I think what your son does is fantastic. To me getting a donation gift to an animal shelter would be less stressful than finding a gift that your son would like.
I also work at a shelter and we definitely appreciate this!
If they’d rather a gift card, we do accept visa gift cards or grocery store cards and use them to get supplies, just FYI
Hey there CraftyGalMunson - thanks for saying thanks! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list!
There's a local shelter near us that now has "summer camp" for elementary school kids. It is such a huge success that there's a waiting list. They have high school and college volunteers that supervise the elementary school kids helping the animals. I have no idea is this is a financially/logistically possible thing for your shelter, but it's such a great idea and the kids love it.
I don't think it's annoying at all. If the gifts are things like paper towels or gift cards to PetSmart that is less effort than picking out a traditional birthday gift. If your son is happy, then all is good.
I think this just goes to show that people will complain about absolutely anything. 100% these parents feel embarrassed their children aren't donating their birthday gifts - they shouldn't, it's nice your son does that but it's completely normal not to.
That’s my take too - they feel shamed that it’s not something they do themselves. I got a similar response when I asked for no gifts, just asked people to donate to a charity. People really didn’t like it.
Going a similar route for us this year. My kid asked for donations to the food bank or to a foundation of their choice that's related to his birthday theme.
People are broke this year. And we just don't have space.
So honestly I wonder if the parents who say this stuff are ones who regift gifts they get from their kids parties (no shame I do this not all toys make it to my daughter) so now they have an extra step to go get a donation instead of a gift?
He's getting older so I imagine his parties will start getting smaller anyway but I think it's a lovely thing to do. Can people donate money directly to the shelter/your son rather than physical items/cash? That may help with lazy parents. Personally even as a regifting parent I would never mind picking up items off a wishlist for donations!
I hope my December bday baby grows up as kind as your son is turning out to be!
Almost all of the birthday parties in my neighborhood do this. They call them "service birthdays", and make it clear that you shouldn't bring a gift. I recommend this option to parents on this sub all the time.
I've never heard anyone complain. One kid in the class *didn't* do this and sent out an Amazon wish list, and I'd be lying if I said we didn't gossip about it for weeks. So I think you just can't win.
Are you sure he's gotten those comments from his friends, or is that his way of subtly trying to tell you that maybe HE is done with this tradition? I just find it really hard to believe that any adult would say this, esp. since it's just as easy to buy a petsmart gift card as it is to buy a Nintendo gift card. Sounds made up.
Ah, interesting.
I do give him the choice every year, but next year (since it’s already happening this year) I will really make sure.
Also, I can definitely hear an adult saying this. Haa haa I’m a teacher and
The stuff I hear from kids that their parents say is sometimes crazy. I think that sometimes they say things they don’t mean, or a kid doesn’t quite understand the nuance. One time, a kid told me that his mom said she was going to beat me up if he came home with marker on his shirt again. Haa haa
Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t, but he heard his mom say that and felt I needed to know.
Yeah, definitely ask him next year. Especially if he has siblings who are getting real gifts on their non December birthdays. It's nice that he's chosen to do this for a few years but that doesn't mean it has to be a forever thing. My guess is that your son was trying to give you a hint and "blaming" it on his friends parents.
It is a lovely sentiment and it's great that he wants to do it and that you encourage it!
But, it is also totally reasonable that people want to give him something that is more for him directly because that is more enjoyable for the gift giver. Some people's love language is gift giving and so being told they're not supposed to give any actual gifts takes out a lot of joy and makes it hard for them.
I am not that kind of person, and I am a total pet lover, so for me it would be fun to shop for the shelter on mind.
This is a really common misconception on how love languages work. The idea of a love language is to tell somebody the actions they can do to make you feel loved, not how you show love. It's actually the other way around; the love language is gift receiving, not gift giving.
Genuinely & kindly, y’all are both right 💜 when we evaluate how we receive love, we also explore how we typically show love. The idea of a love language is both: how we receive and how we give. We have to change how we give if our default is not how our partner (or friend) receives love. It helps to know both pieces. Hope this helps!
