The Truth About Children’s Birthday Parties
July 12, 2011, By PJ Mullen 2 comments
In less than two weeks my son will be turning three-years-old, and party preparations are in full swing. The menu has been planned, tables and chairs reserved, invitations sent and a bouncy house rented.
Now, before you think I’m going overboard for a child’s birthday party and will be the next parent featured on TLC’s Outrageous Kids Parties I’ll stop you right there. We are the party planners, the food and cake will be homemade and the invitations went out for free by email.
Even if we had the means to throw a lavish, over-the-top party for either of our children there is no way that we would. In fact, for the first two years of my son’s life we made his parties simple, at-home functions with family and close friends. And I'll reccomend you learn how to make a smash cake for a cheap gift that's sure to end up on your child's face.
Children that age generally don’t grasp the concept of birthdays, so the only point of spending to excess on a party like the $32,000 birthday party for a six year old you might have read about is to inflate the parents’ egos.
Not willing, or even remotely capable, of going to those extremes, we still threw fun, casual parties in the comfort of our home to celebrate our son’s milestones. I can be accused of going overboard only on the inordinate amount of time I spent crafting party menus. I did a Mediterranean-themed menu for his first birthday and followed that with a custom burger bar last year.
Sure, we picked up an Elmo balloon or two and matching tablecloths to decorate; however, the biggest party expense we’ve had until now was ten bucks for a bubble machine that occupied the younglings for the better part of the afternoon.
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