Should You Open Gifts During Your Child's Birthday Party?

I remember a time when a child's birthday party was a rather simple affair. Children would gather, play a few games, eat some cake, and watch the birthday boy or girl open the gifts. Now that I am escorting my own children to parties, I am finding that things have changed since I last pinned tails on donkeys and played musical chairs. First of all, finding a "simple" birthday party is a challenge in itself, but I won't even get into that issue here. For me, the biggest change in today's parties is the fact that opening gifts seems to be optional.

The first time that I was invited to a party where the gifts were whisked away, unopened, at the end of the event, I was caught completely off guard. I figured that they had just run out of time, but I found it strange that no one mentioned it. When it happened again at the next party I attended with my child, I began to wonder if I was out of the loop on a new trend. I asked a few of my friends about it, and found that it is indeed becoming the norm that the birthday children not open gifts during the parties.

As someone who puts a great deal of thought into selecting just the right gift for my recipients, I like to see my gifts opened while I am present. It is always fun to see the reaction of the recipient, and it is nice to be acknowledged in person. When my children help me with the selection of a gift for one of their friends, they also look forward to seeing the gift opened while they are at the party. When that doesn't happen, I usually have some explaining to do.

Recently, I celebrated the birthday of my oldest child with a party in our home. Having attended so many parties this year where the gifts were not opened, I actually questioned (for a second) whether or not it would be acceptable for my child to open her gifts during the party. I polled some friends and did a little informal research, and I found some reasons that people give for not opening gifts at a child's birthday party.