest's to gift wrap the items so that your daughter may open them and, place them in a "donation basket". Plan a trip to the Humaine Society with your daughter so she can make the donation's herself. Again, you are an amazing Mom for teaching your daughter the value of generosity and compassion! I hope the party is a wonderful sucess!
C. M.

I don't have any ideas but wanted to say I really like the idea of getting the humane society wish list printed out, because that way not only your daughter will benefit from the lesson, but the children attending will benefit by seeing that your daughter is donating those gifts to the animals that need them. Great idea!

On a somewhat different note, my family stays at a waterpark hotel for one night during winter break instead of buying our daughter a bunch of Christmas presents because the grandma's take care of that!

I just read an article about this the other day. The article was about ways to teach your young children how to appreciate things and also to learn to help others at an early age.

They suggest having anyone who is coming to the party to bring a gift that will be donated to children in need. The birthday child would still get gifts from family.

What a great way to instill a giving spirit in a child early on!

Let us know what you decide to do!

maybe you could ask the people who are invited to bring a brand new stuffed animal to donate to the local fire and rescue for children in need!!!!

We just sent an invitation for my daughter's 2nd Birthday, and we just simply said "No gifts please" on the invite. She's going to get gifts from our family and she's still enjoying what she got from Christmas.

P.

If I were a parent to a child attending your party I would be RELIEVED to donate to something such as the humane society! It is so hard to buy for that age because they already have EVERYTHING! Great idea!

I like the idea of asking for donations for the humane society. I would ask in the invitation that "If you would like to bring a gift, we request that you bring something for the dogs or cats at our local humane society" I would include a list of things the shelter can use, which you could easily obtain by calling the shelter. Some shelters only accept a certain brand of food, so it is worth checking. You could also add in the invitation that "If you prefer to make a monetary donation, please write the check out to XYZ Humane Society." You could explain that you and your daughter will be delivering the gifts by hand after the party. (It will help her accept that she is not getting any gifts for herself at this party. You may also want to visit the shelter with your daughter if they allow it, before the party so she understands where the gifts will be going). Of course you don't want to create the situation of being begged for months "mommy I want a dog" either, so visiting the shelter is at your own risk!

I am in the same boat when it comes to toys- probably a lot of us are. I think it's a great idea to ask for donations to the humane society instead.