January 17, 2007

Birthday Party Madness

Whenever it was January, I'd start worrying about what I was going to plan for my oldest child's birthday party--at the end of March. I remember one year,when she was 4, I didn't start making calls into mid-January and discovered that the place I'd wanted was already booked until the summer.
The only time left was a week night at 7 pm.
Fortunately, at some point, I realized the birthday party pressure was just nuts.
I stopped fretting over party favors and gave out home-made CDs.
I stopped trying to make the biggest and the best, or be Martha Stewart. Birthday parties became small, low key affairs in our backyard.
And I noticed something interesting: My kids had a great time. Their friends still enjoyed themselves.
So I was relieved when I read about a new national group, launched by a bunch of fed-up moms in Minnesota, to combat the birthday craziness. The truth is, the splashy parties aren't really for the kids' benefit....so much as the parents' benefit. It's just one more sign of the competitive parenting culture.

StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!

posted by pam at 11:34 AM 0 comments links to this post

 
   
 

Copyright 2006 Pamela Kruger. All rights Reserved.
This material may not be reprinted in any form without permission from the author.

 Contact Pamela Kruger »