Why Is It Difficult For Parents To Buy Gifts?

Parents should be the best people in the world at buying gifts. After all, they know their children better than anyone, particularly at a young age when it is easy to gauge children’s interests and they’ll happily speak with their parents about any and all subjects.

However, parents are notorious for being decidedly dreadful when it comes to buying great gifts. We’re not just talking about buying what your children have specifically asked for, either.

Blame the Parents

As children, most of us have a hard time accepting that our parents know best, or at least that they act in our best interests at all times.

We’ve all been in a situation where we thought we were getting a particular gift, only to open something and see that it wasn’t what we wanted or expected. However, this isn’t necessarily a problem. As long as a gift has a meaning and purpose, it will generally be accepted.

The problem is that parents will then start trying to give an awkward explanation about why they’ve chosen a particular gift and go on to sell the benefits of it. Many parents struggle to remember when they were children themselves, and unwittingly turn into their own parents!

Great Expectations

While you never want to target children and say that they’re being unrealistic or shouldn’t ask for certain things, modern society now means that children are readily asking for things like iPods and games consoles, where in the past dolls from A Girl for All Time and similar traditional toys would be at the top of wish lists.

As much as parents do need to be taken to task sometimes for buying a particular gift, if a child is so tunnelled into wanting the latest gadget, it is often impossible to make any difference at all.

Collectible Items

There’s nothing wrong with parents purchasing collectible items for their children. However, if parents want to buy these, then they ought to do so outside of usual gifting occasions like Christmas and birthdays.

After all, who wants to open a toy that looks amazing one morning, only to be told that it must stay in its box because it will be worth much more in years to come? As if any child is going to take notice of that!

Buying for Now

Some parents don’t believe in spending a lot of money on toys because they think children will quickly get bored of them. At this point, parents will feel they’ve wasted their money. Of course, this is understandable enough, but what they don’t often realise is that if they’d spend more on something more engaging, they wouldn’t be in this situation.

However, there still exists a catch-22 situation where parents don’t want to pay the extra money through fear of the same thing happening, so stick to the tried and tested routines where if a child gets bored ‘at least they didn’t spend much.

As much as we’re saying parents are bad at buying presents, many do a great job, which is not to say their children get everything they want, but what they do get is well received and excellent for its purpose.

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Joanne is a parent to two children and openly admits that he finds it difficult to buy presents, for a variety of reasons. To get around this, she attends regular meetings with local parent groups to discuss the latest toy trends and the best ideas for buying children's gifts.

How To Remember Your Special Occasion

There are many special occasions that we all have in our lives however very few of us keep a record of it. A few relatives take pictures on an old digital camera but apart from that the memories stay only in the back of our minds which is a sad thing. We should be able to look back on past occasions and have greatly detailed records of what happened, who attended and what music was playing.


This article will highlight three ways to keep a record of your special occasion and will explain why it is so important.

We live in a technologically advanced world and it really isn’t that difficult to keep a record of something, there are video cameras, cameras and voice records that you can buy from most supermarkets nowadays.
We are extremely advanced and we should embrace that when it comes to those special occasions.

Video Recording

This is probably the best way to keep an account of your special occasion. Whether it be a wedding, christening or birthday you can’t go wrong by video recording it. There are many ways you can go about it, employ someone to record the event at usually a high cost or look internally and see if one of the guests will do it.

If it’s your event and you ask someone to do it, they usually will however if you struggle to find anyone willing then don’t be afraid to spend some money to get it done. This is something that is timeless, it will never get out of date and you have a vivid and moving memory to show your children and grandchildren as they grow up.
I can’t overstate the brilliance of recording an event such as a birthday, all those moments that you can only dream about reliving again all on one file that you can watch back at your own leisure. If you take the plunge and decide to host a big event I don’t think the added cost of a cameraman will set you back that much in the long run.

DSLR Photography

The technology within cameras nowadays in incredible and this means that the photographs a cameraman can take are incredible. Scanning photos onto your computer and distributing them to guests and social media means that everyone there can enjoy the event after it has finished.

This is another great way to record your special occasion. DSLR photography is on the rise and there are many budding photographers out there who will do the job for very little cost. It is important that you do your research and ensure you find someone who is of good quality.

Dictaphones

This is a sneakier way of recording the day but if you leave one of these on each table then you can get a great variety of conversation recorded that can be played back once you get home.

