Sep 19th, 2008
Celebrations can be Expensive; Where’s the Line?
One of the ladies I work with is about to deliver her first baby and there’s a baby shower planned for her on Friday night at a local restaurant. I’m on call this week, which gave me an excuse to bow out, but the bigger issue is that the dinner cost $40, which didn’t include the gift.
While I love the gang I work with, $40 plus a shower gift of another $20-$50–and that’s going stag–is a pretty steep price. I can give a better gift that will do more for them–say, a $50 gift card to Babies ‘R Us or somewhere similar–by staying home, and spend less as well.
Similarly, a physician I love working with is retiring; his party is also $40, with the gift being whatever you wish to donate. While the cost is close, I think that a retirement party is a once in a lifetime thing; a baby shower may not be. Still, there has to be a line where it just gets too expensive for some of these celebrations. Where is that?
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