This article about extravagant children's birthday parties had my head spinning. Seemingly sane parents actually spend upwards of thousands -- tens of thousands -- of dollars for kids' parties. The first part of the story is about a mother who dropped $5000 on a party for her three year old. Please....who are we trying to impress here? The other toddlers at the party? And she's small potatoes. Others are spending ten and twenty thousand. I don't get it.
It's like we're seeing a whole culture of what can only be called Child Worship empowered by these doting diaper-sniffers that have small children with busier social obligations than they do. So naturally, when Junior turns two, nothing short of the fanfare worthy of a Royal Wedding will suffice.
The jaw dropper is the bat mitzvah for the daughter of a former defense contractor that cost ten million -- yes, that's $10,000,000. Hey, you only turn thirteen once, right? I'm sure that father was also a philanthropist, donated to the poor, funded educational programs, and had hospital wings named after him.
No? Well, at least his little princess will always cherish the memory of Aerosmith playing at her party -- assuming she even knows who they are. Let's call a spade a spade -- this was about bragging rights and Dad inviting all of his friends.
By all means, let's add to the attitude of entitlement that a lot of kids have already. Are kids getting the wrong message? Umm...Duh! Of course, it's "all about the kids having a good time", right? I seem to remember having a good time at home with family, my favorite cake baked by my mother and the latest cool toy that I just had to have.
For me, the punch line to this article is the end. It not only provides some tips for giving a party inexpensively, but also several websites for added reference. Apparently, we've been so brainwashed with the necessity of extravagant soirees we've forgotten how to simply buy a present, bake a cake, and sing Happy Birthday.
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