An alternative to a traditional birthday gift, that may be very welcomed by the kid’s parents, is a Savings Bond. Small children, especially children 2 and under, really don’t understand the difference between opening 2 gifts v. 15 gifts. But the parents will certainly notice a nice boost to the college fund, if instead of a small gift, you give a small bond toward the child’s future. The amount of the Savings Bond can be any amount really, in the end even the smallest amounts add up and make a difference!

Now, is it appropriate for parents to ask for money in lieu of a gift for their birthday kid? I don’t think all parents would be completely comfortable providing cash as a gift. As a result, if you are going to ask for money, then make it something like a Savings Bond that people may feel they can go out and purchase for your child that is giving something to their future. Directly asking for cash in birthday cards for your one year old may be offensive, unless it is common practice among your friends and family.

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I have just received a party invitation for my kid to attend, and the host parents have asked for cash as a gift rather than traditional presents. Is this appropriate? Second, I want to respect what they want, but also don’t want to look cheap. Still, I am not that interested in giving a large amount of cash just so I don’t look cheap. After all, this is for a classmate, not even a close friend or relative.

In this day of kids’ party-dom, people are asking for what they want on their party invitations more and more. People are trying all sorts of new things where presents are concerned, everything from asking for “no gifts.” to “donations to charities” to “gift suggestions.” So, it is not a surprise that people would also ask for straight cash if that is what is really wanted. Host parents can often spend a great deal of time taking back gifts or seeing great presents go strictly unused. That is not ideal either.

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