Are birthday parties becoming over the top these days? - Page 2

[straighthaircurly]

We always have DS's party at our house. I don't care what other kids are doing, I like to set my own trends. And to be honest, the feedback on our parties from the kids has been very positive. Lots of "best birthday party EVER" comments. DS always gets to pick the theme. I make and decorate the cake (except this year because of time constraints). We order theme based party items from Oriental Trading, plan themed activities, and have a blast.

Some examples:
Art party...put big huge paper on the driveway, gave the kids containers of washable paint and let them loose.

Pirate party...decorated the swing set like a pirate ship, kids all made a pirate hat and received a handmade sword (made from scraps from our deck building project) when they arrived, treasure hunt and pinata for activities

Army boot camp party... obstacle course which included marshmallow blow gun, water balloon target practice, rope bridge over water obstacle, tire run, belly crawl, balance beam, and a zip line. All the kids were issued a handmade, wooden rifle when they arrived and received a camo bandana, canteen, and compass.

Science party (outer space) - homemade pinata (Neptune), art project decorating own balloons with space themed stencils and stamps, science experiments shooting off water and AlkaSeltzer rockets using different combos of water and Alka Seltzer quantites.

DS, DH, and I have so much fun brainstorming ideas for each party theme. I can''t imagine doing it any other way.

[K1329]

Having done both, I find at home parties to be considerably more expensive! Every kids party we've had at home has involved lots of food and drinks for adults and the children, as well as party favors, etc. The couple of off-site birthdays we've had now that dd and ds are older have been on a smaller scale - usually a few kids and fewer adults - and much less expensive.

I've also been to home parties that included an entertainer (clown/princess/magician), a bounce house, pony rides, and other expensive entertainment for the children. Having a party at home does not always equate to economical, IMO.

[Girlprof]

For us, it's strictly a time of year sort of thing. In Connecticut, if you have a home party in Dec, it has to be inside. We have a small house. We had home parties until DS was 4 - that year I was 8 months pregnant at his party and I said, we are outsourcing this whole deal. He would dearly love a home party, as would I, but he could only invite about 3-4 kids. Which I would be fine with, but not DS. Anyway, we have found inexpensive non-home locations - the YMCA and this year, a local church. Once I realized I could do what I wanted with the space at the YMCA (i.e., not follow their plan) AND they give me a helper for the entire 2 hours to boss around AND they clean up (all this for about $100!), well, if it were up to me, we'd have nearly every party at the Y, LOL.

For my DD, we will have her first real party this year as she turns 3 and I think we can still handle a gang of 3 year olds in our small house.

DS's best friend has wonderful home parties, but her birthday is May 1st and that's just much more reliable in terms of weather.

[IntuitiveJamie]

I am watching this thread with interest because I am an over the top home party thrower.

I think outsourced parties are popular for two reasons. 1.The trend is to invite your child's whole class now. Add on family and any other friends and that's a gazillion people. Who has room for that? 2.It is much easier to have another place do all the work.

I do home parties because I do themes and I thoroughly enjoy it. I am crafty and can put together a fantastic party. And I can make it cheaper then outsourced parties, even with full lunch included. I have had the best feedback from my parties. I love doing it because it brings out the creativity in me and I love hearing the children squealing with joy during the party. They have so much fun and so it's all worth it. This is my main splurge on my kids and it pleases me to no end to do it for them!

I like parties in general though. I'm just glad we are invited to them and have something to do on the weekends sometimes.

[elmh23]

I like having a party elsewhere for the simple fact that my house is small, we have a lot of friends and I don't want to clean up before and after the party. I'd be for park parties but dd's birthday is at the end of November and the boys birthdays are at the end of February (which can be 70 degrees or snowing.) So, out of the house we go!

This year for dd's 6th birthday, I'm taking her two bestest friends from school to go see Tangled in theaters. For our playgroup friends, I'm thinking I might just bring cupcakes to a playgroup at someone elses house and call it good. Easy peasy.

