When my wife and I were planning a slumber party with our about-to-be-8-year-old daughter, I suggested we used a Web service called ECHOage to handle invitations and gifts. When parents RSVP, they simply give ECHOage whatever money they would otherwise have spent on a gift. The service takes a small cut and then splits the rest. One half goes to a charity of the child’s choosing, with the giver getting a tax deduction for that portion of the gift. The other half of the money goes straight to the child to buy one special gift instead of getting a bunch of smaller ones.
