How can you make a 10 year olds birthday special with no money?

My son turned 10 today but we just got back from vacation and my husband took 1 1/2 weeks off work and we are broke! How can we make his birthday special? I can bake a cake! But we can't afford a gift.

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PoetryNEmotion · F

Kids don't really care about money. Parents do. You can play games. You can go hiking with him and a few guests. Go to a park. See what things can be accessed for free in your locale. Time spent well to make memories matters so much more than expensive gifts. Kids lose interest quickly in material things. One of my son's happiest parties happened when he and about 4 other guests had a wicked pillow fight. It lasted til they had no more energy. LOL. If you can take photos of them having fun, all the better. And if you mention the circumstances briefly to the other kids' parents, they would likely happily send food or small gifts too.

Existentior · M

@PoetryNEmotion: I was already losing hope in humanity with all these materialistic replies until I saw yours. I was wondering: "How come no one replied [i]love[/i]?" The most basic nurturing emotion. I feel sad for clueless parents and I'm not even one yet, even though I am plenty wise.

PoetryNEmotion · F

@Existentior: People ought to know that kids don't really care about toys and expensive things. It is parents who do. They compete with other parents mostly. And I think many parents get caught up in this as well as both parents work long hours and feel guilty. They don't spend time so they think toys will make up for it. And the parent who posted this just feels badly because she has little money at this time to show her child a great party and lots of gifts. Children can accept the truth. Thank you for your words. I remember the little things my son liked growing up. And I remember his words of joy at little things like hot chocolate after making snowmen. I smile remembering those things. You have it right, Existentior. Simple is best with kids even now. Thank you once again.

JustLikeGreta · F

@PoetryNEmotion: great advice.

PoetryNEmotion · F

@ColleenOhara: Thank you. Worked for me. :)

JustLikeGreta · F

@PoetryNEmotion: One of my grown sons tried to tell me, the way I handled bd parties was so outdated. Pizza, movies, etc. You got it right Poetry. 🤓

PoetryNEmotion · F

@ColleenOhara: I couldn't afford that much and my son was raised to be practical. I never felt the need to compete with other parents. Thank you, my friend. You had it right too.