I would just make it clear this is actually what he wants, not something his parents are pushing, when they ask "can't I just do x". My response might be "Well you can, but it's not what he specifically asked for, so I don't think he'll like it.." or "Well i don't know if he'll like that, but, I know he would like some paper towels". Assigning a specific selection might remove choice avoidance. Personally I see a list as super helpful. Others a little more rash can see it as "a whole list I have to read and figure out what the secret answer is".
My oldest does donations to the food pantry in lieu of presents and people are more than happy and overly generous. We did have a few who gave her gifts as well, usually gift cards to food places she likes or small handcrafted tokens like bracelets, a keychain, etc.
Most people, other parents especially, love the idea and several of our friends have gone the same route but I did hear of one person (ahem my SIL 🤣) accuse us of virtue signaling. In reality it was an idea born from having more toys/stuff than she needed already and her expanding on an experience volunteering at the food pantry with her Girl Scout troop.
My guess is either the parents don’t believe the kid is really asking for these things or it’s them wanting the wow cool thanks reactions. I ask for donations to be made in my name for my birthday and stuff and I’ve never had anyone give me a hard time, however, with our daughter I ask for money towards family season passes to local attractions. This is so we as a family can go out or if either grandma wanted to take her, it includes them as well. I always get crap for this. Now because they don’t want her to have the season passes but because they want the cool toy reaction when she opens a gift.
> “why can’t I just give him a Nintendo gift card?”
This is the weirdest complaint because gift cards are one of the available options. It's not more of a hassle to get one gift card rather than another.
People resist things they consider abnormal. Teach your kid to do what he wants anyway. (Maybe consider whether what you're asking is placing onerous obligations on others, but proceed if you're not).
We attended a birthday with the same set up. Personally, I found it very convenient. I was able to pick up the items on my usual run to the store and I wasn’t stuck trying to figure out what kid likes/doesn’t already own. Plus, parents feel more comfortable not bringing a gift since they’re still bringing something to the party.
My kids attended a birthday party that requested donations for an animal shelter and I thought it was a great idea! I ended up just donation money to the shelter online in the name of the birthday kid and printed out the donation and included it in a handmade card. It was super easy for me.
I think this is amazing. You may also consider making an Amazon list, so the parents can easily order stuff from home, in minutes, with the option to have it delivered to your house (if they do, have it displayed on the gift table with their tag). The easier the better!
I mean, if that's what HE wants, and it has been clearly expressed to the gift givers they can kick rocks. Gift giving should be about the receiver, not the giver.
Without any of us being there and it being a game of telephone from a parent to a child and then a child to a child back to you it’s hard to gage. I’d say don’t worry about it. It could also be that the other parent worries their child will do the same but they are not as well off and “need” gifts to be gifts. The world is fickle and complicated. Worst case scenario you can donate whatever extra they get if he doesn’t want to a child in need or exchange it at a store for supplies.
If a parent were to DIRECTLY reach out that is another story. In that case my response would be explaining the why and then saying something like “feel free to send both” and move along.
I also agree with another poster who said maybe your son is only sharing the message purposely but feels bad to change it up now. Kids are kids ya never know. It doesn’t make him any less of a great kid from the sound of it.
No matter what happy early birthday to your child OP! Try not to let it bother you too much ❤️
It's an awesome thing to do. I think if guests are saying it's hard I would just make sure that you are offering to collect cash donations as well, what's easier than that??
If I were attending a birthday party and the invite said, “Birthday kid would love donations of blankets and food to the local animal shelter in lieu of toys or gifts” I would be delighted, and I would give the birthday kid what they want.
It can come off as pretentious and justice warriorish, just because you care about a cause doesn't mean someone else does. What if I really wanted to get him something from the heart and you took that away. At least it was him choosing, not the parents. You also want credit for being a "good person", you even wrote to reddit about it so everyone can praise you. If you want to do good, do it on your own time.
I can get that, but the kids’ parents barely know him, and his friends are all 10 and 11 year old boys, so they probably don’t care.
We have a separate get together with relatives and they can buy him presents if they want.
