If you read yesterday’s post, you know that this week I’m guest posting every day at Canadian Family.
You may also remember that I am giving away one subscription of Canadian Family each day (and no, you don’t have to be Canadian to win or enjoy it). If you wish to win, comment below.
Here’s a teaser from my rant on Why I Despise Kids’ Birthday Parties:
When I accepted the job of mother, I didn’t read Event Planner in the job description. Like most roles, it was thrust upon me. I managed to avoid it for the first few years, but once my twins were school-age, the pressure mounted.
I despise kids’ birthday parties for many reasons:
1. Themes: Okay, why do we need to have themes? What is wrong with the theme of fun? Why do we need to buy balloons, cakes, streamers, and hats that all have Barbie or Transformers on them? And why do themes always seem to support gender stereotypes? Click here to read the rest of the rant.
Photo courtesy of CleverCupcakes via Flickr (CC)
And don’t forget to comment: do you love or hate kids’ birthday parties?
actually, i’m throwing my birthday party on your kids’ birthday. they (and you) are invited of course – no need for you to do all that work. just bring a few cupcakes and we will provide the alcohol.
If only you were closer…we’d be there. I actually have three 50th birthday parties that night. I know you’re no where near that decade, though!
(you can buy the cupcakes – no need for them to be home-made…)
I always get so stressed about bd parties, is anyone going to show up?Will I have enough food? Is everything perfect ? etc etc Then you plan everthing out to the last detail and 2 kids who’s parents did not RSVP (even though you gave plenty of notice) show up and you worry if you have enough loot bags. Meanwhile hubby says it looks easy to plan a party lol (Of course it does, just like you make Christmas and eery other holieqy look easy)
Sorry for carrying on (i have 4 kids and 16 yrs of parties) But what to do about parents who hang around? Suddenly you have to entertain them too. I undertand at family parties and toddler parties, but school aged?
With my youngest I am willing to pay extra to have the party elsewhere and not have stress and cleanup. Then it will be fun for everyone, and maybe there will even be a photo of me 🙂 (since I will have time to be photographed)
Entertaining the parents = good point. I totally get the book-a-venue approach. I am doing the math of 4 kids and 16 years of parties…
I’m in catch up mode after a few days away, so first of all my apologies for not already saying congratulations on being a guest writer at Canadian Family. That is wonderful and I’m pleased to see your considerable talents being recognized.
As for birthday parties I totally agree with you, especially for really young children as most of the time they have no real idea of what is going on. We went to a bounce house 3rd birthday party Saturday and the birthday boy spent the entire time with his Mom and Uncle and ignored his 25 guests pretty much, so overwhelmed was he. As his entire family had flown in for the event it definitely felt as though the party had been organized for them, not him. This year we just had a small party at home for my 3 year old daughter because when we asked her, she said this was what she wanted, just tea and cake at home.
Tea and cake at home = wonderful at any age. Thanks for the kudos. You are kind.
Very refreshing to read this!
We wanted to have a party for our son’s 1st birthday, but were really turned off by the commercial aspect. We’ll go with small, family celebrations until he starts asking for more, then we’ll try to figure out how to handle the kids’ party idea!
Small, family celebrations are the best. Makes me wish I had extended family around!
I actually am already planning my daughter’s sixth birthday. She doesn’t have a birthday until October, so I’m a bit ahead of the game. Still, the reason I’m so excited about this one is that it will be her first one when she’s in school and if it’s a success, I have a running theme for years to come. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to do a costume party. It’ll allow everyone to wear their Halloween costumes more than once, so it’s practical AND fun.
Thank you thank you!! I hate the whole birthday party thing. My kids are only 2 and .5 so it’s not yet a big deal with inviting friends etc. but we got slack for not throwing a 2nd bday party for the boy. We ordered pizza and he ate Smarties and was happy. 🙂
Its not so bad as long as you hire someone else to do your deserts. I’m be more than happy to make your next party creations….cake or cupcakes or both!!
http://www.cupcakesundercover.com
just to add to your comment about the loot bags, those terrible plastic toy filled bags always end up costing WAY more than almost everything else for the party, sometimes more than the cost of the gift your giving your own child! My son’s 2nd birthday is a month away and our plan is to go to our local park, no decorations, no fancy loot bags, just a good hold hotdog roast and kids playing in the park, the way a childs birthday party should be!
I agree with you so much it hurts. And I am thankful that my son was born in the summer. We can go to the beach.
Actually I love kids’ birthday parties as it’s an excuse to get our friends over and it’s basically the only social events on our calendars – yes, we need to get a life…. This year I had a party at the local park – perfect! No entertainment to arrange, plenty of things to for kids to do, minimal mess to clean up, Mark did a sauasge sizzle on the BBQ, so not much food prep, and even better it was cheap, as we didn’t have to pay for venue or entertainment. I just focused on the cakes..
When I was a kid, all my friends hated their birthdays. Kind of useless information, but I just wanted to point out that some kids just want to get it over with as badly as you do.
TOO GOOD! I always try my hardest to make my girls birthday parties spectacular but never have the money to do anything other then throwing them something at home. I spend my time making loot bags and planning games and do any of them get played? No, not to mention the stuff in the loot bags get forgotten about come the next day. Yet for some reason every year I find myself doing it all over again. *sigh*
I hate kid’s parties. To be clear I don’t hate kids in general, I just hate hyperactive kids, even my own relatives’ kids when they’re running around screaming with cake in their mouths. Mainly because it feels like a time and energy sink. My sister-in-law likes to throw these marathon 7 hour long birthday parties for my nieces and as family, we’re expected to stay throughout. I have to give up an entire Saturday to sitting on a couch and waiting for the most gracious time to quietly make my exit. I’d be fine with one or two hours, but SEVEN hours is way, way too long. I wish she’d let her kids invite some friends or at least put out the word that attendance throughout these huge ordeals is not mandatory.