I am sure many people will be against this idea but if you can do it discreetly it can provide some entertainment in the days after.

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Andrew is an author with a love for modern technology. He graduated with a business degree and now is a full time writer with over 10 years’ experience, writing about a variety of topics.

Traditional Kids Party Games From Around The World

Image by Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Children love to play games (and don’t pretend that you don’t too), but unfortunately children also get bored pretty quickly. Thinking up new games for your little darlings is a little tough, but that’s okay! I have plenty of games you can try out with the kids. Plus, as an added bonus, they’re from all over the world to add a little culture to your children’s play time.

Australia: Skippy Roo Kangaroo!
Here’s a game played in many Aussie schools to help the children learn their classmate’s names - but it can certainly be fun at a party, or for a bigger group of children.
Have the children sit in a circle, with one child sat in the middle. The lucky chosen one starts of being Skippyroo the kangaroo! The children forming the circle then sing a song:

“Skippyroo, kangeroo, dozing in the midday sun, here comes a hunter, run run run, guess who’s caught you just for fun!”

The final part of the song (guess who’s caught you just for fun) is said by one child, (who is selected secretly during the song), as they touch Skippyroo’s shoulder. Skippyroo must then guess who has caught them from the sound of their voice. If Skippyroo guesses correctly, they switch places. A great game from down under!

Armenia: Egg Jousting
Egg Jousting. This Armenian game sounds fun even before I’ve explained it right?
All you need to do it boil one egg per child playing the game. The children can then decorate them how they please. When they’re happy with their egg designs it’s time to joust!

For the first round, the children tap the smaller ends of their eggs together until one cracks. The egg that doesn’t crack is the winner and advances to the next round!
In round two, the children tap the larger ends of their eggs together. The last one standing is the egg jousting champion! Reward the champion with a small toy such as a bubble maker.

Ghana: Pilolo
All the way from Ghana, this game is great fun to play in groups, large or small. ‘Pilolo’ literally means ‘time to find’, and that’s the idea of the game.

Start off by choosing a child to be a leader. The leader then hides pennies (one for each player) while the others aren’t looking. The leader then goes and waits by the finish line to judge the winner. When the leader shouts ‘piolo’ the players race to find a penny and cross the finish line with it. A game that can be played over and over without getting boring! You could try substituting the pennies for gifts such as sweets that the children can keep.

Greece: Statues
This game is particularly full of culture, and also happens to be especially fun. Greek children have access to amazing statues from thousands of years ago. Now, just because your children aren’t surrounded by marble sculptures, doesn’t mean you can’t teach them or show them other famous works of art. In this game they can become The Thinker, The Statue of Liberty, or the classic Greek Discus Thrower through the power of a child’s imagination!

Select one child to be ‘It’. ‘It’ then covers their eyes and counts to any random number they choose - different each time. They then spin around shouting ‘Agalmata!’ (meaning statue in Greek) and look at the other players. The other children should then freeze in the pose of one of many famous statues. ‘It’ then tags the players who moves when ‘It’ tries to make them laugh. This can be played repeatedly until each kiddie-wink has had a go at playing ‘It’.

That’s just four of many games to be played from around the world that your children will surely enjoy.
Do you have any games you and your children love to play? Let us know in the comments!

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Bekah is an avid reader and loves kids! She’s always up for a giggle and hopes to become a children’s author one day. She recommends All About Party Bags.

Kylie Jenner's Sweet 16 Party: What She Got For Her Birthday

Kylie Jenner’s just celebrated her sixteenth birthday; as many would put it ‘sweet sixteen’ and yes, for this birthday girl, it must have been really ‘sweet’ turning sixteen. Normally, the sixteenth birthday calls for a big party, a list of guests not forgetting the tons of gifts these guests might bring along but for Kylie Jenner, the above mentioned qualities of a great sixteenth birthday party may have seemed as too little or rather too cheap. Starting from gifts to the celebrities who attended this party. Top on the list among the gifts which the 16 year old received was a black Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV worth $125,000. The 16 year old can’t even drive unless she’s with an adult and yet she got a v8 engine all time four-wheel seven speed monster.

Celebrities in Attendance

Drake who was among the many celebrities who attended Kylie’s sweet sixteen birthday party gave her a gold chain and a kiss. It would seem almost not right to call Drake’s kiss to Kylie a gift but what else could we call it? Not every girl gets to get a kiss from Drake on their sixteenth birthday! She even got a live performance from the same Drake not forgetting other celebrities who were present at her party like Big Sean.