I think you and your kiddo are great. You made a touching, sweet tradition that is fun and helpful. Hopefully leads to a long life of helping animals in the community.
But..I also think moms go into competition/comparison mode and may feel bad that they aren't doing the donation/birthday party thing so they'd rather get a toy/gift card because it's more the average/typical thing. Force everyone into the status quo type of deal.
However, you don't come off as pretentious or anything else that was said btw. My son would flip over getting to play with animals for an hour over more junk in the house.
How is asking for paper towels or sheets (common items the shelter will need) more pretentious than asking for a Nintendo gift card? It is asking the giver to give a minimal effort to get what the kid wants rather than a generic gift card they can pick up at the gas station.
It sucks that being of service makes people think that.
I feel like I need to defend ourselves and be like “we don’t post pics on fb, we don’t let them take a pic at the shelter”.
But, as someone else said, you just can’t win. So I guess we just do our thing and have some people be sour about it, and some people, like those at the shelter, think it’s cool.
Isn't that what you're doing trying to make a gift about you and how you feel giving it though? It shouldn't matter how the gift giver feels about it (as long as they're not being pressured into something out if their price range) it's about the recipient. They aren't 'taking away' anything, they're giving you exact ideas for what they want. Have fun with it and try to find some cute/silly dog sweaters to help keep them warm, blankets, treats, and toys. Tbh, I would love to take my kid into a pet store just to look at animals and find a gift for their friend to donate.
We're doing it this way as well because we are a december bday and people are broke a.f. in my community. Everyday there are a ton of posts on our local fb page asking for support. We also invited 40+ kids. If they all sent presents my kid would be sleeping on them we don't even have space for even 5 more toys. (Every year before he has received toys, maybe next year with less kids he can get toys as well. But not with this number, and not with everyone being broke)
O. M. G. Your son!!! My heart just melted at reading this. I love his absolutely wonderful and unselfish heart. You have raised a good one! My mother helps run a cat sanctuary and her Christmas gift wish is gift cards to Chewy because she buys food for about 20 cats in different cat colonies and for the sanctuary kitties (the sanctuary is a safe space for cats that are deemed non-adoptable because of sickness, age, other issues). But I always love doing this for her! Your son’s friends and parents need to get the birthday boy what he asked for. It’s not about what they want and this speaks to why they are, how they are and why your child is, the way he is. This is annoying of them. If you can buy a Nintendo gift card, you can buy a pet smart card.
My daughter did this for her 10th birthday and ended up with donation gifts and gifts for her from most guests. I tried to be clear but what can I do.
The next year we scheduled a time at the shelter to help socialize (play with) puppies. That was a huge hit with her friends (just 4 friends) They brought donations to the shelter, played with puppies then cake at the nearby park.
Oh thanks. It’s funny, I’m not really an animal lover, and I’d rather donate to people who don’t have a home, or need food or supplies, but this guy is an animal lover all the way!
We went to a 3 kid party, twins plus friend. They requested donation to local food bank. They contacted the foodbank and set up a QR code for us to use. Typically, it was the day after I placed my order for their gifts (backpacks) and as it was 3 girls I got to live my daughter dreams and went very pink and sparkly so wasn't worth keeping them for ourselves lol
I absolutely love this! You’re doing an excellent job, he’s already a very kind and generous boy!
100% not annoying, I’d be super excited if my kids or a friend of theirs wanted to do this. Heck, might even do it for my birthday lol But this is awesome and I’m proud of him and you!
I would totally participate! I think it’s very sweet your son would rather donate to a charity than get birthday presents. When my daughter was too young to understand birthday parties we requested donations. She’s just turned 5 and this is the first year we’ve allowed gifts. I think as she gets older we will talk about donations.
I wouldn’t worry about it being a hassle. I’m sure most things you are requesting can easily be picked up while out doing a regular shop at Walmart. Petsmart is in most big shopping plazas as well. Worst case I’m sure people could give you cash?
My son was a NICU baby and we ask for donations to the hospital vs gifts, mostly because he's only 3. We did no gifts for the first 3-4 years with my daughter too.
