The cost of a happy birthday

Happy birthday but at what price? As I read through posts on various mom groups, I notice a trend of over the top expensive birthday parties for 1-year-olds.

Who’s it really for?

It seems strange to me that we all spend so much money on a party the child really doesn’t care about. The 1st birthday is for the parents and grandparents not the child.

When I look back at how much I spent on my first born’s parties and see what mom’s are forking out now, I am glad my children feel too old for parties.

We didn’t do themed parties as such, maybe matching paper plates and serviettes at the most. I do know my daughter had a petting zoo one year. Her parties were always harder to plan as they were in winter and the others were in summer, so water slides and pools were the norm.

Are we as parents spending too much money on a child’s birthday party? What are you paying for parties of school going children? I have seen posts of parents who planned special parties only for half the class not to show up and the parent’s not to have RSVP’d.

So now along with trying to outdo the Van der Merwe’s and spending fortunes on themed parties with elaborate cakes and party packs, we are too busy to be polite. Manners don’t cost anything.

Thankfully I have a mother who can make these fancy cakes but one year I had to make the cakes, it was the last year my younger two were prepared to share a party (their birthdays are 3 weeks apart).

Me who can’t bake, actually managed to make a spongebob cake and a mini mouse cake.

As one of the moderately guilty, I ask you, is the debt worth it?