Parents Debate "No Gift" Birthday Parties For Toddlers

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Jul 9, 2023 8:00 PM EDT

I'm curious about the rise of "no gift" birthday parties for children. I'm sure they existed when I was a kid, but I don't think my family ever had them. I remember opening presents in front of all the other kids after eating cake, thanking them in person for the things their parents bought me. I feel like for most of the birthday parties I went to as a kid, the birthday child got presents, but they didn't open them in front of everyone. That was disappointing to me because I wanted to see their reactions to what I got them, which was usually incredibly strategically picked out by me.

I understand how opening presents in front of other kids can become a slippery slope to kids crying because it's not their birthday. However, nixing gifts altogether is a much more radical method of preventing birthday-related inequalities. Parents debated this issue on Twitter, and they brought up some very interesting points.