COUNTING THE COST OF CHILDREN’S PARTIES
Whatever happened to pas the parcel?Americans reportedly spend over ten billion dollars a year on birthday parties, and the games the kids are playing aren’t the ones their parents did.
Nowadays, children’s parties are supersized.With more and more money being spent on party celebrations, parents are under growing pressure to deliver an extravangaza for their own children. Party planning has become big business, and the good old jumping castle has been replaced by entertainers, magic shows and fully propped themed events,
We barely turn a hair when celebrities throw enormous, lavish parties.The Beckhams were said to have spent ten thousand dollars on a party for their eldest son, Brooklyn to celebrate his fifth birthday, while Suri Cruise enjoyed a second birthday party which cost her parents a cool 100 000 dollars, including a 5 000 dollar cake. But the Hollywood effect is impacting on regular society, and the pressure on parents is mounting.
And it’s not just the celebration itself that costs.Recent findings put the average cost of a British gift bag at 7.50 pounds, which amounts to an unbelievable sum of 239 pounds a year.Candy and plastic trinkets are being shunned in favour of pricey gifts, with some goody bags even boasting French fragrance and real jewellery.
Websites reacting to this culture of excess have sprung up, with concerned parents and activists offering advice on consequences of excess and how to celebrate more modestly. One citizen action group, Birthdays without Pressure, was formed to raise awareness of what they say is ‘parties out of control’ and to engage in dialogue about the reasons for it, the consequences and action that parents can take.
They are concerned about a number of trends, including one in which kids are given ‘half birthday’ parties every six months.Their website lists examples where parties of excessive proportions have been thrown, such as the million dollar extravaganza for a 13 year old in New York which included ten thousand dollar goodie bags!
What are some better-value things we can do?
• Have fewer guests
* Request a charity donation rather than a gift
* use your imagination when it comes to goody bags. brown paper bag with birdseed, flower seeds, homemade cookies
* Having a theme can escalate costs.Consider having a party that doesn’t have a theme
• Outsourcing can be expensive.Have a party at home, and make sure that cleaning up becomes a fun game
• Shop for party supplies at discount stores, and look for special offers ahead of time
* Organise the party at a time when you won’t be expected to provide a meal, for example between 9 and 11 in the morning
* Involve the children. Put plain paper down on tables, and get the kids to decorate it with crayons and highlighers.
• Organise simple party games like pass the parcel, hide and seek
• Hire a jumping castle.Perth jumping castle hire company, Soxon Jumping Castles say that the traditional favourite is still a favourite, keeping kids active and occupied at reasonable cost.
And despite all the cost and the extravagance, there are still cries and complaints from spoilt children everywhere that the party ‘was lame’, or that they were ‘bored’ or that ‘so and so’s party was better.’ It’s time for the parents to stop having children’s parties for themselves, go back to basics and let the games begin.