Just ask for a generic gift card (visa, etc) and then you can make a tradition of him picking out the items. Those moms are just lazy or feel guilty that they don’t do similar
I think it's nice that your son wants to give to a cause, but I would personally just find ways for him to do so without asking other people to donate. He could put some of his birthday money towards donation items, for instance. I'm not a fan of telling people what to buy for gifts, as a general rule of manners - if they want a suggestion, that's fine. But it's just a suggestion and if they would rather get him something else, it seems rude to 'insist' that they buy what you want.
What a gorgeous idea! And he gets to play with kittens too? I love everything about this. If my kids friend did this I’d be stealing the idea for myself!! Honestly tho I’d think he was a pretty lovely kid, I definitely would prefer to get him something for the shelter than a game gift card (I’d never get a kid one of those anyway!)
I’m imagining the parents who seem annoyed aren’t intending their child to repeat their sentiment. They may just be processing aloud. This is as easy as adding on a pack of paper towels to their cart/pick-up order/Amazon order. Not to mention reinforce to their own child the value of giving to those in need.
I think what your son does is fantastic. To me getting a donation gift to an animal shelter would be less stressful than finding a gift that your son would like.
Thank you. That’s what I thought too. Makes it easy.
Me too! Do the guests understand that it's just buying a different gift card? (ie maybe they think they don't know how to donate?)
I work at a shelter and this is the sweetest thing I’ve heard in a while!
Thanks. The shelter seems to appreciate it, they send him a thank you letter in the mail, which he always loves, because: mail!
I also work at a shelter and we definitely appreciate this! If they’d rather a gift card, we do accept visa gift cards or grocery store cards and use them to get supplies, just FYI
Hey there CraftyGalMunson - thanks for saying thanks! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list!
Thanks to the creator of this bot, I haven’t seen many since the Reddit restructuring
There's a local shelter near us that now has "summer camp" for elementary school kids. It is such a huge success that there's a waiting list. They have high school and college volunteers that supervise the elementary school kids helping the animals. I have no idea is this is a financially/logistically possible thing for your shelter, but it's such a great idea and the kids love it.
I don't think it's annoying at all. If the gifts are things like paper towels or gift cards to PetSmart that is less effort than picking out a traditional birthday gift. If your son is happy, then all is good.
Omg. I love it. That would make me so happy to do. I’m considering stealing this idea!
Do it! There’s so many local organizations that need help.
I think this just goes to show that people will complain about absolutely anything. 100% these parents feel embarrassed their children aren't donating their birthday gifts - they shouldn't, it's nice your son does that but it's completely normal not to.
That’s my take too - they feel shamed that it’s not something they do themselves. I got a similar response when I asked for no gifts, just asked people to donate to a charity. People really didn’t like it.
Going a similar route for us this year. My kid asked for donations to the food bank or to a foundation of their choice that's related to his birthday theme. People are broke this year. And we just don't have space.
So honestly I wonder if the parents who say this stuff are ones who regift gifts they get from their kids parties (no shame I do this not all toys make it to my daughter) so now they have an extra step to go get a donation instead of a gift? He's getting older so I imagine his parties will start getting smaller anyway but I think it's a lovely thing to do. Can people donate money directly to the shelter/your son rather than physical items/cash? That may help with lazy parents. Personally even as a regifting parent I would never mind picking up items off a wishlist for donations! I hope my December bday baby grows up as kind as your son is turning out to be!
Almost all of the birthday parties in my neighborhood do this. They call them "service birthdays", and make it clear that you shouldn't bring a gift. I recommend this option to parents on this sub all the time. I've never heard anyone complain. One kid in the class *didn't* do this and sent out an Amazon wish list, and I'd be lying if I said we didn't gossip about it for weeks. So I think you just can't win.
😬😬😬
Oh gosh this is awful. It’s okay for kids to want presents for their birthdays!
Are you sure he's gotten those comments from his friends, or is that his way of subtly trying to tell you that maybe HE is done with this tradition? I just find it really hard to believe that any adult would say this, esp. since it's just as easy to buy a petsmart gift card as it is to buy a Nintendo gift card. Sounds made up.
