The present cupboard

One thing about having a child in school is that one gets a lot of birthday party invitations, at least when they're at the age where often the whole class is invited. My elder daughter is in Year One this year, and while last year it seemed many people had smaller parties, this year there have been a lot of whole-class parties. Add in children of my friends, and it can seem like we're constantly buying birthday presents. We don't have many children in our extended family, but of course many people would be buying for nieces and nephews or other relatives too.



So the present cupboard is a really good idea. I've just started building one up this year, although I've always picked up various things for my own children on sale throughout the year. Basically I've just extended that to buying small/medium-sized gifts that would appeal to a wide range of people in our circles of friends and family.

At the moment I have some children's books, some art stuff, some nice notebooks (which would work for adults too), a toy cooking set and some wooden food. I also try to make gifts when I get a chance, but I'm often forgetful and leave it until the last minute. Sometimes I pair a bought gift with something handmade, which is a nice touch.

Who else has a present/gift cupboard? What kind of things do you generally have in 'stock'?