Today marked a totally new experience for me and one I am not sure I wish to repeat in a hurry. I took my 2 grand-daughters to a birthday party at an indoor play centre. There were numerous birthday events running concurrently as well as casual users of the centre. It was impossible for the birthday girl to even greet the guests and it seemed to be a matter of quickly opening the gift and then all running off to play on the equipment.
These facilities did not exist when Belle and Missy were children and I am quite thankful. I can see the appeal because they offer ‘playground’ facilities in an indoor environment but the noise and action is just overwhelming. I found it daunting so I cannot begin to imagine how young children must feel. Miss O who is 4 & 1/2 seemed absolutely shell-shocked.
The birthday party is a fixed price per child and that covers their admission (normally $9) plus party food, cake and a bag of goodies. Each child received a hot dog (frankfurt in a bread roll), french fries and a small packaged juice drink. The cake was a doughnut stack and the bag of goodies contained some lollies (packaged), balloons, whistle, a pair of socks, pencils, and a mirror/comb compact. Each item was individually packed in plastic.
I remember my daughters going to a couple of birthday parties at McDonald’s and was amazed to hear parents singing the praises of not having to arrange and prepare a birthday party at home.
Belle has organised birthday parties for Miss O and Izz at home or a local park and I am sure they were not deprived by this. There was a range of party food which included healthy options and a cake decorated specifically for the occasion. I do not think they have been deprived because of this.
What are your experiences and thoughts of children’s birthday parties?
organised castle 
With 5 grandchildren between 4 and 17, I have had my share of birthday parties. it seems there is no limit to the ideas for them. I have attended MacDonalds, Play centres, mini-golf, tenpin bowling, swimming pool parties at local swim centres, etc etc. The very best one was a Reptile Party, where two young men brought crates of snakes, lizards, frogs etc, and the children were taught about them and allowed to handle them. From beginning to end they were enthralled and many who were afraid in the beginning were handling them by the end. It was wonderful. The worst one was (and this was for a 6 year old!) high tea (?) in a fancy cafe followed by a “squiz around the shops”, as it said on the invitations. Sometimes I think the parents are just trying to outdo one another, with others it is just laziness.
I feel for Miss O. What a shock when she was expecting a lovely little party with a few games, gifts and a pretty cake in the loving security of a family home. The parents who abrogate their responsibility of providing a home or park party do not know what they are missing. The little effort to stage a simple party is yet another link in the bonding of parent and child and is a shared experience both will treasure in the future.
Children’s birthday parties are often competitive events nowadays – Mummy Olympics. The best ones are of course held at the child’s home. Children’s parties become very difficult if you live in a highrise flat, if the parents do not live together but still want to be involved, or when living in over-crowded conditions. Cultural differences can also complicate matters. I have known families to hold parties in the school playground at the weekend, bringing everything in a dozen eskies and boxes. (The only difficulty was the key to the toilets.) I have been to one at a Play Centre but it was nothing like your description; actually it was lovely with a homemade cake and no uninvited children in the whole place. Goodie bags were put together by the mother. My own children begged me never to hold any more birthday parties for them because I got so nervous and interfered too much, 20 years ago.
I’ve hosted many different types of parties for my two children, including at home, in parks, and at an indoor play centre. I think they all involved the same amount of work to organise really, but the park has been the winner for me as everyone is outdoors and all the crumbs disappear into the grass 🙂 When deciding what sort of party to hold, it comes down to my kids’ preferences and also how I am feeling and how busy things are. If things are stressful at the time, the least we do is have a family party at home with grandparents and close family invited. But to have lots of children running around our house or yard makes me anxious and I find it’s a lot of work in setting up and cleaning up.
And back to the appeal of the park parties, we have hosted two at skate parks (when our son was 5 and 7). His friends brought their bikes/scooters/skateboards, and they had a fabulous time together. Snacks and cake was served on a table under a nearby shady tree. Some of the parents stayed around to chat and relax on the grass. I also included band-aids in the party bags 😉
The mummy olympics seem like prep for wedding olympics later in life. It all seems like such a distraction from the event being celebrated. I didn’t grow up in an affluent area so this “party industry” was mostly avoided when I was young. Most of us had backyard birthday parties with a few friends from school. We did some kind of arts and crafts activity at the party and had homemade cake. We were happy.
But around here there are many parents who consider it a crisis if they don’t have a $200 birthday cake custom make by a designer bakery at the very least for junior’s birthday. I’m not looking forward to raising kids in DC!
I think parties have become extremely full on. Recently the toy I sent my daughter off too as the gift was the same toy that was in the goody bags for each girl child!!!! I couldn’t believe it. She came home with lollies, a toy and large takeaway containers of cake.
The number of gifts my daughter comes home with from her own birthday parties overwhelms me. One year I just cried as I had no idea where I would put it all in our small flat. People spend a fortune and it’s just TOO MUCH!