Andrea Towey thought birthday parties had become excessive and overwhelming for parents and children. So when Urban Baby, a web-based parenting forum, sent her an e-mail describing ECHOage, an online party-planning tool that integrates philanthropy with gift-giving to the birthday child, she jumped at the chance to minimise the stress of her nine-year-old's celebration. ECHOage would e-mail invitations to her daughter's friends, collect responses and relevant information such as allergies and parents' contact information, and send "thank you" notes. Ms Towey saw a chance to teach her daughter Hannah to value her own gifts and use her good fortune to help others. Instead of bringing a present to the party, ECHOage (www.ECHOage.com) asks guests to donate between $10 and $30, the average amount spent on children's birthday gifts. The money is pooled and split; half goes to the child for the purchase of one big, memorable gift and half is donated to one of seven charities ECHOage sponsors.

Hannah was initially hesitant, but embraced the idea when she realised that instead of many smaller gifts, she could get the guitar she'd long been coveting while also helping an environmental cause she believes in.