Birthday parties for kids
Is it me, or have birthday parties nowadays gotten out of hand? My next door neighbor rented a giant inflatable castle that filled his backyard when his daughter turned four. Another neighbor rented ponies for his child’s party. When I was four, we had a pinata, bobbed for apples, played outside, and ate cake. Very simple.
Maybe I’m traditional, but I wonder when this became a case of “Keeping up with the Joneses.” Whatever happened to Pin the Tail on the Donkey? Why are we now suddenly having to rent clowns, ponies, and circuses?
Can you tell I’m protesting the whole movement? :batman:
My son is three and he hasn’t had a birthday party yet. I might do one for him next year, but it will only involve a few friends and it will probably be food and games–that’s it.
What are your thoughts about birthday parties for kids?
Michelle posted in Writing @ 6:47 am | Viewed 1510 times
kacey Says:
oh my gosh, the birthday parties around here were the same way. Rent the roller skating rink. Pony rentals. Clowns and magic shows. It was terrible.
I also made the smartest rule ever…no parties for my kids after kindergarten… We’d have family parties after that, and they could invite a few friends to do something fun. But the whole see how many friends you can invite so you get a huge haul of presents?? Nope. That was over at kindergarten. But they ended up chosing cool things to do with a few of their close friends, that we wouldn’t have been able to afford to do with a gaggle of kids. So it worked out.
Bonnie Ferguson Says:
:confused: I remember simple birthday parties. It was fun to have only a few friends. I can’t imagine whole productions like you’re describing, but like you, it doesn’t sound all that appealing to me
Steph T. Says:
The thought of hosting a kid’s birthday party terrifies me. We’ve never had a big party for my daughter, (actually, we’ll be away this year for her 4th birthday, so it works out perfectly:)- usually it’s just the grandparents. The whole birthday hoopla scares me…
Kelly Says:
My brother and I were born a year and a few days apart, so we always had to share our birthday parties, and then my Mom only held them every 2nd year. We had the usual - pin the tail on the donkey, throw the irritating kid in the snowbank…oh no wait, that wasn’t a game, that was just something we did.
Rene Says:
Well, my son’s birthday is Dec. 23, so he really doesn’t get parties. I finally had one for his 8th birthday. We rented a bouncer and let the kids play video games. The expense came with all of the stupid paper goods. My son decided he doesn’t want anymore birthday parties, too much pressure (he’s socially inept). For my daughter’s 5th, I ordered a bouncer. There was a chance of rain, so I bought a bunch of plain white bags, stickers, markers, glitter glue and candy and let the kids make their own goody bags. I also had face paint and my mom and a sibling painted the kids faces. And there was no rain, so the bouncer worked out fine. Most people around here do the Chuck E. Cheese thing. Those are easy. Katie wants a Mad Science party http://www.madscience.org/OurServices/Entertainment/Birthday/index.htm. Don’t know how much it costs.
The new thing around here for girls is dress up/fairy princess parties. I was going to do that next year, but she’s into this science thing now.
Amy K. Says:
I think it’s a crazy mess, and I’m very guilty for starting it in our family! When my older son turned one, we had a bunch of friends with kids close to the same age, so we had a big party. At our house. And that was the last time we had it at our house.
Now I look for places to rent. No cleaning before or after. Very cool. But so far no ponies, clowns or jumpy things here. Those would involve my house. Not gonna happen.
I don’t mind having the parties, as long as it’s not here!
(Oops, I kind of got off-topic there, didn’t I? lol)
Melissa Says:
I HATE big birthday parties. For my stepson, we usually let him have a few friends over to stay the night. They love it - just staying up late, playing video games, eating lots of junk food. The only parties I’ve had for my daughter have been family ones. She starts kindergarten this year, so we’ll see what she wants for her birthday.
Tori Says:
Not having kids, I don’t really have anything to contribute except the castles and ponies, etc. seem really excessive to me.
Michelle Says:
Kelly–LOL on the snowbank!
Rene–I like idea of decorating your own goodie bags.
Amy–I can totally understand wanting other people to clean up!
Michelle Styles Says:
Remember if everyone else has bouncy castles/entertainers/what have yous, a simple birthday party becomes an unique and interesting experience. Sacvenger hunts are always good. I also like having a craft instead of goodie bag. The children seem to enjoy making soemthing to take home. Decorating sugar cookies is always good.
MaryF Says:
Interesting, because I went to a four-year-old’s birthday party this week. It was really, really simple. He didn’t even get any cool presents (we would always get my son something big - what am I talking about, we still do - like a swingset or bike or something). We’d have a bunch of kids over, or take them to Mr. Gattis (like Chuck E. Cheese but for older kids) or the skatepark. That was fun. His birthday is in 13 days and he hasn’t decided what he wants to do this year. I’m thinking a sleepover would be good.
Suzanne Says:
I’ve never done anything but homemade parties for my kids. No rented bounce houses or ponies.
Danica Says:
So far, we’ve just done family get togethers. Bay is pushing for a party for her next one, and wants it at some ridiculous kid place, McDonald’s maybe? Haven’t decided though.