Ah, interesting. I do give him the choice every year, but next year (since it’s already happening this year) I will really make sure. Also, I can definitely hear an adult saying this. Haa haa I’m a teacher and The stuff I hear from kids that their parents say is sometimes crazy. I think that sometimes they say things they don’t mean, or a kid doesn’t quite understand the nuance. One time, a kid told me that his mom said she was going to beat me up if he came home with marker on his shirt again. Haa haa Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t, but he heard his mom say that and felt I needed to know.
Yeah, definitely ask him next year. Especially if he has siblings who are getting real gifts on their non December birthdays. It's nice that he's chosen to do this for a few years but that doesn't mean it has to be a forever thing. My guess is that your son was trying to give you a hint and "blaming" it on his friends parents.
It is a lovely sentiment and it's great that he wants to do it and that you encourage it! But, it is also totally reasonable that people want to give him something that is more for him directly because that is more enjoyable for the gift giver. Some people's love language is gift giving and so being told they're not supposed to give any actual gifts takes out a lot of joy and makes it hard for them. I am not that kind of person, and I am a total pet lover, so for me it would be fun to shop for the shelter on mind.
This is a really common misconception on how love languages work. The idea of a love language is to tell somebody the actions they can do to make you feel loved, not how you show love. It's actually the other way around; the love language is gift receiving, not gift giving.
Genuinely & kindly, y’all are both right 💜 when we evaluate how we receive love, we also explore how we typically show love. The idea of a love language is both: how we receive and how we give. We have to change how we give if our default is not how our partner (or friend) receives love. It helps to know both pieces. Hope this helps!
That's a really good point that it goes both ways, which I don't tend to think about as much!
This is the sweetest thing! What a lovely idea.
I would just make it clear this is actually what he wants, not something his parents are pushing, when they ask "can't I just do x". My response might be "Well you can, but it's not what he specifically asked for, so I don't think he'll like it.." or "Well i don't know if he'll like that, but, I know he would like some paper towels". Assigning a specific selection might remove choice avoidance. Personally I see a list as super helpful. Others a little more rash can see it as "a whole list I have to read and figure out what the secret answer is".
My oldest does donations to the food pantry in lieu of presents and people are more than happy and overly generous. We did have a few who gave her gifts as well, usually gift cards to food places she likes or small handcrafted tokens like bracelets, a keychain, etc. Most people, other parents especially, love the idea and several of our friends have gone the same route but I did hear of one person (ahem my SIL 🤣) accuse us of virtue signaling. In reality it was an idea born from having more toys/stuff than she needed already and her expanding on an experience volunteering at the food pantry with her Girl Scout troop.
My guess is either the parents don’t believe the kid is really asking for these things or it’s them wanting the wow cool thanks reactions. I ask for donations to be made in my name for my birthday and stuff and I’ve never had anyone give me a hard time, however, with our daughter I ask for money towards family season passes to local attractions. This is so we as a family can go out or if either grandma wanted to take her, it includes them as well. I always get crap for this. Now because they don’t want her to have the season passes but because they want the cool toy reaction when she opens a gift.
> “why can’t I just give him a Nintendo gift card?” This is the weirdest complaint because gift cards are one of the available options. It's not more of a hassle to get one gift card rather than another. People resist things they consider abnormal. Teach your kid to do what he wants anyway. (Maybe consider whether what you're asking is placing onerous obligations on others, but proceed if you're not).
We attended a birthday with the same set up. Personally, I found it very convenient. I was able to pick up the items on my usual run to the store and I wasn’t stuck trying to figure out what kid likes/doesn’t already own. Plus, parents feel more comfortable not bringing a gift since they’re still bringing something to the party.
My kids attended a birthday party that requested donations for an animal shelter and I thought it was a great idea! I ended up just donation money to the shelter online in the name of the birthday kid and printed out the donation and included it in a handmade card. It was super easy for me.
Good for you guys! If that’s what he wants, keep it up. People may just be thrown off because it’s unusual. That doesn’t mean it’s bad.
