How much are you spending on birthday parties?

[Anonymous]

25 kids is a lot. Either cut the guest list (5 friends!) or make it simple and meet at a playground.

[Anonymous]

Some of the gymnastics places are a little cheaper because they allow for more kids

[Anonymous]

House party. Not the whole class- 12 kids from non-school. 600 including birthday gifts. Did provide food snacks and drinks. Made the cake myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please do more home and playground parties! We enjoy them just as much. Do some organized games. With that many kids you could have teams even!

+1 OP our kids always enjoyed their classmates' home and playground parties. We have hired a young adult (or you could hire two teens) for an extra set of hands to help us run activities and games. As long as you don't hire a food truck, you won't come anywhere close to spending $1K.

[Anonymous]

Is this really early elementary, like K or 1st grade? No way my kid(s) would want every classmate at their party. Cut the guest list and save yourself $500! My son wanted to do an escape room this year - 7 kids and it was like $250.

Also, check Groupon for deals!

[Anonymous]

Yep, prices have increased since 2020. But it does easily add up to $600-$1,000. That does sound about average.

[Anonymous]

What in the world are you people smoking?

We have 2 kids. Their bday parties this year:
Kid 1’s party was $350. He invited 8 friends and then his sibling was also there for a total of 10 kids. We had it at sky zone—it was $300 for the 10 kids and they had 1.5 hrs jumping time plus 1/2 hr w a table to eat at and the price included pizza, pitchers of soda, plates, cups, tablecloth, napkins. Then we paid about $50 that covered cupcakes & goodie bags.
Kid 2’s party was even cheaper…$250. She also invited 8 friends and her sibling was also there for a total of 10 kids. We had it at a gymnastics place and the price covered 1.5 hrs gymnastics activities and 1/2 hr w a table for refreshments. For her party we purposefully picked a time slot (2-4pm) where we didn’t need to provide a meal so we just did cupcakes and drinks and goodie bags which saved $.

You do not need to invite the whole class! And if you have a home party, you do not need a freakin taco truck or ice cream truck. Depending on age of kids and size of group, you could easily do a home party without even hiring entertainment. Kids can just play together. Or go to a playground and just provide cupcakes, drinks, maybe some snacks. The kids will have a blast and parents will likely be relieved you’re setting the tone for future, simpler (and cheaper) parties.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, yes. $1000 for a trampoline park. Or $1000 for a venue + entertainer + pizza. No matter what way we slice it, it seems to be that much. We’ve even done a snow cone food truck and a public park - but if you reserve a shelter, it’s still $600-700.

When my kids were in preschool and every party was “invite the whole class”, we found out which kids had birthdays close to our kids and had joint parties. Luckily it was with easy going families so we were able to pay for a cake and the other family made goody bags or vice versa.

[Anonymous]

The cheapest party we’ve had to date was pony rides. Under $400 for 25 kids.

We hired 2 ponies and handlers for an hour. We served Smucker’s uncrustables, snack bags of chips, juice, and cupcakes from Costco. We did a balloon on the mailbox and no other decorations because the ponies are scared of balloons. We picked the birthday kid’s favorite color and did solid color napkins and plates from Party City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What in the world are you people smoking?

We have 2 kids. Their bday parties this year:
Kid 1’s party was $350. He invited 8 friends and then his sibling was also there for a total of 10 kids. We had it at sky zone—it was $300 for the 10 kids and they had 1.5 hrs jumping time plus 1/2 hr w a table to eat at and the price included pizza, pitchers of soda, plates, cups, tablecloth, napkins. Then we paid about $50 that covered cupcakes & goodie bags.
Kid 2’s party was even cheaper…$250. She also invited 8 friends and her sibling was also there for a total of 10 kids. We had it at a gymnastics place and the price covered 1.5 hrs gymnastics activities and 1/2 hr w a table for refreshments. For her party we purposefully picked a time slot (2-4pm) where we didn’t need to provide a meal so we just did cupcakes and drinks and goodie bags which saved $.

You do not need to invite the whole class! And if you have a home party, you do not need a freakin taco truck or ice cream truck. Depending on age of kids and size of group, you could easily do a home party without even hiring entertainment. Kids can just play together. Or go to a playground and just provide cupcakes, drinks, maybe some snacks. The kids will have a blast and parents will likely be relieved you’re setting the tone for future, simpler (and cheaper) parties.

Good for you. Maybe you missed the part where OP said it was customary at her child’s school to invite everyone. We invite the whole class for one kid because his birthday is early in the school year and we want to meet people. My summer BD kid is able to limit his guests to a few good friends without hurting feelings.

If OP is going to do less than the whole class, it needs to be VERY small or single gender.

[Anonymous]

Ours were always around $500 but we never invited the whole class. Only a handful of actual friends.

[Anonymous]

$350 for a climbing gym for up to 10 kids, and less than $50 for cake and drinks. We don’t do goody bags or decorations any more

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please do more home and playground parties! We enjoy them just as much. Do some organized games. With that many kids you could have teams even!

As I said, just the taco truck we had at our backyard party was $1,000. When we had a playground party the permit was $120, $400 for the bubble man, over $2,000 for the crepe truck (entitling each party guest to one savory and one sweet crepe), etc.

Guys I think this person is joking

[Anonymous]

I go all out on my birthday parties, but they're DIY. Intricate games, scavenger hunts, crafts. They typically run me $250-400. I hold them in my huge, open basement, bake my own cakes and have tons of food that I make. I actually think it's a better party room than any place I've ever been to (those bounce house places I mean). I have hired babysitters to help me run different stations.

It takes me a while to cook and set up, but I enjoy that stuff a lot, so it doesn't bother me.

My kids have enjoyed attending birthday parties at home or parks a lot. I disagree that you don't need activities though. I think you should always have at least 3 organized activities with a party (musical chairs, pinata, pin the tail on the donkey, craft, relay race). It gives a bit more structure to the whole event while still leaving time for free play.

[Anonymous]

We don't do whole class parties - just closest friends (usually up to 10) and have managed to stick to around $350-500 per party.