What She Got For Her Birthday

Considering that it’s a She, anyone who would have bought her a diamond ring would have made her day. It might not have been a match for the SUV but its ‘Shinny’ and girls really do like ‘shinny’ stuff. Having full access to all the information as to what gifts the birthday girl may have received may be quite difficult. But based on the facts that this wasn’t at all a cheap party’ then it wouldn’t be that difficult to draw conclusions.

A pair of Christian Louboutin shoes would have been among some of the gifts she received. Even being among the top ten most expensive shoes in the world, still it wouldn’t seem too fancy or out of place.
Turning sixteen in Hollywood means you’re all grown up and along with the growing up come a sophisticated style and therefore it must have crossed one of the guests minds at the party to get the birthday girl a nice dress that would give her the look of a young lady.

At this age, Kylie’s life, on some part, might be getting overwhelming, for instance her social life, and to some extent maybe school work, might be too overwhelming. It therefore wouldn’t seem absurd to draw the conclusion that she might have also gotten one of the latest tablet as her birthday gift.
Trying to draw conclusions on all the kind of gifts Kylie Jenner may have received could seem like trying to determine how many seeds are usually there in a paw-paw because it’s almost obvious that  a 16 year old girl who receives a car worth $125,000 as a birthday present could as well have received anything else ranging all the way down to a simple card with just a smiley face; stuff that she would really ‘appreciate’ when receiving but later stash away with the rest of her old toys.

Michaella Twersky is a freelance writer based in New York City. She is a frequent content provider to Diamond Envy (www.diamondenvy.com).

Birthday Traditions From Around The World

Ever wonder where the birthday spanking came from? Or when people began forking out loads of money hiring entertainers to perform at their child’s party? Here’s a brief history of the birthday party, and what traditions look like around the world.

The Birthday Party: Why? 
As far as anyone can tell, birthday parties began in Europe as a way of warding off evil spirits. It was believed that evil spirits were somehow more attracted to people on their birthdays, so family and friends would gather around to protect people on their special day.

Kids’ parties began in Germany, and it is here that the western traditions of cake, decorations, and games began. Prior to the Kinderfest (which translates to ‘child’s party’), only royalty had big birthday celebrations.

Interesting Traditions from Around the World:

The Birthday Spanking: This is an American tradition in which a child gets spanked on the bottom for each year they’ve been alive. It is meant to be reminiscent of birth—when the doctor spanks a baby to stimulate life—and is therefore good luck for the recipient.

The Birthday Bump: Coming out the UK, Ireland, and Canada is a tradition in which the honorary birthday boy/girl gets picked up and bumped on the floor once for each year they have been alive, and one for good measure. In the UK, the kid gets picked up by their hands and feet and then bumped. In Ireland, the victim gets picked up and flipped upside down before being bumped while inverted. Sometimes, the bump is replaced by a kick—but I imagine that this can’t be too common these days.

The Arm Tap: Variation of the bump and the spanking, but Puerto Ricans are less violent.

The Ear Pull: Brazil, Hungary, and Argentina are known to tug on the earlobe as many times as you are old.

The Waltz: Many Latin American countries including Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Mexico have a tradition for girls to dance a waltz with their fathers on either their fifteenth or sixteenth birthdays.

The Chair Raise: In Israel, it is common for a child in kindergarten to sit in a decorated chair on their special day and be raised up the number of times as they are old, plus one.

The Cake-Smash: Be glad you are not in Venezuela, where the goal of party guests is to smash your face in the cake as you blow out your candles.

Piñatas: These are hugely popular in Mexico and Cuba—now in the United States with its increasing Mexican-American population. Piñatas are filled with treats and suspended from a beam or a tree branch, and party guests take turns donning a blindfold and swinging at the piñata with a bat or a stick. Often, the event happens with music playing.

The Western Birthday Now:
If you are particularly wealthy, you might take your child’s party well past a small-scale event with a decorated cake. Many parents in the U.S. now splurge on parties for their children that include bounce houses, magicians, clowns, Disney princesses, and various characters from children’s shows.

Writer Madeline Croft lives in Brooklyn with her cat, Fig, and the entire box set of Sex and the City.