How much do you spend......?

[JustJen]

On your child's birthday party?



Liam and Lily both have birthdays next week. I'm trying to plan their parties with their friends. (We always do dinner with family on their actual birthdays) I've been checking out locations. Liam the option are Pump It Up, Renting out the pool, The Lego Store, or Oogles n Googles.

They each run between $150-$299 to start.

Lily wants a princess party at the local boutique that is incredible. They get to make their own fairy wings, tiara and septer. Each little girl gets fairy make up kits, they can make bracelets and decorate cupcakes. All while in a fairy castle and all dressed up.
It runs about $150 to start, but would probably cost about $250 once I figured in food and extras.

Are these prices reasonable? Outrageous? Am I insane to be considering this much for a 5th and 6th bday party?

[Alyson]

I don't think your insane at all Jen! For Brookelyn's 1st birthday we had a princess theme at my IL's house (pool for swimming and lots of room for BBQing, family and friends) and I think I spent well over $300!! The cake alone was $95, but that's always my 'big' thing, I want the cake to be perfect... maybe incase everything else goes wrong! (I think this goes back to our hideous wedding cake..another thread lol) And her 2nd birthday was a tropical fish themed party since she was obsessed with gish! (fish lol) We had that also at the IL's and the cake was around $65 and I think I spent closer to $400 on that one, family, friends and lots of kids that time!!
That princess thing sounds awesome for Lily! I'd do it for sure. It's all about her having fun right? :)

[Clare]

I spend that and more :scan: I actually think those prices are quite reasonable.

[Theresa]

Personally, I think that's too much! :shuffle: You can have a really nice party at home or at a local park without spending all that.

That being said, though. It's your money and if that's how you want to spend it, more power to you!

[sabrina]

I have to agree with Theresa here. But then we don't do kid parties every year. We only do them for the big birthdays. Otherwise, it is just the four of us celebrating.

[Amy]

Personally, it's too much. Neither DH or I grew up with big elaborate parties, and even though *I* may be tempted if we could afford it, it would be for me and bragging rights (being brutally honest about myself). Our girls' parties are quite small...we had 14 people here last Saturday for Molly's party, and I bet I spent less than $50 (not counting gifts). She was 2, and had a GREAT time.

I do their cakes myself, and Molly's was a Dora cake (pan & icing colors: $12, cake mixes & powdered sugar for the icing: $3). Decorations were $30 (balloon bouquet, plates & napkins). We served tortilla rollups, ribbon jell-o, chips, pop, and my mom brought a huge fruit tray and spinach/artichoke dip. The party was from 2-4pm, so we focused on snacky stuff the kids would eat (the dip was the for adults!).

I don't do favors...I didn't grow up getting favors/gifts from parties I went to, so I guess I don't see the need for it now. It's not done anyway in our "social circle"...my two best friends and their kids.

Maybe it's because the parties we go to for kids are more low key, I don't feel the need to do something elaborate and ultra pricey for our kids. We love hosting the parties here, and the kids always have a great time and we can sit around and visit with our family & friends.

all of that is JMO, but I think my husband would have a stroke if I asked him about dropping $400 on two kids' parties, not counting gifts!!

[Amy]

Here's an idea for a princess theme party you could do at home (and I may do it next year!). You can buy a mosquito net princess canopy at Target for around $40. Hang it from a tree, and scatter rose petals everywhere (ask at the local grocery store floral counter...buy wilted roses cheap!). The girls can make their own tiara, scepter, etc. from craft materials. I bet you could do it for under $100, EASILY.

[Jayne]

I think it is a bit much. We have a party every year for the kids. I spend at the very most the low end of those places. Usually we have two parties for Tylor. One with his friends and one with relatives. Basically he gets to have a slumber party and he loves it. I let the boys come over (about 5-8 of them) around 7 pm. I order pizza, make popcorn and have lots of chips and punch. They can stay up playing video games, talking or playing outside (they come in earlier around 10) until 1am and then lights out. I always get donuts for breakfast and pick up time is 10am.

I have a family party where I invite my family, dan's family, a few family friends and two of my aunts and uncles and we usually make sloppy joe or grill out. I get a big cake which is about 25$ :lol:

Basically I buy the paper plates, the table cloth, and napkins from what ever theme they want and then we use generic for the rest. For Alyssa I spend a little more right now because she only has one party.

I really can get away with about two parties for 150$

[Kara]

I think thats pretty reasonable..Especially if they want to do friends...I think part of it is a tiny bit less stressful when its someplace else too LOL. If its just family, I usually have it here...and do pizza or make a big spread and get a big cake...I might do cupcakes if I have the party elsewhere..the Fairy thing sounds so cute!!!

