Birthday Party Season is upon us.  Between now and the end of the month, we have something like 7-8 parties to go to, including but not limited to my own son’s.  And with each one comes the need to bring a gift.  Crikey.

Before Mr. B hit preschool, I used to include the “Please No Gifts” tag in his invitations.  Really, he doesn’t need more crap.  But then we started getting the invitations for school friends parties when they all started turning four.  We made the ignorant mistake of showing up to the first party empty handed, and that’s when I realized that not every kid has those kinds of gift-free parties.  The worst types of parties are the ones where the birthday kid sits there and opens all of their shiny presents in front of a bunch of drooly and nap-deprived toy coveters.  That one always ends badly.  Mr. B’s birthday is at the end of the school year, so when we finally had his party, I said “Screw it!” to the no gift policy and let the boy have his way.  Damn it, we’d spent hundreds of dollars on little gifts for the 20 or so parties we’d attended throughout the year, each one meaning a stressful trip to a toy store in which I had to explain to Mr. B that we were not there to buy something for him (I quickly learned my lesson and did most of the rest of the shopping on my own).  So, Mr. B could certainly have his day.  I really applaud the parents who stick to their guns and hold firm on this gift thing.  Out of the 15-20 invitations we’ve received to little kid parties this year, only three parents requested donations to charities in lieu of gifts.  To them, I stand and give an O Captain My Captain applause.  My kid?  He scowled and threw a fit when I suggested this.  Not in to giving, I guess, and I’m too much of a pushover to stand my ground.

With that in mind, I’ve run out of ideas.  What kind of toys do you enjoy giving to five year olds?  What’s the new IT toy?  That runs approximately $10-$15-$20?