Presents at a Birthday Party

I've been a guest at the same type of combined b-day party, and they didn't open gifts. It was actually pretty nice- way less hectic, esp. with two!

Hi R.

I attended to a party recently at THE JUNGLE at the Saratoga Ave. and there you give the present at the reception in the front and the kid get them all at the end of the party in a big plastic bag with balloons.
Only at home she opened the presents. I just made sure I had a card attached to it so she would know who gave to her.
To be honest if you are giving a big party sometimes is too complicated to open all the presents...you can make a nice decorated table and ask the guests to put there presents there..I would even add a nice notebook or a post- it block where everyone could write a message or simply their names and attach to the present for future reference.
Is the same as in a wedding party when people brings the presents to the party...it stays in a table...
That's just my opinion.
Hope you get enough suggestions...

Good Luck!

Hi R.,
Yes, I've been to a number of parties where they didn't open gifts. Honestly I think it's better that way. The kids don't seem to mind, and there's less craziness trying to keep track of who gave them what.

You are a good mommy and a fantastic friend for combining the two parties! The kids will have a blast and the adults will be thankful to only have to wear an Elmo party hat once. =)

I think most adults wouldn't be phased in the least if you didn't open gifts at the party. I've been to parties where the gift opening happened at home later. We go to so many parties and most of us don't mind a smidgen if we don't see that part. It's fine if we do, but it doesn't at all cross our minds (again, in most cases) as anything to blink at. However, the children are the ones that can be disappointed if they don't get to see the guest of honor open the special gift they brought for them. I'm sure you've seen the anticipation in your kids or other kids as it is their turn for the birthday girl/boy to open the gift they brought. It's just exciting.

So, two suggestions... I really liked the idea below about having the party be a certain time and then if people want to stay and watch the gift opening, they can. I'd be careful not to announce it at the party or if the time for the party is up, I'd give the adults a quiet reminder that gift opening is about to happen. So, if they want to make a clean get-away, they've been warned. :)

The other thing you could do is have them open their gifts simultaneously. The time allotted for that would be the same as if it were one child and then everyone could see the opening.

Lastly, it really isn't the end of the world if the opening doesn't happen at the party. Some kids might be disappointed, but it won't be overshadowed by the wonderful time they had at the party.

I've done it both ways and been to parties done both ways. In addition to the boredom factor for your guests, remember that it can be hard for the little birthday boys to maintain interest from the first gift to the last. Sometimes with openning at the party, the giver of the last gift doesn't get the heart felt thank you they expect.

If you're having the party at home, maybe schedule it with a set start and end time and do not open gifts at that time, but invite anyone who really WANTS to watch the boys open their gifts to stay AFTER the party to watch them.

Hope this helps.

my 7YO twins have both been to parties where the gifts weren't opened during the party (I think this is often because if the party is at a place with a limited time window, like Pump It Up, they figure the kids would rather use the time there playing). One thing that I thought was a nice touch for parties where the gifts weren't opened during the party was when the parents would take pictures of their child with each gift and send it with the thank you note to the giver.

I went to a first birthday party where there were close to 50 people and probably the same amount of gifts. She didn't open her gifts, which I didn't think much about. However, I never got a thank you card or an email saying thanks and I thought that was odd. With that many gifts I didn't know if it got lost or anything. Maybe I'm odd and expect a thank you when I give a gift.
If you decide to open gifts there, my cousin has her two boys open them at the same time. It is a little like Christmas with Thank You's being shouted out as they open, but it goes quickly that way =O)
Have fun!
C.

Hi R.,
My kids' birthdays are six days apart. Since the second arrived, they've only had joint parties. They'll be 4 and 6 next month. I usually say "No gifts" on the invitation. It's just so close to Christmas and like you said, everyone then feels they should bring two gifts. Last year we had gifts for the first time. We're not going to do it again this year.

The kids are not deprived. On each of their actual birthdays two close families and grandparents come over for cake. They get presents then.

I've been to parties where the children open the presents while the others are eating the cake. The birthday kids eat their cake later. It's great because no guests come up and "help" unwrap the gifts and everyone is kept busy.

Good luck!

I think there may be people who want the presents opened at the party, and just as many people would be relieved to not have to sit through. You can't please everyone, and I imagine that any guest's sense that they wanted it different will pass without real judgement or issue. SO, do what makes sense and feels right for you and your family. If you do what you feel good about, it will be right for the party too. Have fun with it!