[Wendy]

That is less than what I spend on Abby's each year....she is an only though so it is just one party a year and when it is all said and done I spend about $500.00.

For the past two years she has requested that her party be at the gymnastics place she attends each week. It is $200.00 to reserve it for 90 minutes in that you have the whole place to yourself. This includes the price up to 15 kids. She has 25 kids in her class from school but several other family friends etc. It is $5.00 per child after the 15 and I think this year I spent an additional $25.00 since we had about 20 kids. The cake she picked out his year (princess) was $40.00 but since it only fed 15 people....(and although we had 20 kids we had at least 30 adults in that we had a bunch of family there as well) I had to get an additional cake to feed everybody and that was $15.00. At her party we served drinks for the kids and pizza...total cost was about $60.00. We did have favors as well and the cost was about $40.00. So just for the main party it was $400.00 this year. Oh yes...and she had to take a cookie cake to school with was $30.00.

Additionally, we use her brithday as an opportunity for her (and us) to spend some extra time with friends and family so those family friends are invited over to our house for football, drinks and food after gymnastics. This year we had about 7 kids and 20 adults for the afternoon and the beer/wine etc. along with the food ran about $300.00. It is A LOT of fun though and as much as I bitch about it at the time I love to do that for Abby. I have never had a birthday party...either growing up or as an adult and I want to make sure that my girl has one day each year that she knows is HER day.

[Michele]

I probably spent that much on each of Jackson's 2 parties so far. I personally think if you have the money, and that's how you want to spend it, then go for it. I love throwing parties, and it is fun for me to plan and do something like that. A birthday is only once a year, so the expense doesn't bother me.

[Cami]

I think that's about the going rate for parties like that. And not having to clean up at your house is worth something too. If you can afford it and you know your kids will love it, heck, it's their day.

My kids are younger. So far we've only had parties at our house and we've spent less. Maybe $100 at the most for lots of food, decorations, games, crafts.

[Jen]

I don't think those prices sound unreasonable. But considering you have 4 kids and if each one has a big party, all adds up. If you can swing it and want to do it then go for it. Perhaps you could alternate years and have two larger parties a year and the next year, the other two get the larger parties.

I think of the party as a gift and I usually get my kids something small for their gift. Right now they are so young, they don't really care and they have plenty of gifts to open. Maybe when they are older that will change.



I'd like to think that I don't spend that much on my kid's parties but I'm sure things add up . Especially with the cake and moonwalk. I always had big birthday parties as a kid and remember really having fun. I was an only child for 9 years though which makes a big difference!

I'm thinking with four kids we might just have one huge party a year and lump them all together! (Kidding...sort of!). I try to be mindful of a budget but I don't do the grocery shopping and my husband tends to get very carried away at the store so the biggest cost for us is the grocery/food/drinks.

[gulp!]

I think that's about the going rate for parties like that. And not having to clean up at your house is worth something too. If you can afford it and you know your kids will love it, heck, it's their day.

My kids are younger. So far we've only had parties at our house and we've spent less. Maybe $100 at the most for lots of food, decorations, games, crafts.

This is the second time this week that I'm ditto'ing Cami. :)

[Clare]

That being said, though. It's your money and if that's how you want to spend it, more power to you!

I really think that's the key! What do you think? If you want to give them those parties and can afford it, then I say go for it!!

I have to ditto Wendy as well. I never had birthday parties as a kid so it's actually very important to me to give my kids big birthday parties. I actually think it's more important in a big family then for an only child. It's the one time a year that we can "spoil" one child and let them know how special and important they are! :)

[sabrina]

For those of you that throw the big parties to show the child they are special and to spoil them, Do you think not having a big party shows the child they are not special?

[Kara]

For those of you that throw the big parties to show the child they are special and to spoil them, Do you think not having a big party shows the child they are not special?

I don't...
Too me it depends on the age...and if friends are invited or if its just family. That alone could determine cost. My son only had 2 boys come bowling and to lunch with us but he had a great time and I'm pretty sure he felt special :) My other son is 4 so we may not go bowling this year, but he will have fun just having family over here or whatever we decide to do. Either way, if its big or small, it can be made into a speclal day just by focusing on the birthday child.

And if its in my price range, I would probably do what I could to make them happy :) If it wasn't, I would be honest and try to come up with alternative ideas.

[Bridget]

For those of you that throw the big parties to show the child they are special and to spoil them, Do you think not having a big party shows the child they are not special?

No. I think parties are a matter of personal preference, taste and budget.

