It's simple...
Instead of presents, guests give one dollar for each year of the birthday age. So a 6 year old gets $6 from each guest and a 10 year old gets $10. By the end of the party, they count up their loot and use it to buy exactly the things they want (big or small).
The benefits
- Guests Save Money because the birthday child's age is generally less than they would spend on a gift.
- Guests Save Hassle because they don't have to spend time hunting for an appropriate gift.
- We all Save the Environment by purchasing and producing less waste in the form of doubled up and unwanted plastic toys and packaging.
- So Save the Date when you'll take your ecstatic birthday boy or girl on a shopping spree! With dollars enough to make them giddy, the buying power is all theirs - will it be that long awaited big-ticket item, or a cart full of fun-size goodies, either way there's no disappointment, and no waste.
They learn things too
Watch your kids happily hone their math skills as they count up their coins and plan their budget weighing up decisions along the way. Learning both the cost of things and the value of money, they'll take better care for things they've bought themselves and they'll revel in the autonomy.
In the press
Read the feature on Dollar Parties in LA Parent.