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“In the Netherlands it is custom to open presents when the child gets them. The small givers keep their present with them at first when they arrive. Then cake eating starts after everyone has arrived and whilst eating the happy birthday boy or girl receives and opens each of his/her packages one by one.”
I loved this comment left by one of my readers (thanks, Ivy!)
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Hello and welcome. My name is AmberLee and I am a California mom, chocolate maker, and country girl. GiversLog is my place to catalog my adventures in handmade giving, cooking, sending happy mail, and doing all the other things I adore, which you can see a long list of right here.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I find that my kids go to many birthday parties where the birthday child doesn’t open the presents at the party, and it’s disappointing for my girls. They’re excited to give their friends a gift and see them open it. It’s not always easy managing the process of opening gifts at a party – it can be a free for all if you’re not careful, so I understand why some parents don’t want to deal with it – but I think it’s a shame not to let the party guests share in the joy of opening presents.
I agree with the above comment. My kids have been almost to tears because they didn’t get to see the party boy/girl open their gifts. I think some parents are afraid of the other kids feeling bad that they didn’t get any gifts. But I thought that’s why the party guests got goodie bags (which I think have gotten out of control!).
I like the idea of the gifts being opened while the cake is being served. That certainly gives the other kids something else to keep their hands and mouths busy. :)
Gift opening is so important. So much time and love goes into picking the perfect present and wrapping it up just right. I come from a small family of fantastic gift givers. (My dad, especially – what a lucky gal my mom is!) At Christmas we open gifts one at a time – with plenty of time spent on ooo’ing, ahhh’ing and discussing the gift. Now there are kiddos in the mix, and this process can take a bit of time. Last Christmas it took us 3 days to get through the presents. Birthday gift-opening can be a bit time consuming too – and a lot of our little friends don’t have the attention span for that. So, we open them at home, but always send a picture of us having fun w/the gift as the Thank You note. That way our friends still know that we truly appreciate their gift-giving efforts.