I had big parties for both of the kid's first birthday's, but they were more family/friends type parties as opposed to "super duper kid bashes". Some people like to go out, some like to stay in, whatever. In the future, I'll probably do stuff more kid oriented or the preplanned theme parties at special locations. Who knows! :lol:

I don't take anything negative from someone saying, "I want this fancy thing for my kid because I want them to feel special". We all have our own ideas and baggage and let's face it, birthdays are really tied into our emotional history. My mom was sick a number of times on my birthday and I always wished my parents had made a bigger deal out of them... so I plan to do so for my own kids, who in turn will probably want something low key for their own children. :lol:

BTW Jen I just realized I didn't answer your question, if you want to do a big blow out, go for it. It's your money and your family. Just make yourself and your own kids happy. :)

[Wendy]

For those of you that throw the big parties to show the child they are special and to spoil them, Do you think not having a big party shows the child they are not special?

No.

I think whatever works for your family and your children is what you need to do. I show my child every day that she is special and so for her birthday I feel the need to do something a little bit more. Abby is an only child with two working parents. She is the only grandchild on both sides of the family. On Rogers side of the family she is the only grandchild of an only child. Rogers parents live right down the street and she stays with them after school every day. They worship the ground she walks on. My parents are 3 hours away and my mom makes a trip down to see her at least every three months and in the months she isnt here gets at least one care package in the mail each month. She goes to the movies at least once every six weeks and out to eat 2-3 times a week. She goes with me when I do my shopping, get my hair done and a lot of the time when I get my nails done. Does this make her spoiled....probably, but it is not intentional....it is just the way we live our life and she is central to that. However, just because she knows what she wants from a particular resturant does not mean that she isnt a sweet, loving, giving and considerate child....so she is not spoiled in that respect.

So, I wrote all of that to try to explain why I do what I do for her birthday. If we were to just go out to eat or have family over etc. for her birthday then it wouldnt really be a "special" you are the princess for the day kind of thing for her because those are the things that she is lucky enough to do every day. Does this mean that parties are going to keep getting bigger? No. As she gets older she will have to choose a couple of friends to go and do bigger things with...but she will always be the princess for the day!

Does that make sense?

[Mandi]

Micayla had her first "real" birthday party this year. We wented a picnic area at the park, got a jumping castle, invited about 40 friends and family, had a bbq. I think it all came to close to $350. :faint: To me that was crazy expensive. But I priced out Chuck E. Cheese and a few other similar places and they were all about that for the size of a party we needed. Next year I don't think we'll do anything as big.. probably limit the number of kids she can invite.

I personally can't wait until they are old enough to just do a sleepover with a few friends, rent a few kid's movies, get pizza, eat junk food and call it a night. :lol: That'll be soooo much cheaper!

[Karly]

Personally, it's too much. Neither DH or I grew up with big elaborate parties, and even though *I* may be tempted if we could afford it, it would be for me and bragging rights (being brutally honest about myself). Our girls' parties are quite small...we had 14 people here last Saturday for Molly's party, and I bet I spent less than $50 (not counting gifts). She was 2, and had a GREAT time.

I do their cakes myself, and Molly's was a Dora cake (pan & icing colors: $12, cake mixes & powdered sugar for the icing: $3). Decorations were $30 (balloon bouquet, plates & napkins). We served tortilla rollups, ribbon jell-o, chips, pop, and my mom brought a huge fruit tray and spinach/artichoke dip. The party was from 2-4pm, so we focused on snacky stuff the kids would eat (the dip was the for adults!).

I don't do favors...I didn't grow up getting favors/gifts from parties I went to, so I guess I don't see the need for it now. It's not done anyway in our "social circle"...my two best friends and their kids.

Maybe it's because the parties we go to for kids are more low key, I don't feel the need to do something elaborate and ultra pricey for our kids. We love hosting the parties here, and the kids always have a great time and we can sit around and visit with our family & friends.

all of that is JMO, but I think my husband would have a stroke if I asked him about dropping $400 on two kids' parties, not counting gifts!!

I totally agree with this, Amy. Your parties sound similar to ours! :)

[Clare]

For those of you that throw the big parties to show the child they are special and to spoil them, Do you think not having a big party shows the child they are not special?

No.
But it's important to me that my kids have special memories of their birthdays. Could that be achieved by a small cake and family party? Of course. But that's not the way we want to do it. To each their own :)

[JustJen]

I talked to Jim about it last night. He doesn't seem to care either way. I'm the more money conscious one, so I don't want to spend too much. $299 a piece (just for the location, mine you) seems a bit much for me.

The kids gave me their guest list, Liam's is 12 kids, all boys, not including his sisters. Lily's is 9 kids all girls, not including any of her sybllings.

