No Gifts.
What does this really mean? Since C just had her first birthday a few months ago, she doesn’t have any friends’ birthday parties we’ve been invited to for me to compare with. I have only seen No Gifts on the invitations (evite, printed) from my sister and from one of my sister-in-laws.
I asked my sister why No Gifts? Doesn’t she want her child to have fun opening gifts and being surprised? Sure, the attention span for each toy may be a few minutes, but it’s a few minutes of joy. My sister also commented they have no room for stuff. Perhaps that is the reason. If so, then an option may be for the (brand-new) toys (or clothes) to be donated to a charity. Child gets fun of opening gifts, perhaps picking one or two favorite ones, and learning about donating to others.
My nephew’s 1st birthday is coming up in a few months, and the other day, my sister commented to me “No Gifts.” I said that I would get a gift anyway (as I always do) and my sister commented “I know you will.” Is it wrong to ignore the No Gift rule? I love shopping and picking out the perfect thing (in my opinion) for the child. For all of my nieces and nephews, I ask what is needed.
If I followed the No Gift rule, would my sister (or sister-in-law) get offended if I didn’t get a gift? Is that No Gift rule only for friends? Or, would my sister or sister-in-law expect the same rule applied for C’s birthdays? Luckily, I have another sister-in-law who has never used the No Gift rule for her daughter’s birthdays.
But still, I don’t understand it. Is it rude to bring a gift if the invite says No Gifts?
I wonder if I will see more “No Gifts” on invites as C gets older and gets invited to friends’ parties. At that point, is it expected that if a gift is not given to a friend, the same is expected in the reverse situation?
All I know is that for C, opening gifts from family and friends will always be a part of her birthdays!
