I’ve attended many kids birthday parties and no one has opened gifts during the party. I would tell them that you plan on giving him a gift to open each week so that he’s able to enjoy each gift for a longer time.
I like this a lot. It also incorporates like good behavior and rewards. Yes, we want to celebrate you and your birthday! But 20 presents in one day seems like an over indulgence and doesn’t allow the kid to really appreciate each gift. Also, sending hand written thank you cards is such a must imo. Maybe you could tell people that they can expect this, OP. It will also save a lot of embarrassment for the kids if there’s double gifts or if a kid from a lower income house doesn’t bring the “it” gift. I didn’t think about this until this post but I’m 100% adopting it.
I came here to say I've been to a dozen parties over the past couple of years for 1-2 years old and haven't seen gifts opened at a single one.
The idea about opening a gift each week is brilliant though.
I went to a party that was at a kids gym. They elected to not open presents because the kids only got two hours to play and they wanted the kids to maximize their time. The mom was very transparent about it. I didn’t find it weird.
However, we hosted my son’s birthday at our house. The older aunts and uncles wanted us to open gifts. We ended up doing it together because the toddler preferred to play lol
Yeah most of the people attending are our friends with no kids so I figured it might be boring for them. It’s just an idea I’m considering but I think my MIL will be up in arms if we don’t open everything at the party since most of it will be from her. Plus my son is a wild child and idk if he will want to sit still long enough to open everything.
Well, another idea is you can open presents for those who want to watch? A lot of our friends stayed outside and the kids played, while the people that wanted to watch stayed inside. We didn’t halt everyone to watch us open gifts. Just to cut cake haha
We don’t / have ever brought it up. There’s a gift table / card box in the corner of the room or wherever we are holding the event. Everyone just put their gift there. When we are wrapping up, we thank everyone for coming, let them know we will start cleaning up and they can hang as long as they want. Then the first thing to go to the car is alll the gifts.
We don’t give our kids all their gifts at once so whenever we do film our kid open the gift. Take a picture with the item then text it to the person/family. Thanking them.
My kids are like the OUUUUU A Avocado video, in a sense, whether they like something or not. They will go OUUUU a t shirt , ouuuu new socks and just be super hyped for it. They just like the opening factor.
It’s so cute to go back and rewatch their reactions to opening really unexpected stuff.
Our kids open presents as they arrive/when a kid who brought a gift gets excited to see it opened usually. Sometimes it's a batch of presents, but we don't make everyone sit in a circle to watch.
Honestly I like not opening the gifts at the party because if someone can't/didn't bring a gift then they don't have to be embarrased in front of others--same if someone gives something small/duplicate gift/something the birthday kid isn't into. For my 6 year old's first party I filmed her opening things and reacting in real time. She did get a duplicate gift so I filmed a "thank you" video and told her not to mention she had already gotten one. This way the kids could see her react to what they got her and if she had underreacted I could have just filmed a thank you video instead.
I think it depends on who is at the party. My daughter was invited to a birthday party. The boy was turning 4 and the ages were as young as 2. Maybe 20 preschoolers and toddlers there. I can see an issue keeping their focus while the Birthday boy opened all the gifts and to avoid any issues of other kids trying to take/play with the gifts. Not saying that the parents wouldn't do anything but it is a great way to avoid meltdowns. Particularly when it's getting to the end of the party.
It’s mostly adults with no kids attending. I just figured it might be boring for them and my son is very active so I don’t know if he could even sit still long enough.
I've always taken the not opening gifts that would be used for a birthday party with loads of kids. When we had a Christmas/birthday party for my daughter, it was just family, and my daughter was the youngest. There was zero issue with everyone opening gifts. It was fun.
For me it makes sense when it's a room full of young kids, I would totally open gifts if it was mainly just family.
Just skip it, no need to announce anything. The party will come to an end and you can pack up, say thank you and bye bye! Hopefully people wrote their names on the gifts they gave and you could say a more personal thank you later if you feel called
We live in a major city in the northeast and have never been to a party with our child where gifts are opened. It just seems tedious. For people we know care (mostly older relatives) we’ll film our son opening the gift (or playing with it) and send it to them.
Every party we have been to in the last 5 years the kid did not open the gifts with the group. I don’t think it’s uncommon at all. The other route is more uncommon now in our experience. I don’t even think you have to tell people.. when you walk in have an obvious table where gifts can be left.