If I can narrow Liam's down to 10 kids and Lily's to 6, it would be $150 a piece. Liam's at the lego store. Lily's at the Bella Princess blah blah blah place. Again, that's $150 just for the location.

We're getting Lily a bike for her bday and I have no clue what for Liam.

I'm trying to make it fair and even for the two of them.
We always did joint birthday parties for them (They are Irish twins as they call them, :lol: 1 year 5 days apart), but now that they both go to school they have seperate friends that they want to invite. Plus Lily wants SUPER girly and Liam wants really Boy-y :lol:

We always do a seperate party for family. So I'm not even thinking about that one.

I split the cost of Austin's birthday party with his Dad, so this year was only about $115 each for 15 kids at Chuck E Cheese. Not including gifts. I bought the cake, his Dad did the party bags.

Last year we did all the kids bdays at the pool. The kids took private lessons, so they just threw the parties in with the deal. Probably because private lessons were so expensive and I paid up front for it all. They had 40 kids. It was complete chaos.

I'm going to figure it out today and schedule their parties.
I'm guessing not EVERYONE will be able to come.

I love the idea of doing it at home. It just won't work this year. We have family here from out of town, the house is in complete chaos since we got back from vacation.

[Michele]

For those of you that throw the big parties to show the child they are special and to spoil them, Do you think not having a big party shows the child they are not special?

No, not at all.

I think it all depends on your lifestyle and what is "done" with your friends and family. I personally love entertaining and throwing parties (although I do complain about it in the process :lol: ), and when I add up the price of the invitations, food/drinks, decorations, cake, goody bags, room rental, a new outfit for Jackson to wear, it did cost me over $500 dollars. Could I have done it cheaper? Probably, but I knew his birthday was coming, and that's what I wanted to do for it, so I budgeted for it. To each their own.

[JustJen]

Well, Jim called me just before I put a deposit on the kids parties (Thank God! Non refundable deposit) with the idea of doing it at home this year. He said we could put up the jump around (totally forgot we bought this) in the back yard. He could take the boys upstairs for Liams Lego party and I could do a princess theme downstairs with the girls. He figured for just the $300 to rent the places we could do a TON at home. We could buy each kid a fairy set and/or lego set for that much.
He said he'd take care of cleaning the house if I would take care of the invitations and party supplies. Not a problem for me.

[JustJen]

For those of you that throw the big parties to show the child they are special and to spoil them, Do you think not having a big party shows the child they are not special?

Not at all.
This is just tradition in our family.
We do a family dinner out on the actual birthday and then a seperate party with friends. Even for Jim and My birthday we do this. Last year for his 30th we did a family dinner and then a huge casino party with all our friends at the house.

[Alyssa]

I am not a fan of huge birthday parties. Many of the ones I’ve gone to seem to be complete chaos and a whirlwind! We have had small birthday parties for each of the boys so far, but not every year. That is just more where my comfort level is and where I choose to spend/not spend money. But this is totally a “to each their own” area! :awink:

[FosterLove]

In our family we did elaborate parties for some of the "big" birthdays -(I guess these numbers would be different for everyone) 1st birthday, 5th birthday, 10th birthday, 13th (teenager), sweet sixteen and then 21 -I just got done having a 21st Pirate party for my daughter! Then the rest of the time we would do a family type deal or just a few friends. I have done most of them myself at our house or clubhouse. Parties are expensive but if you start way ahead buying the things you need it spaces it out so it doesn't feel so bad! I think it is fun to plan etc especailly when the kids get a bit older and can be a big part of it. :) What ever works for your family is what I think you should do!

[Gerri]

Around here, parties can be plenty expensive, but not usually elaborate (not too many great party spots to go to). A good friend of ours had a jumping castle from costco (it was HUGE) that we used for both of the girls parties last year. That was free, but between food, cake, goodie bags and decorations, I'm sure I dropped a bit of a wad... :lol:

[Joan]

For those of you that throw the big parties to show the child they are special and to spoil them, Do you think not having a big party shows the child they are not special?

I try to make my children feel special EVERY day! So, no, not having a big party does not show the child they are not special. We do big parties on birthday 1, 5, 10, 13, maybe 18, but most likely a huge graduation party :)

Jen, i don't think those prices are expensive. It would cost you at least that to buy food, drinks, cake, paper products, etc for a home party.

[gulp!]

I just reserved a princess party for Emma's 4th bday, and it's running me $195 for 8 kids (plus $15 per extra kid, but I don't think I'll have any). They are coming to my house and basically handling all of the enterainment portion of the party. I'm still going to have to pay for food, decorations, and favors, but I should be able to do that for about $100 or less. It doesn't seem unreasonable to me, since I don't have to worry about anything related to entertaining a bunch of 4 year olds. :lol: