I have a godson who has a twin brother. My friend, his father, has told me not to feel the pressure to buy two presents, but I can't shake the feeling that I should.

My SIL had twins on her older son's birthday.

What I have done in the past is buy one thing that they all can enjoy together. Games, pup tents, outdoor toys like I've seen inexpensive croquet sets (or other lawn game). I just checked and saw a $20 dollar volleyball set.

If it's three girls I could see an nice jewelry/bead making kit.If they're gender mixed, a more neutral gift. Put all three of their names on the tag, so that they know it's a shared gift.

Cost: I would spend a more than you would for one child but not as much as you would separately for all three. Ex. more than $20 but less than $60. $40 is a good compromise.

Personally since they are my niece and nephews, I usually buy a smaller personal gift for each as a secondary gift, but in your case I don't think you need to do that (unless you daughter wants a special personal gift for her close friend)

Matthew and Erin: Thanks for this advice. I have trouble imagining three 11-year-old girls sharing a gift, so I'm not sure that would work in this case, although I could see it working for younger kids. I'm thinking now towards getting three smaller gifts, spending less on each one than I normally would on a single gift.

Ugh - this exposes the bigger issue of birthday party escalation, as I think of it. Instead of it being a very special occasion with close friends and family, it is now almost a yearly blow-out with everyone you come in contact with invited. It becomes expensive, and a hassle. Recently, we even had some neighbors mad at us because they didn't get an invite. What, we are now obligated to invite anyone that can see our house from theirs ? Enough already !!

Sorry, that doesn't help you, but you have my sympathy.

I don't want to sound horrible, but you have to worry about how the other girls get treated too. What if the one girl has 3 friends, and gets three gifts, but the other two girls only have one friend. What a situation! I agree with ERIN 100%. If they don't share after you leave the party...not your problem. But you can feel good knowing you included the three.

I am the mom to boy/girl twins, and have a birthday in December.

I assume the twins who are having the party are 11 also. Here's what I think.

If you are invited to a party for one, you should bring one gift. If you are invited to a party for three, you should buy three gifts. See what the invitation says.

If you buy one gift for three to share, you should really buy something that is supposed to be shared and you should spend three times what you would have spent for one.

Of course, you don't have to spend a lot on one. You should pick a price that you can afford for one and go with that, whether it is $5 or $20.

As mom of twins, it is important to treat them as separate people, which is why I recommend staying away from "joint" gifts. All kids -- especially multiples -- like to have things of their "own" especially on their "own" birthday. Most would prefer their own "smaller" gift than a "bigger" joint gift.

If they were sisters of different ages, would you give one a present at her birthday in May and say it is a "joint" gift with her sister whose birthday is in December? Probably not.

I am a mom of 11 yo boy-girl-boy triplets. When we have birthday parties, each child gets to invite a certain number of kids. For example...3 or 4 each. The invitation is written as it is from one child. We do not expect everyone coming to the party to buy a gift for each of our kids. Just like if one of my kids is invited to a party, it doesn't mean that all three are going to show up...just the one who has been invited. Hope this helps...

I also have gbb triplets that are about to be 9. so my suggestion is, My invite has all 3, etc...but near the botton, I will include, you are the guest of ______ (add 1 name of the 3)