So my little lady is turning 1 in October and I'm starting the process of planning and getting an invite ready. My husband and I have talked, we have such a busy life style, we have a huge bin of toys that she plays with occasionally, but really, cruising around the house and playing with the door stop are the highlights of her day. We are practicing minimalism and a move to join the military are in our future. So my questions are:

How do you kindly ask people via the invite to not being a gift?

Is it appropriate to say instead of a gift for her get a gift for a child celebrating a birthday in the hospital for violet to donate? Has this worked well for anyone?

How do you accept and show appreciation for the gifts from people who chose to not to follow your request?

We are beyond grateful for anything anyone gives us. We just see our daughter at barely one love a gift for a day or two them chuck it aside.

We love hosting parties and plan to do a bounce house, floral picture wall and doughnut wall. We would rather celebrate with family than get gifts! Thanks for any and all advice ladies!