How much do you spend on your kid's birthday party?

[Anonymous]

Nothing because we don't do them. I did a couple and got fed up with the stress and the bad manners I had to put up with--I mean really, no, it is not okay to waltz in with your THREE kids when we invited one.

For birthdays we do a special outing and we might invite one or two friends over to watch a movie or have pizza and ice cream. DDs have never missed the load of crap that passes for gifts either.

We don't attend any parties either. I simply explain to my kids that it is not something we do and they are fine with it.

[Anonymous]

Wow, 17:40, you sound like a barrel of fun. I've done 2 parties so far, both at outside venues, and both cost about $500 all up I think. It's worth it to me to pay so I don't have to have people in my house, although for kids 3 and younger, we did small house parties with mostly adults.

Most parties we've gone to are probably about the same. Chuck E Cheese ones are likely cheaper, bounce places are more expensive, but I think it would be hard to have a party for under a couple hundred (just food and drinks alone would run at least a hundred if you have pizza, cake, and drinks for 15 kids and some adults). And hey, it's a party, it's once a year, and I think it's worth it.

[Anonymous]

17:40, you don't let your kids go to birthday parties?

[Anonymous]

After spending too much on food and party decorations and freaking out about the cleaning and food prep that I didn't have time for (WOHM) we did our last big midwinter B-day at a bouncy house place and it was totally worth the cost. They provided pizza and soda and we brought natural drinks (water, juice), extra veggie and cheese platters and a cake from Giant. I wish there were an indoor bouncy house place in DC proper, they would make a mint.
Of course then we had an almost 2 year old around who made it hard to get anything done around the house. This year it might be easier to have a $200 party at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:46, is that a typo? $12,000/year on parties?

I don't like to look at it that way, but I do count all dinner parties and cocktail parties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We never mean to spend a lot...but when you add up the costs, it gets high even when I didn't intend on it. The most recent one was at a playground, and I didn't think it would cost more than $100. In the end this is what it cost:

-$160 decorations (paper plates, tablecloths, goodie bags, balloons, cups, etc)
-$140 food, cake, drinks
-$50 location rental
-$30 gift

The first year, I think I spent about $600, second year, maybe $500, and this year a little less. My goal is to keep spending less, not more. But sometimes, parties that look as if they didn't cost that much, and seem low-key, still cost a lot!

I agree, this just happened to me today. Bought pinata & candies that go inside and "little" prizes for the games we are going to play in addition to stuff like the above poster (except at my house so no location fee). It adds up fast! Funny because I was just thinking what on earth does a fancy birthday party cost!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing because we don't do them. I did a couple and got fed up with the stress and the bad manners I had to put up with--I mean really, no, it is not okay to waltz in with your THREE kids when we invited one.

For birthdays we do a special outing and we might invite one or two friends over to watch a movie or have pizza and ice cream. DDs have never missed the load of crap that passes for gifts either.

We don't attend any parties either. I simply explain to my kids that it is not something we do and they are fine with it.

Awwww, let them go to their friends' birthday parties or when they grow up they'll feel sad that they never experienced a kid birthday party.

[Anonymous]

This is going to come across really bitchy, but for those who spend as little as $15-30 for favors for 10+ kids, why bother?

I mean, let's face it, nobody wants a bunch of cheap toys/stickers/candy anyways, so why feel obligated to do favors at all.

Unless these are something cute or handmade or something. But I can't stand the crap favors my kids get full of cheap little plastic shit. Save yourself the money and just send them home with a cupcake or something...

Let me get this straight - I invite your kid to an event, provide them with food, drinks, and cake, and you think it is your place to tell me how to spend my money on favors? I don't think so. If you don't like the favors I give out, feel free not to take them. There are plenty of kids in my neighborhood who don't have anything and would be happy to heave the "cheap little plastic shit" that you don't want, I'd be happy to give your child's favor to them.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thanks, this has been helpful. I did enjoy doing the casual at-home parties, but they were a lot of work, having enough food for kids and adults and enough entertainment. And worrying about the weather. And my son is really excited about having a party this year, so I think I'll splurge on a venue.

[Anonymous]

I spend a lot on my kids' parties, but they don't get a party until they turn 4. In my opinion, before that age the party is just for the parents (which is fine, if that is fun for you, I just don't care and we don't have family in the area).

I have done the $400 parties at an outside venue and it is totally worth it to me--my husband and I both work full time and there is no way we can spend the time to bake, cook, decorate, clean up etc. We want to be upright and cheerful to celebrate with our kid. So, I outsource the party (and my kids are deep summer birthdays so I won't do our mosquito infested and 110 degree backyard or a park--we've been to a couple of those this summer and they are just uncomfortable). Additionally, as much as I like the idea of a small party, my daughter's school insists that you invite either the entire class or all the boys/girls, so the list of kids to invite gets giant once you add in any non-school friends (like old friends or neighbors). We always end up with about 20 kids and my house is not big enough to accommodate that many kids for anything fun, especially with any parents.

For my younger (preschool) child, we are about to host her first party. Here is the cost breakdown, way higher than I would have thought:

$150 for her favorite music teacher to come to our house
No cost for venue (doing it at home, 8 kids total)
$37 for personalized cake from Giant
$300 in other food and drink costs--I know this sounds crazy, but we will have about 20 people since these kids are too young for drop-off parties and a couple of older siblings are also tagging along. And my husband hates pizza and it's so bad for you anyway that we are having real dinner food instead.
Still need to buy the paper goods
Instead of cheap and cluttery plastic goody stuff, I am headed to the plant nursery tomorrow to buy tiny potted plants for each kid. Those will run about $2 each.

Total will be about $550, but I see it as general hospitality and not just for the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spend way more than $500 on our bdays. Think pony rides and a petting zoo, literally. I don't do goody bags anymore since I am a major hater of more cheap plastic crap. I do an item. A book per child, lollipops, etc. I have food and drinks for the kids and adults since we usually have some adults. I buy a cake, don't have time to bake and decorate a cake. We budget for it and it is our choice how we spend our money, why should anyone else care? Kids and adults have a great time at our parties and we have fun memories from all of them.

I'm totally with you on this. I agree on the goody "item" idea and believe you have to have food for adults and children (if adults are staying). I find it so tacky when adults are staying at a party and the host just puts out a bowl of chips and salsa for them and then feeds the kids pizza (offering none to the adults).

I'm with both of you on this.

[Anonymous]

I usually spend around $600 and buy nice favors. The most expensive was at Strike Bethesda for $1,000 but we invited all the parents to bowl too and provided the adults with food and beverages - it was a great party.

[Anonymous]

I'd say about $300 if you include every last thing, including thank you notes and stamps for after the party!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd say about $300 if you include every last thing, including thank you notes and stamps for after the party!

I a the kind of person that sends a thank you note for pretty much everything but have yet to receive one from any of the parties DD has been to. Do people not send out thank you cards for kids parties? Or do you wait until your kid can do it him/herself? DD is only four and so far we've only had more "adult" parties for her birthday but I've always sent a thank you for any gifts she received. What do you do?

[Anonymous]

Honestly, if you include everything it probably came to about $850 for an at-home party that included catering for the adults. We had a great time and it was totally worth it,