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

[Anonymous]

"Most likely this would make us break the $1,000 mark in total, but we have a lot of people who really like our parties, and we love the project, so I would hate to stop them."

Oh, my God.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"DD's birthday party at the park cost about $500. And no, it didn't break the bank. And yes, we are saving a lot. And yes, we served pizza and there were no goodie bags. "

How are you saving a lot?

Well, we are saving more than 40 percent of our household income. Given that the personal saving rate in the States is about 5 percent, I dare say we are saving a lot...

[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.

How old are your kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"$500- $600 on the party that doesn't include gifts from us."

Insane.

Really? I don't think that's cheap, but it's certainly not unreasonable. If i'm entertaining friends and family, I'm going to feed them well. 600 for 20 people sounds pretty fair to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"DD's birthday party at the park cost about $500. And no, it didn't break the bank. And yes, we are saving a lot. And yes, we served pizza and there were no goodie bags. "

How are you saving a lot?

Well, we are saving more than 40 percent of our household income. Given that the personal saving rate in the States is about 5 percent, I dare say we are saving a lot...

What does this have to do with pissing away $500 on a kids party?

[Anonymous]

I used to think, wow, $400 on a kids birthday party is STUPID!

With my first, we only had family for birthdays 1 and 2. For 3, we had one at our house. I think we spent $100 on decorations and goodie bags, $75 on pizza (I really over ordered on this - gave away boxes of pizza to the other parents!) and $30 for the cake.

Then we moved. Into a small townhome. With limited parking. So the idea of a nice at home party went out the window.

So, last year, for his 4th, we rented a room at the community center in our townhome development. $200 for 4 hours. DH bought some new toys for everyone to play with (collapsable tunnels, things like that), and we used some balls and the baby gates to have a little ball pit. Spent $30 on the cake, $100/food, and $75 on decorations and goodie bag. Wow. It added up FAST!

So my two year old's birthday is coming up. DH wanted to rent the room at the community center again. Nope, too much money for the effort involved. So we're going to Gymboree. $235 includes the goodie bags and paper plates and such. I'll spend $30 on cake, not sure on the food yet. Way cheaper than last years "do it myself" party.

[Anonymous]

We spend more than I'd like (probably about $500), but given that my daughter has a winter birthday, and our home doesn't set up well for a party (condo), we always end up doing it somewhere else. It's been at the place she takes gymnastics, and it's great - they do everything (including favors) but the cake. Plus, you can invite more than 2-3 people, which comes in handy after they start school, and you have friends from different areas of their lives - the neighborhood, preschool, school, and similarly-aged kids of parents' friends.

And before anyone asks, we can afford it without sacrificing our retirement or college savings, or vacations, or whatever else. I get that for some people $500 would be insane, but that doesn't mean it is for everyone.

[Anonymous]

"I get that for some people $500 would be insane, but that doesn't mean it is for everyone. "

Why is that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"DD's birthday party at the park cost about $500. And no, it didn't break the bank. And yes, we are saving a lot. And yes, we served pizza and there were no goodie bags. "

How are you saving a lot?

Well, we are saving more than 40 percent of our household income. Given that the personal saving rate in the States is about 5 percent, I dare say we are saving a lot...

What does this have to do with pissing away $500 on a kids party?

Lighten up, Francis. I'm sure if we line-itemed your budget, I'd find something that I consider frivolous that you consider money well-spent. Not everyone has the same priorities. If the PP is saving 40% of income, I'd guess that the $500 for the party isn't going to break her, or force her to eat Alpo in retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I get that for some people $500 would be insane, but that doesn't mean it is for everyone. "

Why is that?

Do you really need it spelled out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I get that for some people $500 would be insane, but that doesn't mean it is for everyone. "

Why is that?

It is all relative. For a family with a HHI of $50k/year, $500 is probably a lot of $$$. For a family that doesn't have much disposable income, hundreds of dollars for a birthday party seems outrageous - a huge wasted expense.

But for a family with lots of disposable income, making $500k/year, spending double that amount (e.g., $1k) seems like nothing compared to a family, who brings in one-tenth of the salary, paying half as much.

Simple economics...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I get that for some people $500 would be insane, but that doesn't mean it is for everyone. "

Why is that?

Because we all have different salaries... And different priorities... and different ideas on what we want our children's birthday parties to be like. Ther eis no "right" or "wrong" answer unless you spend more than you can afford.

[Anonymous]

I spend a fair amount on DS's birthday parties right now, but I am so happy he is here and want to celebrate him. He is a great kid and we are lucky enough to be in a position to give him a great party. In addition, I consider the parties to be an investment in his happiness. It is hard to get to know the parents at daycare because drop off and pick up are so quick, but I have found the parites to be a good way to meet them. I want to get to know them so that they will keep DS in mind for playdates etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"DD's birthday party at the park cost about $500. And no, it didn't break the bank. And yes, we are saving a lot. And yes, we served pizza and there were no goodie bags. "

How are you saving a lot?

Well, we are saving more than 40 percent of our household income. Given that the personal saving rate in the States is about 5 percent, I dare say we are saving a lot...

What does this have to do with pissing away $500 on a kids party?

I was responding to a previous poster who implied that spending money on a birthday party comes at the expense of saving for college, retirement, etc. My point was that we save a lot in general. (By the way, 500 is really a small proportion of my income and I like spending it on something that my family enjoys...)