Presents are never in the same league price wise here in Sweden. I pretty much see it as a good thing. You don’t have to break the bank if you’re invited to a wedding or someone’s milestone birthday party and it’s great when you are supposed to cough up something for the “kitty“. No amount seems to be too small. However, I still can’t shake my natural instinct distinguishing between “small” and just too damn cheap.
I’m relieved that this feeling extends to native Swedes too. The confirmation is the email I just got from the volunteer parent of our parents association for our children’s daycare. The hat is being passed to buy year-end presents of appreciation for the teaching staff. This email is different in that it specifies a “recommended” amount. While the amount (40kr per child + an extra 20 for the two retiring teachers) is pretty small, it’s a lot more than Christmas collection (when each family was asked to kick in 20kr total).
I guess some Swedish parents are fed up with the extreme cases of the parents who would chuck in road gravel if given the chance. I’m glad that the gentle foot is being put down, ever so gently in this circulating email. It’s something. After all these years, I take what I can get.
If I had no guidance I probably would have thrown in 100kr per child which I still think is kind of cheap but well within the “Swedish limits”.
How much would you have thrown in?
Weddings are fab I love it when I am invited to one, the problem is that they can become very expensive, all the little things add up really quickly so it is such a cool idea to try and enlist the help of friends and family to try and bring the costs down. I have heard some great ideas things such as getting a friend to do your hair and make-up, getting Mums in to bake the wedding cake, and sending wedding greeting cards over the internet rather than buying those really expensive ones from the shops. Hope this is useful, what does everyone think?
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