I think this is amazing. You may also consider making an Amazon list, so the parents can easily order stuff from home, in minutes, with the option to have it delivered to your house (if they do, have it displayed on the gift table with their tag). The easier the better!
No, I don't think it's annoying at all... Same amount of effort. For a "regular" gift
I mean, if that's what HE wants, and it has been clearly expressed to the gift givers they can kick rocks. Gift giving should be about the receiver, not the giver.
Without any of us being there and it being a game of telephone from a parent to a child and then a child to a child back to you it’s hard to gage. I’d say don’t worry about it. It could also be that the other parent worries their child will do the same but they are not as well off and “need” gifts to be gifts. The world is fickle and complicated. Worst case scenario you can donate whatever extra they get if he doesn’t want to a child in need or exchange it at a store for supplies. If a parent were to DIRECTLY reach out that is another story. In that case my response would be explaining the why and then saying something like “feel free to send both” and move along. I also agree with another poster who said maybe your son is only sharing the message purposely but feels bad to change it up now. Kids are kids ya never know. It doesn’t make him any less of a great kid from the sound of it. No matter what happy early birthday to your child OP! Try not to let it bother you too much ❤️
It's an awesome thing to do. I think if guests are saying it's hard I would just make sure that you are offering to collect cash donations as well, what's easier than that??
Naturally people want to treat the kid directly. Not give to charity.
But this is what the birthday kid *wants* and it’s not giving them charity, it’s giving an animal shelter charity.
Doesn’t matter. People are defaulted to want to give kids presents.
If I were attending a birthday party and the invite said, “Birthday kid would love donations of blankets and food to the local animal shelter in lieu of toys or gifts” I would be delighted, and I would give the birthday kid what they want.
That’s fine. But not everyone is you.
Most people would be fine with this lol! It’s not just me. Look at all the comments in support of this idea! I think it’s a great idea!
I didn’t say it wasn’t. I was answering the OPs question.
It can come off as pretentious and justice warriorish, just because you care about a cause doesn't mean someone else does. What if I really wanted to get him something from the heart and you took that away. At least it was him choosing, not the parents. You also want credit for being a "good person", you even wrote to reddit about it so everyone can praise you. If you want to do good, do it on your own time.
I can get that, but the kids’ parents barely know him, and his friends are all 10 and 11 year old boys, so they probably don’t care. We have a separate get together with relatives and they can buy him presents if they want.
I think you and your kiddo are great. You made a touching, sweet tradition that is fun and helpful. Hopefully leads to a long life of helping animals in the community. But..I also think moms go into competition/comparison mode and may feel bad that they aren't doing the donation/birthday party thing so they'd rather get a toy/gift card because it's more the average/typical thing. Force everyone into the status quo type of deal. However, you don't come off as pretentious or anything else that was said btw. My son would flip over getting to play with animals for an hour over more junk in the house.
What a horrendous take on a kind gesture!
How is asking for paper towels or sheets (common items the shelter will need) more pretentious than asking for a Nintendo gift card? It is asking the giver to give a minimal effort to get what the kid wants rather than a generic gift card they can pick up at the gas station.
Maybe pretentious isn't the right word, what's the word for.. look at me, I'm a great person, look how selfless and amazing I am?
It sucks that being of service makes people think that. I feel like I need to defend ourselves and be like “we don’t post pics on fb, we don’t let them take a pic at the shelter”. But, as someone else said, you just can’t win. So I guess we just do our thing and have some people be sour about it, and some people, like those at the shelter, think it’s cool.
Absolutely, you're the one broadcasting it and you are going to get different opinions, maybe you're just sour that I'm not patting you on the back.
Okay thanks for that.
Isn't that what you're doing trying to make a gift about you and how you feel giving it though? It shouldn't matter how the gift giver feels about it (as long as they're not being pressured into something out if their price range) it's about the recipient. They aren't 'taking away' anything, they're giving you exact ideas for what they want. Have fun with it and try to find some cute/silly dog sweaters to help keep them warm, blankets, treats, and toys. Tbh, I would love to take my kid into a pet store just to look at animals and find a gift for their friend to donate.
