Birthday gifts when it's not their birthday???

[Twik]

Depends how old son is. If he's, say, two, it probably would qualify less as a gift and more of a distraction. However, once he's old enough to understand that It's Not All About Him, I wouldn't expect it to be necessary, or even particularly helpful.

[momto3daughters]

As to the original post, it seems odd, very odd indeed. I certainly wouldn't take a child to a party with a gift for them and I can't imagine making the statement, (as the OP's friend did) that while your children have to have birthdays for something special, hers gets one just because. And wrapped to boot! Weird!

Siblings getting gifts on birthdays I find very tricky. I have ten year old twins and a nine year old, all with birthdays in April. Because they're so close, we do tend to get a little gift for those not having the birthday. It's usually a book, but it's never something that costs more than pocket money. And I'll admit, we do this in my house because it's not just one person's special day but two at the beginning of April, with number 3 being left out. And because we've done it for 3, we do it for 1 & 2 at the end of April.

Writing it down seems strange. I keep trying to work out how I justify it and I'm not sure that I actually can. It just feels right to me to add in a little something for the one left out, (and it is always little) when there are two who are 'special' that day. I'm certain that it wouldn't strike me to do the same thing if I only had two - my sister and I are six years and three days apart and we certainly didn't get gifts on the other one's birthday.

Oh well, I can't justify it, but it feels right to me to do it. Maybe I'll have to reconsider it this year now they're getting older and won't feel left out the same. They always seem so pleased with other people getting gifts and in making their own - I must be getting something right!

Dont feel bad or try to justify it, Its what works for you and your family. I actualy did the same thing with my children until my youngest was 7. Now that there older they dont get a present but they get the same goody bag as every other kid. Also the presents were NOT given at the same time as the bday child, but a little bit before. Ours was usually a 5 dollar limit for the non bday kid. All my girls were able to go to others parties and not get anything and still enjoyed it and were not upset one bit. As a matter of fact they were so excited to shop for the bday girl or boy that just going to the store was a huge thing for them.

[Amy Rose]

I dunno. The only time I got a present on someone else's birthday was when my aunt gave me a Pokemon so that I could play with the birthday boy (my cousin) who got a whole bunch of Pokemons.

It doesn't seem appropriate, but maybe Liz is really absent-minded, you know- she didn't think that there would be a problem.

[Athos_000]

Since Kate is 10 years old, I can't think of any reasonable excuse for why her mom did this. It is one thing to give your child a gift on the fly, it is quite another to wrap it up and present it to them at somebody else's birthday party! Weird.