This idea appeals to me since I’m on board with minimizing what we own and what comes into the house (who needs more stuff?!) but my kids haven’t been too receptive when I floated it past them. I can certainly understand that. My youngest was invited to a party where the invitation asked for donations of supplies for a women’s shelter. I think I would be more likely to do something like that than ask for money, but it is a nice thought. I’ll just let them enjoy their birthday the way they choose and find other opportunities to give back with them throughout the year.

No but I love this and hope we can implement it someday. May daughter hasn't even hit her second birthday and she's already got too much stuff! :)

I've never presented the idea to my kids, but it sounds like an amazing idea! They are already inundated with "stuff" and it drives me nuts!

We've done this the past couple of years, and my kids really love it. They get to pick out the charity they want to support, and we make it a fun excursion to drop of their donations. It saves me from bringing home a bunch of stuff they don't need and likely won't play with, and they get to use their birthday as an occasion to give back.

Have not done with my kids, but my daughter went to a party over the weekend that asked for donations to the animal shelter. She was inviting 30 kids and her mom did not want 30 presents coming into the house, especially right after Christmas. My daughter had fun picking out dog supplies at Target and it was cool to see all that was collected at the party. I should note, we still got her a small gift and small gift card in addition to the dog supplies. Just felt like the right thing to do.

I'm definitely intrigued by this idea, but I think it could be a hard sell for my kids. I think we could try something like suggesting that they choose some of their toys that they already own to donate to others in honor of their birthday, while still enjoying the excitement of new gifts.

I love this idea though we've never done it. As they are older, I'm trying to encourage that, but we don't have friend parties much anymore. Most of the time now, they get stuff they need for dance/baseball/clothes/their room or gift cards!!