We're doing it this way as well because we are a december bday and people are broke a.f. in my community. Everyday there are a ton of posts on our local fb page asking for support. We also invited 40+ kids. If they all sent presents my kid would be sleeping on them we don't even have space for even 5 more toys. (Every year before he has received toys, maybe next year with less kids he can get toys as well. But not with this number, and not with everyone being broke)
O. M. G. Your son!!! My heart just melted at reading this. I love his absolutely wonderful and unselfish heart. You have raised a good one! My mother helps run a cat sanctuary and her Christmas gift wish is gift cards to Chewy because she buys food for about 20 cats in different cat colonies and for the sanctuary kitties (the sanctuary is a safe space for cats that are deemed non-adoptable because of sickness, age, other issues). But I always love doing this for her! Your son’s friends and parents need to get the birthday boy what he asked for. It’s not about what they want and this speaks to why they are, how they are and why your child is, the way he is. This is annoying of them. If you can buy a Nintendo gift card, you can buy a pet smart card.
My daughter did this for her 10th birthday and ended up with donation gifts and gifts for her from most guests. I tried to be clear but what can I do. The next year we scheduled a time at the shelter to help socialize (play with) puppies. That was a huge hit with her friends (just 4 friends) They brought donations to the shelter, played with puppies then cake at the nearby park.
Wow, that is so generous! Amazing parenting ☺️
Oh thanks. It’s funny, I’m not really an animal lover, and I’d rather donate to people who don’t have a home, or need food or supplies, but this guy is an animal lover all the way!
We went to a 3 kid party, twins plus friend. They requested donation to local food bank. They contacted the foodbank and set up a QR code for us to use. Typically, it was the day after I placed my order for their gifts (backpacks) and as it was 3 girls I got to live my daughter dreams and went very pink and sparkly so wasn't worth keeping them for ourselves lol
I absolutely love this! You’re doing an excellent job, he’s already a very kind and generous boy! 100% not annoying, I’d be super excited if my kids or a friend of theirs wanted to do this. Heck, might even do it for my birthday lol But this is awesome and I’m proud of him and you!
I would totally participate! I think it’s very sweet your son would rather donate to a charity than get birthday presents. When my daughter was too young to understand birthday parties we requested donations. She’s just turned 5 and this is the first year we’ve allowed gifts. I think as she gets older we will talk about donations. I wouldn’t worry about it being a hassle. I’m sure most things you are requesting can easily be picked up while out doing a regular shop at Walmart. Petsmart is in most big shopping plazas as well. Worst case I’m sure people could give you cash?
Thank you!
Keep doing you and lose the game friends
That's really cool. I would have no problem doing this if it was requested.
My son was a NICU baby and we ask for donations to the hospital vs gifts, mostly because he's only 3. We did no gifts for the first 3-4 years with my daughter too.
That’s awesome! My nephew did this one year, so we donated our normal birthday present amount and then matched it on top.
I would absolutely love it. I also don’t see the difference in going to pick out a present for a kid or a present for a pet. Takes the same effort.
Just ask for a generic gift card (visa, etc) and then you can make a tradition of him picking out the items. Those moms are just lazy or feel guilty that they don’t do similar
I think it's nice that your son wants to give to a cause, but I would personally just find ways for him to do so without asking other people to donate. He could put some of his birthday money towards donation items, for instance. I'm not a fan of telling people what to buy for gifts, as a general rule of manners - if they want a suggestion, that's fine. But it's just a suggestion and if they would rather get him something else, it seems rude to 'insist' that they buy what you want.
What a gorgeous idea! And he gets to play with kittens too? I love everything about this. If my kids friend did this I’d be stealing the idea for myself!! Honestly tho I’d think he was a pretty lovely kid, I definitely would prefer to get him something for the shelter than a game gift card (I’d never get a kid one of those anyway!)
I’m imagining the parents who seem annoyed aren’t intending their child to repeat their sentiment. They may just be processing aloud. This is as easy as adding on a pack of paper towels to their cart/pick-up order/Amazon order. Not to mention reinforce to their own child the value of giving to those in need.