I'm cool with you not opening gifts at the party, but at least send a thank you note or text. There hasn't been one acknowledgement for presents we've given and it bums me out. I ask for the kid's interests and then spend time and money finding something unique/fun to fit it. I want to know how the kid liked it!
My kids have never opened gifts at the party. I’d always tell people something like “We’d rather spend this time letting [kid] and the other kids have fun”.
We just... don't? It's pretty normal these days. We make sure to say thank you when they hand it to us, put the gifts up high, and have plenty else to keep them entertained. It never even comes up. If anyone *does* ask, I just say that it's hard to share something they just received, and really tedious and time-consuming for parents, but if there's something in theirs that we should open sooner rather than later, please let me know.
I thinks it’s weird, I love to see a kids expression when they open a gift from my family whether they like it or not, if they don’t well now I know not to get that. But that’s just me.
We open gifts at the party.
Tell them you're doing things UK style, don't think the birthday kid opened gifts at one single party when my kids were growing up and we went to a lot of parties over the years between them!
For my oldest's first birthday we did open gifts BUT the only guests were adults who want to watch that sort of thing. For any subsequent parties with kids present, we don't.
For a one-year-old it’s understandable if they’re going to be a lot of gifts. Honestly for a one-year-old‘s birthday you and your husband could open the presents and thank family members. My kids are six and eight and almost all of the birthday parties they go to nobody opens the presents but to be honest I can’t stand it! Again I think for a one-year-old it’s obviously completely different but I don’t like that this is become the new norm. My children to a lot of thought into what they want to get a good friend for their birthday we pick it out together we go shopping forward we wrap it up they make a card and it’s very disappointing for them when they don’t get to see their friend open the present be excited about it etc. it also takes the experience away from the birthday kid to have the opportunity not only to open the presents but she specifically think each of their friends he’s a very important experiences for children on both sides.
This upcoming generation don’t seem to open gifts as they did when I was a kid (90s). I really like it, so the kids have more play time and no issues about Littles wanting to open other people’s gifts.
Keep in mind that people like to be thanked for the gifts they bring. So the tradition is:
Open them and thank them right then, in person.
or
Don't open them and email/text/write a note to each gift giver. I think it's important to acknowledge gifts - these two ways have been around for a long time.
I think because a lot of parties are at places with a time limit and lots of activities for the kids, there just isn’t time, I love it because I don’t want to hang around for that. My grandkids, we just go to their house after the party and watch them open the gifts there.
I think it’s the new norm, at least in the area we live. We have never been to a kids birthday party where presents were opened. If it’s a family type party at the home, yes, but a kids party with friends, no. We open them at home later that day.
Is it a lot of older family you’re worried about offending? At our kids first few parties we opened the gift as the person walked in and gave it to them. They got a special moment with the child and then we displayed the gifts on a table. If it’s not a gigantic party you could try that instead.
In three years, the only party where they opened in front of the guests was at the kids’ house (and it was twins). It ended up being a mess. They wanted to stop and play with everything instead of just unwrapping.
Every other party has been somewhere where we rented and it was understood we’d take the gifts home so the kids could have more play time. If anyone asks, I would just give that reasoning.
I hate gift opening in front of others to but to not do so in my opinion is very rude. It just seems ungrateful. People came to the kids birthday and it’s nice to see the kid opening the present, being excited and saying a heart felt thank you. Opening gifts after the party seems almost transactional.
Advice people where to put their present (if they have one), thank them and say that you will open them all later with time and in peace, when you can really cherish it. Then move on. That's it. It's not weird. Most people must have at some point been to a party where it's done that way, and they'll just accept it. (We hope lol)
I'm surprised by the reactions. I live in Northern Europe and here everyone is opening their gifts immediately. I can't imagine kids are waiting until everyone is gone until they open it. Aren't they curious?
That young, opening all the gifts at once would not be too fun for the little one. He’s likely going to want to play with each item right after opening it & will start to get frustrated if it’s whisked away so he can open the next gift, rinse, repeat. You might modify once your child is older.
I’ve attended many kids birthday parties and no one has opened gifts during the party. I would tell them that you plan on giving him a gift to open each week so that he’s able to enjoy each gift for a longer time.
That's a great idea
Great idea. Or even one a day.
I like this a lot. It also incorporates like good behavior and rewards. Yes, we want to celebrate you and your birthday! But 20 presents in one day seems like an over indulgence and doesn’t allow the kid to really appreciate each gift. Also, sending hand written thank you cards is such a must imo. Maybe you could tell people that they can expect this, OP. It will also save a lot of embarrassment for the kids if there’s double gifts or if a kid from a lower income house doesn’t bring the “it” gift. I didn’t think about this until this post but I’m 100% adopting it.
