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With the cost of living increasing, many of us are looking for ways to cut down on our spending where possible.
But it can be tricky to navigate, and for those with kids, attending a different school friend's birthday party every weekend can end up being pretty costly - especially when there's the expectation of a gift.
In a bid to help other parents, one mum has shared a genius idea that has been implemented in her children's school WhatsApp group - and it makes so much sense.
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The woman shared her idea on a Facebook group after another parent posted asking for advice, explaining that her son had been invited to four birthday parties in the space of a month.
The woman wrote: "My son has been invited to four 6th birthday parties over the next month. It occurs to me that I could bulk buy some bits for presents, rather than bankrupt myself. Does anyone have any ideas?"
While many members of the group shared their own tips, one woman posted about the genius '£5 birthday club' idea, which involves a pre-agreed rule that everyone gifts £5 in a card, for each child's birthday in the class.
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She explained further: "Our class WhatsApp have all agreed on a £5 birthday club. We put £5 for the birthday child in a birthday card - if all the children in the class do it then the birthday child gets almost £150 if the whole class comes."
The mum added to Tyla: "After lockdown, all of the children in the class were having parties as it had been such a long time without celebrating. At one point, we had a party every weekend for over two months (some on both Saturday and Sunday).
"There were some parents that felt embarrassed because leading up to Xmas it was expensive anyway and they worried about buying all these children's birthday gifts.
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"A couple of parents even said they don’t always accept the invite due to not being able to afford a gift but not wanting to walk in empty handed.
"A fellow mum decided to come up with the '£5 birthday club'. We all thought it was a brilliant idea, and the children have loved their post party shopping trips too."
And other parents were loving the idea, with another commenting: "This is such a good idea. I always put money in because I'm unsure what to get most of the time."
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While a second said: "I agree with the £5 in a card idea. I'm a big fan of this idea generally and think that if everyone did this it would be better for everyone.
"The child can choose what to spend the money on and no one has individually spent too much. If you want a fun way then maybe get £5 in coins, put them on a balloon. Blow the balloon up and wrap the balloon."
Would you try this idea?
Lucy Devine