We did a no gift party for our 2 year old this year. He still ended up with a mountain of gifts, and cards with cash for his savings account.

We chose to do this because we do not want to teach our son that birthdays and holidays are all about gifts. I want him to feel like he is being celebrated on his special day with friends and family who love him, and not think that he can only feel special based on the gifts given to him.

We also did this because we have SO. MUCH. STUFF. He has 2 toy boxes that are his alone. As well as a toy room, and all the daycare toys to choose from. An entire bookcase, as well as 2 large baskets full of books available to him, and until I went through and purged, 6 boxes packed away to rotate. He has totes and totes of clothes all the way up to size 4T, an entire closet, and 2 dressers full of clothes. We have a big family, who have all made sure he is well taken care of. We did not need to add to it.

If someone wants to give him a gift, we prefer it to be a gift to help him grow his savings account. That $20 toy gifted to him will only be played with for a few months, but a $20 contribution to his savings will gain interest for the next 16 years and help him enter adulthood with a sizable nest egg.

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