More kids are having ‘fiver’ birthday parties—and it’s pretty genius

A few years ago, my son was invited to a ‘fiver’ birthday. A fiver what? I remember thinking as I turned the invitation over for the “please explain” bit on the back. Then when I read it, I realized that this is perhaps the best birthday party trend since the smash cake.

When I mentioned to a friend that my son had been invited to a fiver party, she said her daughter had been to three of these that year alone and that fiver parties were becoming a bit of a “thing”. This was confirmed by a few of my other mom friends who said they love it when they open the party invitation and it says ‘fiver party.’

What is a fiver party?

In short, a fiver party is an end to all of our kid present-buying woes! It is simply a birthday party where all the little guests bring a $5 bill to go towards a big ticket present that the parents have bought and which the child really wants.

There’s no gift, no stress and no expense.

I know, brilliant, right?!

There are so many reasons why a fiver party just makes sense. Here are a few:

• It’s easy on parents. No more needing to dash to the shops to buy a present and then wondering if the birthday kid already has a rainbow My Little Pony or too much Duplo.
• It’s budget friendly. If your child gets invited to lots of parties and you spend say $20 each time on a gift, it adds up, especially when little ones start school and the ENTIRE class is invited to the parties.
• It removes the expectation of ‘stuff’ from birthdays. It teaches kids that parties are about friends and having fun, not piles of presents. It also teaches them the value of saving for something that they really want.
• It’s environmentally friendly. How many toys end up in landfill after being loved for a period of time and then ignored?
• It cuts down on toy clutter. Fewer toys mean fewer things to have to toss, give away or donate to charity when the time comes.
• The child gets one big and exciting present that they’ve been dreaming about. Not lots of little cheap ones that break and have bits that get lost.

Of course, kids love presents. Even grown-ups love presents! So does the fiver party take away from that?

Well, it’s all in how it’s presented to the child. If your child is aware of the ‘big ticket’ present coming their way and understands that everyone coming to their party will be gifting it to her, instead of bringing an individual present, then you will manage her expectations while also fueling her excitement about the big gift.

How to throw a fiver party

Simply write out your party invitations as you normally would but state somewhere that this is a fiver party. If you don’t have enough room to explain what this is on the invitation, you could write “please turn over” and then explain it on the back.

You could say something like: Archie is having a fiver party! He really wants a (name big ticket gift item) so instead of bringing him a gift, feel free to pop a $5 bill in a card to go towards this. He’s very excited! Thank you.

Then you could either present your child with the big ticket item at the party for his friends to see what they all gave him, or you could save this for after everyone has gone home.

Also, if you think people will want to give more than $5, you could throw a ‘tenner party’ where guests give $10 or let guests know they can bring what they like.

I popped the $5 note into a Paw Patrol card as I know my son’s little buddy is obsessed with that show. Then I asked my boy to draw his friend a picture—this was a pirate ship as they always play pirates together. I wrapped this up along with a lollypop and sheet of truck stickers I happened to have in the cupboard. Because as much as I’m on board with the fiver party, there’s nothing like unwrapping a surprise, no matter how small it is, on your birthday.

A version of this story was originally published on Feb. 26, 2019. It was originally posted on Babyology. It has been updated by Motherly editors.