What to bring to a Thai birthday party

[mickjn]

They like baht best of all.Birthday=500 baht

[masuk]

Thanks for all the good replies. She does drink with my friend and I occasionally so I'm pretty sure she'll be drinking tonight. I'm not even sure where to buy flowers around here and I don't have a lot of money, so I think I'll just pick up a decent bottle of whiskey.Thanks again.

Nice flowers on sale at the Warawot markets, right opposite the river.

[Scottythai]

A few bottles of fine red wine. Always seems to go over well, but the birthday are normally older guys I play golf with.

[gavin310]

Take a nice bottle of whisky like Black label , and you'll be fine.

dont turn up with a bottle of Hong Tong, sang som, or even a bottle of loa cow.

Word will get around, and it will be the last party you are invited to

I don't hang out with those people. If someone doesn't invite me to a party because they think I'm "kii nieow" than that's great and saves me a lot of time. Based on the comments here I decided to bring a bottle of Red Label to the party. My friend was upset that I bought it. He told me it was too expensive and to take it back to the shop LOL. He kept giving it back to me, but finally he gave in and took it. He would only drink the Blend 285 he bought for the party and didn't want to open the Red Label. He wanted to save it. We ended up getting really drunk and drinking it later that night though........ He's a really good person.

[maybefitz]

My wife and I have developed the habit of bringing a display of artificial flowers - for birthdays, house-warming or graduation celebrations. A good display is 300 to 400 baht. As has been

suggested, weddings are different - the standard is cash in an envelope, 1,000 baht usually.

[maybefitz]

You can't go wrong with flowers. Spend as little or as much as you think is appropriate.

A nice lead crystal vase would complete the gift if you're feeling generous.

I reckon "Chickenslegs" has "nailed it" with the flowers and the quality vase. You probably won't find Birthday cards in every "corner store" but most of the bigger places like Robinson etc., will have them.

Enjoy!!!

Yep, my wife and I have found that a nice display of artificial flowers meets the bill = they last longer than real flowers. We use this for birthdays, house-warmings and graduation parties; usually about 300 - 400 baht for a reasonable one. They do these well I think, in Thailand. For weddings, yes, 1,000 baht in an envelope is pretty standard .

[andrewrooney]

Cake!

..and booze. Cake and booze.

[Utley]

Money

[rbrooks]

Your ATM card and plenty of cash

[notmyself]

Case of Leo

[transam]

You can't go wrong with flowers. Spend as little or as much as you think is appropriate.

A nice lead crystal vase would complete the gift if you're feeling generous.

I reckon "Chickenslegs" has "nailed it" with the flowers and the quality vase. You probably won't find Birthday cards in every "corner store" but most of the bigger places like Robinson etc., will have them.

Enjoy!!!

Yep, my wife and I have found that a nice display of artificial flowers meets the bill = they last longer than real flowers. We use this for birthdays, house-warmings and graduation parties; usually about 300 - 400 baht for a reasonable one. They do these well I think, in Thailand. For weddings, yes, 1,000 baht in an envelope is pretty standard .

Plastic flowers , boring. You cannot eat or drink them, we are talking party here.

[jpduggan]

Ask your good friend what his wife would like.

His answer will 100% be "don't bring anything", which is why I'm asking here.

So, don't bring her anything!!

[Dancealot]

A farang?!

Trust me on this: bring a Farang and you'll be THE MAN. [edit]

Edited July 29, 2013 by Dancealot

[retell]

Ask your good friend what his wife would like.

His answer will 100% be "don't bring anything", which is why I'm asking here.

or gold or diamonds

that's what mine would say

[CPT]

More often than not, it seems like the best thing to do in Thai social situations is the same thing one would do in your home country. For me that would mean a bottle of wine (pretty standard and fail-safe in most situations), specialty/gourmet food products, or something consumable along those lines that they are likely to enjoy but maybe not purchase themselves. I wouldn't generally bring cut flowers to a friend's wife though a live orchid or other plant in a nice pot would be a good option if they have the space.

My feeling is that it is better to be the foreigner you are and do things the right way in your culture rather do thing the wrong way in their culture. Of course, all this depends on the person whose birthday you are celebrating and what their expectations are. I wouldn't bring a bottle of wine to deepest darkest Issan unless I knew it was something that would be appreciated, it would be more appropriate to tie 100 baht on their wrist. I have yet to know a woman whom I would give a bottle of whiskey to as a gift.

Regarding older Thais not knowing their birthday... I always found it interesting that they don't know the date but they always know the day of the week (and the year of course, or at least their associated Chinese zodiac which requires just a little math to figure out the year). The first time someone asked me what day of the week I was born I had to call my mother but very few Thais wouldn't know even if they can't tell you what month they were born in!