Do you follow @TheMotherOctopus on Instagram?
You should.
She is seriously hilarious.
I completely related to this post of hers after my 3 kids had been invited to 6 birthday parties between them in 1 month.
Don’t get me wrong…I love a good party and am all for celebrating with friends on their special day. I especially love that two hour break on a long Saturday but 6 parties in 1 month can get very expensive when you add up the cost of all the birthday gifts you have to buy. After looking at all the invitations I had that month I decided to give myself a $15 budget per present. (Call me cheap but momma’s got to send three boys to college one day). Here’s a list of my best go-to birthday gifts for a boy or girl under $15.
1. You can’t tell from the picture but this glider air plane is huge. It has a 4 foot wing span and can fly up to 150 in the right conditions. You can find it at Hobby Lobby and it’s pretty darn impressive when you wrap this huge present and walk in to a the party. Guaranteed to get a wow from all the kids. At only $10.99 it won’t break your gift budget. (Tip: I always pull up the 40% off coupon on my phone when I’m standing in line at Hobby Lobby for an added discount).
2. Bunch of Balloons are a hit for any kid, any age, any gender. You’ll never go back to old school water balloons that you have to fill one-at-a-time after using these. Watching 100 water balloons fill up in less than 60 seconds looks like some kind of magic trick.
3. Have you seen the science experiment where you drop Mentos in a 2 liter of Coke and it creates a Coke volcano? With the Mentos Geyser Tube you can count on the kids wanting to stop everything and beg to do the experiment right then and there.
4. The Stomp Rocket is one of those toys that will entertain kids for a long time. Whenever my boys go out in our cult-de-sac it attracts a lot of kids all wanting a turn to see how high in the air they can launch the foam rockets in to the air.
5. A Yard Of Bubblegum is another one of those gifts that will definitely have every kid at the party saying, “YOU’RE SO LUCKY!”. It literally is a tube a yard long filled with jumbo bubblegum balls. Show up with this gift and it will be the hit of the party. Whenever I’m at World Market I always but at least 5 at a time and keep them on hand for birthdays. Perfect for a boy or girl.
6. Slime is the trending item of the moment. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve spend way to much time watching people play with slime on Instagram. I don’t know why but it just sucks you in. Kids will love it (and likely their parents will as well).
7. If you’ve ever seen a Zoom-O on the store shelf you can’t help but push the button and spin the disks. They are so much fun to play with. I’ve yet to see one kid who doesn’t love these.
I’ve found that the best gifts for kids are those that are interactive. No clothes…(been there, done that…big mistake). Another tip, I always stay away from Nerf anything or Legos, they are popular gifts and inevitably they end of getting duplicates of them. Also, when I find a gift that is a great buy but also something that went over well in the past at other parties I will always buy multiples. It’s annoying to have to make a special trip just for a birthday gift each time you need one.
What birthday gifts have you found to be great for kids?
Hey there! I’m Michelle; I’m an Passionate DIY’er and in constant pursuit of how to bring beauty to my house full of men (3 boys + 1 hubby). Stick around and see what I’ve got up my hard-working sleaves!
The best idea I’ve seen for gifts is for everyone to bring a new, unwrapped toy that will make
its way to a local family shelter. The children there could REALLY use a new toy to help put a smile
on their face. Or, bring a donation of pet food that will be taken to a local pet shelter to help
defray costs.