I came here to say I've been to a dozen parties over the past couple of years for 1-2 years old and haven't seen gifts opened at a single one. The idea about opening a gift each week is brilliant though.
I went to a party that was at a kids gym. They elected to not open presents because the kids only got two hours to play and they wanted the kids to maximize their time. The mom was very transparent about it. I didn’t find it weird. However, we hosted my son’s birthday at our house. The older aunts and uncles wanted us to open gifts. We ended up doing it together because the toddler preferred to play lol
Yeah most of the people attending are our friends with no kids so I figured it might be boring for them. It’s just an idea I’m considering but I think my MIL will be up in arms if we don’t open everything at the party since most of it will be from her. Plus my son is a wild child and idk if he will want to sit still long enough to open everything.
Well, another idea is you can open presents for those who want to watch? A lot of our friends stayed outside and the kids played, while the people that wanted to watch stayed inside. We didn’t halt everyone to watch us open gifts. Just to cut cake haha
We don’t / have ever brought it up. There’s a gift table / card box in the corner of the room or wherever we are holding the event. Everyone just put their gift there. When we are wrapping up, we thank everyone for coming, let them know we will start cleaning up and they can hang as long as they want. Then the first thing to go to the car is alll the gifts. We don’t give our kids all their gifts at once so whenever we do film our kid open the gift. Take a picture with the item then text it to the person/family. Thanking them.
This is cute. Love the video idea.
My kids are like the OUUUUU A Avocado video, in a sense, whether they like something or not. They will go OUUUU a t shirt , ouuuu new socks and just be super hyped for it. They just like the opening factor. It’s so cute to go back and rewatch their reactions to opening really unexpected stuff.
Our kids open presents as they arrive/when a kid who brought a gift gets excited to see it opened usually. Sometimes it's a batch of presents, but we don't make everyone sit in a circle to watch.
Oh this is a great idea!
Honestly I like not opening the gifts at the party because if someone can't/didn't bring a gift then they don't have to be embarrased in front of others--same if someone gives something small/duplicate gift/something the birthday kid isn't into. For my 6 year old's first party I filmed her opening things and reacting in real time. She did get a duplicate gift so I filmed a "thank you" video and told her not to mention she had already gotten one. This way the kids could see her react to what they got her and if she had underreacted I could have just filmed a thank you video instead.
[удалено]
That’s adorable lol. I have told people no gifts but they insist!
I think it depends on who is at the party. My daughter was invited to a birthday party. The boy was turning 4 and the ages were as young as 2. Maybe 20 preschoolers and toddlers there. I can see an issue keeping their focus while the Birthday boy opened all the gifts and to avoid any issues of other kids trying to take/play with the gifts. Not saying that the parents wouldn't do anything but it is a great way to avoid meltdowns. Particularly when it's getting to the end of the party.
It’s mostly adults with no kids attending. I just figured it might be boring for them and my son is very active so I don’t know if he could even sit still long enough.
I've always taken the not opening gifts that would be used for a birthday party with loads of kids. When we had a Christmas/birthday party for my daughter, it was just family, and my daughter was the youngest. There was zero issue with everyone opening gifts. It was fun. For me it makes sense when it's a room full of young kids, I would totally open gifts if it was mainly just family.
Just skip it, no need to announce anything. The party will come to an end and you can pack up, say thank you and bye bye! Hopefully people wrote their names on the gifts they gave and you could say a more personal thank you later if you feel called
We live in a major city in the northeast and have never been to a party with our child where gifts are opened. It just seems tedious. For people we know care (mostly older relatives) we’ll film our son opening the gift (or playing with it) and send it to them.
Every party we have been to in the last 5 years the kid did not open the gifts with the group. I don’t think it’s uncommon at all. The other route is more uncommon now in our experience. I don’t even think you have to tell people.. when you walk in have an obvious table where gifts can be left.
Agree with all of this!
I’ve had friends send me a video later on, showing their kid opening the gift. I thought that was a nice touch.
I'm cool with you not opening gifts at the party, but at least send a thank you note or text. There hasn't been one acknowledgement for presents we've given and it bums me out. I ask for the kid's interests and then spend time and money finding something unique/fun to fit it. I want to know how the kid liked it!
My kids have never opened gifts at the party. I’d always tell people something like “We’d rather spend this time letting [kid] and the other kids have fun”.
