Once again this year Zach asked me to tell his friends to bring donations for the Anne Arundel Country SPCA in lieu of gifts. Everyone was extremely generous in their donations and Zach had a ball delivering the goods himself. His favorite part was getting to pick out which cats got a little mouse toy that a friend donated.
Getting donations rather than gifts for the party fills so many more needs than the traditional gift giving orgy. Zach doesn't even realize that friends are "supposed to" bring gifts. He gets PLENTY of presents from mom, dad, tio, uncles, aunties, and grandparents, so he isn't missing out on anything. It also helps eliminate the issue of clutter and crappy toys. With such a small living space, we choose very carefully what playthings get to share our precious square footage. We want them to be well made, open ended, and versatile. Telling people to bring nothing somehow leaves people feeling awkward. But telling them what they CAN bring if they choose to bring something usually empowers people to rise to the cause. Of course we always tell our friends what we really want is their company in celebrating a special milestone for Z. And yes, just showing up is enough.
