Here are some good ideas for inexpensive but fun children's party gifts.

Everyone delights in giving gifts to small children and seeing them squealing with joy as they open those gifts and find that one thing that is special. The problem is how do you do that? Say you are having a birthday party for your young son or daughter and have over a few friends with their small children to share the experience. You want to give those children a small inexpensive gift to make their day as well as your son's or daughter's. What do you do?

Another frequent occasion where this sort of problem arises is at Valentine's Day. It is common for children to exchange valentines but other small inexpensive gifts for exchange are not out of the question. Like wise with school birthday parties for the children in the elementary grades. As a parent you can take in a cake or cupcakes but what if you want to do something special but not outrageous? What are your options to find these party gifts?

There are a few options. You can hit up the big chain toy stores and spend some time doing that but if it is in the dead of winter, cold outside, often dealing with snow, and time being short as it is for all of us that is not necessarily an attractive option.

You could also hit up the party supply stores in your area but you have the same problem there as you do with the toy store option mentioned above.

Another option would be to go online and type in something like "unusual gifts for small children" or some other related search term into the search engine. I tried it and found that does not work too well either. The results all brought back items too expensive for what you want and need.

I did better by typing in "inexpensive gifts for children" but even then it is a tedious process and you end up going to one site after another. Also some sites mention how to make these gifts at home - things like knit hats, what have you. Those gifts are precious mementos in later years but they do not excite the young child no matter how well intentioned.

So, what is your answer? My wife works as an elementary school secretary. I have learned from her how we often work too hard at what is really so simple in pleasing small children. We forget how easily kids can be satisfied. Some how the school got a hold of some exceptionally long pencils that were going to be thrown away by a business, got them free, the kids went crazy over them, and it was found that the teachers could even use the pencils as a tool to help with discipline. Want a pencil? Behave. And, they would behave to get this thing that was special.

My point is this, don't knock yourself out. Just get something really simple, thus inexpensive, that it unusual. It can be, as mentioned, something as simple as an odd shaped pencil, some cheap jewelry as long as it is unique in one way or another (they make cheap blinking jewelry now), a pen that writes an odd color. It is not that hard to find a special gift for small children that will please them greatly when you have an idea ahead of time what you want. The things mentioned make great party gifts all the kids will enjoy. Remember, the only real attribute the gift has to have is that it is special, unique, in one way or another.