Anyone who is invited to a friend’s, acquaintance’s or family member’s birthday often wonders what amount is an appropriate gift.
Anyone who is invited to a birthday party often thinks about what to give the birthday child in advance. A voucher or cash in an envelope is often the simplest solution – you can hand over the envelope with a pretty bouquet of flowers, a bar of the recipient’s favorite chocolate or something homemade, for example. The gesture counts here and you don’t have to be fancy with good friends, for example.
Anyone who has a birthday can receive lots of presents. © Westend61/Imago
The advantage of giving money as a gift: You can’t go wrong. With other gifts, however, there is a risk that you won’t match the recipient’s taste 100 percent (which they may not admit out of politeness), or that they already own the very book you painstakingly chose for them, or that they simply don’t need a third bowl of fruit. If you want to exchange unsuccessful Christmas presents, for example, you should follow a few tips.
How much money should you give for a birthday?
How much money is appropriate as a gift depends on various factors. The age of the recipient often plays a role, and whether you are invited to a large party as a guest – for example, on the occasion of a milestone birthday. After all, such a party has to be paid for, and the host is often happy to receive an extra. If he or she does not explicitly request anything else (for example, that you bring something home-baked, drinks or something similar to the party instead of gifts), a cash gift is often the best choice.
Guidelines on how much money you can give for a birthday party
- Especially for milestone birthdays, such as those of very good friends or family members, an amount of up to 50 euros is recommended, or more if you are very close. But your own financial means and your own age also play a role in the question of whether you would rather give 20 euros, 40 euros or more.
- Another guide: the younger the guests, the lower the amount you can typically expect as a host for a cash gift. Then, depending on your own financial means, it can be less. Is ten euros as a gift for the party okay? If you are unsure, you can discuss it with the other guests beforehand. Depending on your circle of friends or the size of the party, there may be certain customs about how much you typically spend on a gift. And some people don’t even want a gift at all.
- Godmothers or grandparents, on the other hand, like to give the children in the family something special for their birthdays. Especially when the children grow up or celebrate their 18th birthday, many don’t want to skimp – sometimes up to a hundred euros or more. Things are different for small children, and pocket money is also usually based on age.
- If, however, your own children are invited to a friend’s birthday party, there is often a collective gift, for which you give five, ten or at most fifteen euros. Whether it is a collective gift or an individual gift: even at parties for slightly older children, you can inquire beforehand about the amounts that the other guests are giving. Don’t forget that here too, it is more about the gesture and that you are making the birthday child happy with a gift.
- Group gifts are also a good idea for adult birthday children. How much money each person gives depends on how much the desired gift costs in total. It’s nice if the organization of the gift is in one hand and everyone contributes an agreed amount without thinking too much about it. Here, too, the group can of course decide beforehand that the costs will be divided up accordingly based on the budget of each gift-giver.
Madame Moneypenny gives tips: Ten money rules from the financial expert
No strict rule
Often, when choosing a gift – whether it’s an individual gift or a cash gift – adults also depend on how well and how long they’ve known each other. There’s a lot of leeway here. One thing is clear: how much they want to give as a guest at a birthday party is ultimately up to each individual to decide for themselves.
