When my oldest daughter was in sixth grade she received a birthday invitation that read “Absolutely No Gifts!!!” This was not the first time I had seen this request on a party invite. One other time when my youngest was in second grade, she was invited to a birthday party and the invitation specified “donations in lieu of gifts” be given to a specific charity. In this instance the birthday boy had a life-threatening allergy and wanted to use the birthday gifts he would have gotten to be given as dollars to a charity that was created to help kids like him deal with this allergy.
So, as our children get to middle school and beyond, and as the party roster gets larger, (the sixth grade party had 75 attendees!), it might be a great time to introduce your child to real live philanthropy and the power of gathering others to benefit a cause.