For the boys birthdays (they're 5 days apart and ds1 will be 4 and ds2 will be 1), I'm thinking of just inviting the other young kids in playgroup (there are only four others, 3 will be almost 3 and one will be 8ish months) to our house for some gluten-free cookies and playing around, maybe a craft (easy to do with this few children.) No stress involved, that's a weekly playdate for us!

[Smidge]

We do home parties and I hope to for a long time. One my most memorable birthday parties (age 6 or so) was a bike parade. Everyone came over with their bikes and my mom bought tons of decorations and we all decorated our bikes. Then we all rode down the street having a parade. It was so much fun

[MAMom]

I'd say it's about 1/2 and 1/2 where I live - half at homes, half at places rented out. And no matter what, the kids always have a good time!

I've done parties for my kids both ways, and honestly, sometimes it just easier to not have to get my house ready for guests and to have to clean up the mess after!

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by MAMom

I'd say it's about 1/2 and 1/2 where I live - half at homes, half at places rented out. And no matter what, the kids always have a good time!

Same here. The people who outsource the parties probably do it because they have a small place and/or work so don't want to spend time cleaning. The parties at "places" that we've gone to haven't seemed over the top. They are at a place, have pizza and cake. The kids play and go home.

[BetsyNY]

Originally Posted by JamieCatheryn

We don't have rich friends. Never been to a party at a place other than homes or the park. We do visit an inflatables place when the weather's bad, just us, it's $7 a kid and parents free (and we get to slide and bounce if we want lol), lots of fun.

Uh, having a party at a party place doesn't mean you're rich--in fact it can mean quite the opposite. We live in a teeny house and simply can't host.

Either way, I don't feel the need to judge, I'm just happy to be invited

[Linda on the move]

As a mom who always spends a ton of money on my kids parties (be they at home or be they away) I can honestly say that I want ALL the kids to have a good time. I like doing something special, something fun, something that is a treat for everyone.

My kids enjoy all the parties they go to. One of the very best parties we ever attended was thrown on the cheap but the mom was sooo creative and it was an amazing party.

So just because you can tell that the party was expensive, it doesn't mean they parent cares how much you spend on the gift or how much you spend on your child's party.

They most likely just want the kids, ALL the kids, to be happy.

(I'm never trying to one up another parent, but I was abused as a child and my parents never did anything for my birthday. My DH grew up dirt poor in another country. We are making up for our own childhoods by giving our children the parties we never had)

[karemore]

I've always done DDs party at home, she's 5 1/2. At first we were the only ones doing it at home, but now most of the people in our closer circle have parties at home.

I find that DD and most of her friends prefer that at home parties.

Some of those party places are like an assembly line, you have exactly 1/2 an hour to do this, everyone line up it's time to do that, now quick sit down and eat your pizza and cake because you need to be out of here so the next party can set up......It seems like kids don't play with each other at places outside the home.

At home parties the kids actually play and interact with each other, in our experience.

It is a lot of work to do a party at home. I fully understand why people do them out of the house. I had a really hard time getting our house ready for the party last year and threatened that I would not be doing it at home again.

I'm in favor of DD picking her 2-3 closest friends and doing an activity rather than having a big party....we'll see how that flies!

[wildmonkeys]

We've done both. I have parties at home when they are little...I have had the last couple out for my oldest son because his birthday is in January and I just honestly didn't feel like having a bunch of 9/10 year old boys in my house.

BTW We NEVER invite the whole class - just a small group that I am pretty sure will get along. Anyway, we have been to some over the top parties, but I figure to each his own, no need to take it as a challenge. My son's friends come to their parties because they like them not because of what we are doing.

Linda on the move - I understand that you enjoy throwing parties for your kids because you didn't have them growing up. My dh grew up in a large family with parents who were sort of checked out - he has never had a party of his own. Growing up the adult next door neighbor had the same birthday and they would just invite his family over and he would have a "turn" at blowing the man's candles out while his parents drank loads of wine ---- he LOVES celebrating the birthdays of each of our children. Our finances change from year to year, but we always make a big deal of the CELEBRATION even if it is low budget.