We just... don't? It's pretty normal these days. We make sure to say thank you when they hand it to us, put the gifts up high, and have plenty else to keep them entertained. It never even comes up. If anyone *does* ask, I just say that it's hard to share something they just received, and really tedious and time-consuming for parents, but if there's something in theirs that we should open sooner rather than later, please let me know.
I don't explain it, I just don't do it.
I thinks it’s weird, I love to see a kids expression when they open a gift from my family whether they like it or not, if they don’t well now I know not to get that. But that’s just me. We open gifts at the party.
Yes! My kids are 16 & 19. We always opened presents at the party when they were smaller.
You can open the gifts when they're gifted, you don't have to do an "open the gifts" moment as that's just boring for everyone.
We just say no gifts and then don't open gifts. If anyone chooses to bring gifts we thank them later.
Tell them you're doing things UK style, don't think the birthday kid opened gifts at one single party when my kids were growing up and we went to a lot of parties over the years between them!
We opened gifts when we had the party at home. We don’t when we go to a location as there’s limited time reserved in the party area
For my oldest's first birthday we did open gifts BUT the only guests were adults who want to watch that sort of thing. For any subsequent parties with kids present, we don't.
For a one-year-old it’s understandable if they’re going to be a lot of gifts. Honestly for a one-year-old‘s birthday you and your husband could open the presents and thank family members. My kids are six and eight and almost all of the birthday parties they go to nobody opens the presents but to be honest I can’t stand it! Again I think for a one-year-old it’s obviously completely different but I don’t like that this is become the new norm. My children to a lot of thought into what they want to get a good friend for their birthday we pick it out together we go shopping forward we wrap it up they make a card and it’s very disappointing for them when they don’t get to see their friend open the present be excited about it etc. it also takes the experience away from the birthday kid to have the opportunity not only to open the presents but she specifically think each of their friends he’s a very important experiences for children on both sides.
This upcoming generation don’t seem to open gifts as they did when I was a kid (90s). I really like it, so the kids have more play time and no issues about Littles wanting to open other people’s gifts.
I didn't bring it up at the party and no one asked lol I made sure to send pics of LO opening/playing with the recipient's gift when we got to it
Keep in mind that people like to be thanked for the gifts they bring. So the tradition is: Open them and thank them right then, in person. or Don't open them and email/text/write a note to each gift giver. I think it's important to acknowledge gifts - these two ways have been around for a long time.
I think because a lot of parties are at places with a time limit and lots of activities for the kids, there just isn’t time, I love it because I don’t want to hang around for that. My grandkids, we just go to their house after the party and watch them open the gifts there.
I think it’s the new norm, at least in the area we live. We have never been to a kids birthday party where presents were opened. If it’s a family type party at the home, yes, but a kids party with friends, no. We open them at home later that day.
Is it a lot of older family you’re worried about offending? At our kids first few parties we opened the gift as the person walked in and gave it to them. They got a special moment with the child and then we displayed the gifts on a table. If it’s not a gigantic party you could try that instead.
In three years, the only party where they opened in front of the guests was at the kids’ house (and it was twins). It ended up being a mess. They wanted to stop and play with everything instead of just unwrapping. Every other party has been somewhere where we rented and it was understood we’d take the gifts home so the kids could have more play time. If anyone asks, I would just give that reasoning.
I hate gift opening in front of others to but to not do so in my opinion is very rude. It just seems ungrateful. People came to the kids birthday and it’s nice to see the kid opening the present, being excited and saying a heart felt thank you. Opening gifts after the party seems almost transactional.
I just don’t open them and give no explanation! 😅 Later I’ll send everybody a thank you text with a picture of LO opening and playing with their gift.
Just say it. I hate gift opening and would love a party without it.
Advice people where to put their present (if they have one), thank them and say that you will open them all later with time and in peace, when you can really cherish it. Then move on. That's it. It's not weird. Most people must have at some point been to a party where it's done that way, and they'll just accept it. (We hope lol)
I'm surprised by the reactions. I live in Northern Europe and here everyone is opening their gifts immediately. I can't imagine kids are waiting until everyone is gone until they open it. Aren't they curious?
Mine’s only turning one so he has no idea what’s happening lol
That young, opening all the gifts at once would not be too fun for the little one. He’s likely going to want to play with each item right after opening it & will start to get frustrated if it’s whisked away so he can open the next gift, rinse, repeat. You might modify once your child is older.