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#1
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Gift ettiquette question
Ok - would like some advice on this one.
Ds (5 yo) was invited to a birthday party for a friend at school. I've never met him or his parents, but apparently ds likes him. We RSVP'd that he could go - then ds got sick, and couldn't go. Due to time constraints, I hadn't gotten around to buying the present. (Ds got sick Friday evening, the party was Sunday afternoon, so I *had* been planning to buy it on Saturday morning, with the backup plan of getting it Sunday morning.) I did call on Sunday morning to let the parents know ds couldn't make it. So, should I get him a present? And if so, how do I get it to him? The school has a policy that you aren't supposed to distribute party invitations at school, so presumably it would also be bad to give a present at school. I do have his address (the reason they can get away with the policy is that the PTO makes a school directory, which about 90% of the families participate in. Naturally, the policy was part of the reason I made sure to be included.) Thoughts? Irene |
#2
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Gift ettiquette question
"Irene" wrote in message oups.com... So, should I get him a present? And if so, how do I get it to him? I'm sure that Erika will chime in with a proper answer later, but I will give you my opinion: Kids birthday parties require a gift only if you attend. Since your DD didn't actually attend the party, I don't think you need to. Had you already purchased it, it might be nice to send it to him, but I don't think it is required. |
#3
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Gift ettiquette question
"Irene" wrote in message oups.com... Ok - would like some advice on this one. Ds (5 yo) was invited to a birthday party for a friend at school. I've never met him or his parents, but apparently ds likes him. We RSVP'd that he could go - then ds got sick, and couldn't go. Due to time constraints, I hadn't gotten around to buying the present. (Ds got sick Friday evening, the party was Sunday afternoon, so I *had* been planning to buy it on Saturday morning, with the backup plan of getting it Sunday morning.) I did call on Sunday morning to let the parents know ds couldn't make it. So, should I get him a present? And if so, how do I get it to him? The school has a policy that you aren't supposed to distribute party invitations at school, so presumably it would also be bad to give a present at school. I do have his address (the reason they can get away with the policy is that the PTO makes a school directory, which about 90% of the families participate in. Naturally, the policy was part of the reason I made sure to be included.) I would say if they present him with a party bag because he missed the party, then it would be polite to give a present. Having said that, if a child has missed a party at short notice I'll usually give them the party bag because I don't really want one party bag left around, but I certainly wouldn't be expecting the present "in return". I think, on past experience, those who have missed have usually given a present afterwards, or even delivered it to the party. Debbie |
#4
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Gift ettiquette question
Irene wrote:
Ok - would like some advice on this one. Ds (5 yo) was invited to a birthday party for a friend at school. I've never met him or his parents, but apparently ds likes him. We RSVP'd that he could go - then ds got sick, and couldn't go. Due to time constraints, I hadn't gotten around to buying the present. (Ds got sick Friday evening, the party was Sunday afternoon, so I *had* been planning to buy it on Saturday morning, with the backup plan of getting it Sunday morning.) I did call on Sunday morning to let the parents know ds couldn't make it. So, should I get him a present? And if so, how do I get it to him? The school has a policy that you aren't supposed to distribute party invitations at school, so presumably it would also be bad to give a present at school. I do have his address (the reason they can get away with the policy is that the PTO makes a school directory, which about 90% of the families participate in. Naturally, the policy was part of the reason I made sure to be included.) You are not required to send a gift. I'd send a gift if I'd already bought one. I'd also send a gift if I somehow felt that I had screwed up (e.g., there was one time that we all just plain forgot about a birthday party DS1 was supposed to go to--gads, I'm still embarrassed about that one). But in this case, you don't have any obligation. It's not like the birthday boy has some kind of claim to achieve a certain haul at his birthday party and you've somehow denied him that ;-) Best wishes, Ericka |
#5
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Gift ettiquette question
