Comments on: Parental One-Upmanship

By: Birthday Games for the 21st Century » Teeny Manolo

Birthday Games for the 21st Century » Teeny Manolo — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:34:46 +0000

[...] it’s rough out there. As wise bloggers have noted, nobody can pretend that the good old days of innocence and cheap birthday parties are still with [...]

By: raincoaster

raincoaster — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:57:32 +0000

We never did goodie bags when I was little (they hadn’t been invented then) but for my eleventh birthday my dad did take everyone up in a plane and do aerobatics, on condition they not tell their parents. Too bad I had the flu and got airsick; everyone else thought it was the very bee’s knees!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:24:37 +0000

I’m a firm believer in the old “age +1″ number of guests, at home, or a park with food my kid picks and if we’re lucky one of the relatives comes in from out of town. Once we took a smaller number of kids out to the movies. And yes, all the parents remark on what a “nice idea” a small party is – like it’s revolutionary or something. I have to admit I go in for the goody bag though. I always loved those bird whistles with the water in them that sounded like real robins and the candy bracelet. Still love the candy bracelet. But definitely nothing more extravagant than the bags of marbles I gave out at my daughter’s 7th.

By: J

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:17:30 +0000

When my daughter was the right age for these kind of parties, we usually took her to the park and let the kids play and feed the ducks. We fed them pizza. That’s it. My daughter has gone to many a party with ponies or jumpy houses or magicians, but I’m not a competitive person and just think, yay for them. I’m not even interested in doing that kind of party.

Now my daughter is 12, and birthdays are more about a sleepover and ice cream somewhere where the kids can sit and pretend that they don’t know us.

By: marvel

marvel — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:44:29 +0000

My first reaction was the same as dgm.

I only have one friend in the area in the income bracket of those-who-rent-bounce-houses for birthday parties. At the last birthday party for my daughter, she interestingly remarked that “the birthday parties I throw are the way birthday parties were meant to be.” (Cake: made by mom. Games: bits of posterboard drawn on by mom. Gift bags: little brown lunch bags colored on by birthday girl with cheap plastic toys from the dollar store. Destined to be lost/broken/thrown out anyway. Decorations: clearance section of local party store. Fun had by kids romping unrestrained through house: tons.)

My child’s birthday party should be about my child having fun with her friends, and that’s where I try to keep the emphasis.

By: dgm

dgm — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:08:39 +0000

Just say ‘no’!

Seriously, I refuse to go over the top for my kids’ birthday parties, and I’m pretty sure they won’t end up in therapy for it. Fortunately, around 8 or so the kids seem to stop giving out gift bags full of useless plastic crap.