Okay, so my son is 11 months for Christmas and we got TONS of toys. And not little ones, but pushers, trains, wagons, and learning tables... The problem is we live in an itty bitty little (about 850 square feet!) apartment, and we have started storing this stuff behind a shower curtain in our master bath. The problem is, my son will turn one years old in January... and his grandparents are already gearing up to get him MORE toys!!! He doesn't even play with the ones he has!!
Would it be considered rude to include on invitations "please no gifts, any toys recieved will be returned or given to Goodwill."
It's funny b/c the thing he really needs is clothes b/c he outgrows them so fast, but I don't want to ask for those b/c they usually buy him out of season (like tank top and beach shorts in winter) in off sizes... so I can't ask for that.
Am I being selfish, or what should I do here?
I don't think it is rude to put no gift and maybe a line if you must buy a gift he needs clothes size whatever, or something about them choosing a book/movie they (or their child) once loved. I know alll about too many toys here ;)
There was something I read about and have wanted to do that could work in your situation, but I haven't it done yet myself so bear in mind that these are ideas not experiences. I wanted to open a college savings account for my daughter, like a 529 plan, where anyone in the family can contribute to it. This way instead of mounds of toys, my family could buy her one toy if they liked, maybe an outfit, and deposit the rest of the amount they'd planned to spend into her account. With college prices these days, who knows how bad it's going to be in 14 years when my daughter is old enough for college.
If you were to do this, maybe you could make up a cute card to send to the family members every year before birthday/holidays reminding them of the accessibility of the account with simple instructions on how to deposit into it and it's benefit to the future of the child. Invite them to still buy a gift if they'd like, but nothing extravagant. I would think any child's grandparents would probably get involved because of the benefit of furthering their grandchild's education. Just a thought. Hope this helps.
Edit: PS. You can find college savings plans at just about any financial institution. :)
This is her big sister and the one problem is that, all the family lives close by, so it would be obvious if Grandma comes over and doesn't see the new toy they got for him, so it is a dillema! I used to be in an itty bitty apartment too, so it was difficult for me (although at that time I was 1400 miles away from family!) Anywho, I got it covered on this side of the family, I can tell the notorious big toy gift giver on our side to please stick to clothes! I think I can be pretty good at that. And maybe hubby can make a hint to his side of the family, just saying that since he just got a lot of great toys at Christmas time, maybe this time he could get some clothes, and just say what size, you can just say he needs size 18mth clothes for spring or whatever.
Well, with family actually coming by, scratch the taking stuff back.
Maybe you could write up a cute poem about all the toys your son got for Christmas being plenty for a long time and now since he's one, he needs big boy clothes in the invitation. I don't think that would be rude. I would try my hand at a cute poem, but I really stink at that stuff!
Good luck! Let us know what you do!
Hi Lisa,
This may sound rude, but why don't you just graciously thank everyone for the gifts, take a picture of your little one un-wrapping the gift and then TAKE THEM BACK! I would take back the Christmas stuff that you don't have room for also.
Most people get toys at Wal-Mart, Target or Babies R Us, ALL places that are good about returns and if they only offer an in-store credit, you can get the much needed clothing at any of these.
I did this with some of my baby shower items, I would take them ALL to Wal-Mart and they would scan and tell me what came from there and what didn’t, I would put the remaining items back in my bag and head to the next store. Don’t be bashful, you may as well get what you need, your family will never know!
Good Luck,
E.
I would ask for clothes and put the exact size you need on the invitation. Ask for books and movies that you dont have instead of big toys. I sometimes write the gift that Id like them to get my daughter on the invitaion. Also you could ask for "gift cards only" and that way you can get things as you need them and not get to many unwanted things. I understand about getting so many toys ....you'd think I have 4 kids for the amount of things that my daughter got....think Im going to limit it to one gift per person to my daughter for her b-day in Feb b/c we have no more room. Well good luck and people will be understanding if you explain you have no room.
I agree with the other posts that it's not rude to list "no gifts please" or to ask for them to bring a toy to donate to a charity and then take them all to a local children's hospital together with your son... they'd love that I'm sure.... that way you can have a party, people won't come feeling empty handed and you can give back to charity and take the tax write off. ;)
I think it's rude to list exactly what you want on the invitation. Period. If you're concerned about it, ask a relative to spread the word about your over-abundance of toys and you really need clothes or whatever. Or you could state in the invitation 'Your presence is Johnny's present" to limit the gifts.
My two cents....now if someone could give my MIL the hint that I HATE Polly Pockets and my DD isn't that fond of them either!! AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! :) I like your idea about the re-gifting party! Anyone need Polly Pockets?!
Not rude!! At all!!!
If you don't want a lot of gifts - don't have a big party. Most one year olds are miserable at a big party anyway.
However, if you have a party, I think it is extremely rude to tell people what (or what not to) bring your child as a gift. If people ask, tell them what he needs - clothes for spring, new shoes, sippy cups - whatever. I have personally bought a lot of practical things for kids with "soon-after-Christmas" birthdays. If a one-year old's mom told me he needed pampers, I would be more than glad to buy them, however - it really is rude to put it on the invitation. Be gracious and take things back if you want, but please don't make a production of giving the kid's gifts to charity unless you don't want people to come to anymore of his parties.
