My crafty boy had two back-to-back birthday parties on Saturday, starting at 10am. At 9:00 am we still hadn’t bought gifts for either of the parties, and he was in his pyjamas happily making birthday cards. Normally that sort of situation would send me into panic mode – no gift, kid in pyjamas, mommy still groggy, clock ticking…… BUT, this time, instead of the whirlwind of panic, I simply sipped my tea, grabbed a couple of coins, and taped them to the cards – the Beauty of The Twoonie Party.
A couple years ago, a brilliant mom in my neighbourhood hosted a Twoonie party for her child, and the idea has been passed from family to family around here, much like a favourite recipe or a clever email that begs to be shared. The concept is simple: along with all the party details, your child’s party invitations read “In lieu of gifts, please bring two twoonies – one for the birthday child and one for his/her favourite charity (name charity)”
Yep, that means the birthday child gets coins instead of gifts, and I love this idea for so many reasons, including:
- Party planning is simplified – you don’t need to rush through birthday activities so that you have time to open gifts. You don’t need to worry about your child melting down when surrounded by lots of other kids who are eager to see what they got. You don’t have to worry about returning duplicate gifts or about finding more room in your overflowing toy bin.
- It’s an opportunity to teach about charity and giving – talk to your child about a few charities they might be interested in, and let them choose one to support. Take your child with you if you’re making the donation in person
- It’s an opportunity to talk about money and choosing– older kids can learn the value of money as they plan what they’d like to buy with their coins, and younger kids can understand that if they buy one toy with their money, they won’t be able to have the other
- Your guests will thank you – they probably don’t know what toys and games your child already has, so choosing a gift could be difficult. Plus, before they even get to the choosing part, they first have to find time to get to the store with their own child in tow. Instead of looking for stuff, they can just look forward to the party
- The environment will thank you – think of all the wrappings, bows, boxes, and plastic packaging that you can minimize, not to mention the actual toys themselves.
- Your child can take pleasure in playing host or hostess at their party – instead of focusing on gift time, they can throw themselves into birthday activities, enjoy the spotlight during cake time, and hand out goodie bags at the end of the party, thanking their guests as they leave (instead of being distracted by new toys)
But won’t the kids be disappointed?
It’s funny, but they’re really not! The kids get excited at the prospect of collecting coins to buy that favourite item they’ve been eying up, and they feel proud that they’re donating to charity too.
Plus, having a twoonie party removes the question about when and how to open any gifts – opening gifts in front of a crowd is overwhelming for kids, but it’s disappointing for guests if the present they bought isn’t opened….so just don’t do it at all!
We’ve been to at least a dozen twoonie parties now (and hosted several ourselves), and we’ve never met a birthday child who has been pouty about receiving coins instead of gifts. In fact, the gift opening part of the party hasn’t even been missed! We’ve also seen some really creative birthday cards, with coins taped to them as part of the artwork. I highly recommend making your next birthday party a Twoonie party!