A birthday party without presents? Here's how one mom pulled it off. (Photo illustration: Liliana Penagos for Yahoo) I thought designing the invitation for my daughter’s first birthday would be easy.

Recently, I made the mistake of asking my nearly 9-year-old daughter, Nora, if she would consider a no-gifts birthday party. “You’re kidding, right?” Nora replied. When I didn’t immediately respond, ...

I came to motherhood rather late in life, just shy of my 45th birthday. Five years later, I’m now a 50-year-old mother to my curious, funny, creative 5-year-old daughter, Daya. The past five years ...

Last year, I received an invitation to a kid’s birthday party that said, “please, no gifts.” As an aspiring minimalist and the parent of a toddler who has way too many toys, I wanted to respect the ...