"Irene" wrote in message oups.com... Ok - would like some advice on this one. Ds (5 yo) was invited to a birthday party for a friend at school. I've never met him or his parents, but apparently ds likes him. We RSVP'd that he could go - then ds got sick, and couldn't go. Due to time constraints, I hadn't gotten around to buying the present. (Ds got sick Friday evening, the party was Sunday afternoon, so I *had* been planning to buy it on Saturday morning, with the backup plan of getting it Sunday morning.) I did call on Sunday morning to let the parents know ds couldn't make it. So, should I get him a present? I wouldn't worry about it because most kids don't expect presents except at their party. I would make an exception for a "best friend." I would say in general though, that I'd give the parents more notice if I thought my child might not be able to make it. I know you were playing wait and see, but with a day or two notice they might be able to do something like reduce their cost (if the party is at one of those pay-per-kid places) or invite a friend's sibling (or a sibling's friend) to fill the slot. Not to mention, it's disappointing to the child not to have one of their friends come, so I'd want to give a little notice and not do it on the day of the party if I could help it. Bizby |
#6
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Gift ettiquette question
bizby40 wrote: "Irene" wrote in message oups.com... Ok - would like some advice on this one. Ds (5 yo) was invited to a birthday party for a friend at school. I've never met him or his parents, but apparently ds likes him. We RSVP'd that he could go - then ds got sick, and couldn't go. Due to time constraints, I hadn't gotten around to buying the present. (Ds got sick Friday evening, the party was Sunday afternoon, so I *had* been planning to buy it on Saturday morning, with the backup plan of getting it Sunday morning.) I did call on Sunday morning to let the parents know ds couldn't make it. So, should I get him a present? I wouldn't worry about it because most kids don't expect presents except at their party. I would make an exception for a "best friend." I would say in general though, that I'd give the parents more notice if I thought my child might not be able to make it. I know you were playing wait and see, but with a day or two notice they might be able to do something like reduce their cost (if the party is at one of those pay-per-kid places) or invite a friend's sibling (or a sibling's friend) to fill the slot. Not to mention, it's disappointing to the child not to have one of their friends come, so I'd want to give a little notice and not do it on the day of the party if I could help it. Bizby That's nice in theory, but 2 days before, he wasn't sick. The day before, he had a time when his temp was normal and there was a chance he could get better in time - so what point would there have been in calling to say maybe - they couldn't have cancelled based on that call, nor invited someone else. The only thing that could have helped was letting the kid know that *maybe* ds wouldn't be there. (And hey - I invited 8 of ds' friends from his old pre-school to his birthday party, and only got one RSVP. At least I called! I'm definitely not going to beat myself up on this one!) But anyhow, it's nice that I seem to have a consensus on not getting a gift - I'm still not done with my holiday shopping... Irene |
#7
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Gift ettiquette question
"Irene" wrote in message ups.com... That's nice in theory, but 2 days before, he wasn't sick. The day before, he had a time when his temp was normal and there was a chance he could get better in time - so what point would there have been in calling to say maybe - they couldn't have cancelled based on that call, nor invited someone else. The only thing that could have helped was letting the kid know that *maybe* ds wouldn't be there. That, and warning the parents that a very recently sick child might show up. They might actually prefer you keep him home if it's iffy. And it's just generally polite to give people as much notice of changes as you can. You can't always predict what the effect on them might be. No need to beat yourself up though. It's water under the bridge and not a big deal. I was only making a sort of general comment for future situations. Bizby |
#8
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Gift ettiquette question
Irene wrote: Ok - would like some advice on this one. Ds (5 yo) was invited to a birthday party for a friend at school. I've never met him or his parents, but apparently ds likes him. We RSVP'd that he could go - then ds got sick, and couldn't go. Due to time constraints, I hadn't gotten around to buying the present. (Ds got sick Friday evening, the party was Sunday afternoon, so I *had* been planning to buy it on Saturday morning, with the backup plan of getting it Sunday morning.) I did call on Sunday morning to let the parents know ds couldn't make it. So, should I get him a present? And if so, how do I get it to him? The school has a policy that you aren't supposed to distribute party invitations at school, so presumably it would also be bad to give a present at school. I do have his address (the reason they can get away with the policy is that the PTO makes a school directory, which about 90% of the families participate in. Naturally, the policy was part of the reason I made sure to be included.) Thoughts? Irene I would buy the gift, call the parent and make a play date. The kids already like each other so they will most likely play well together ... and it will give you a chance to meet the other kids parent(s). |
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