Over-the-top birthday parties for kids: Are we over them?

With the school year in full swing, parents are bracing themselves for the unofficial start of kids' birthday party season-and the budget-busting, anxiety-inducing party planning that goes along with it. Where's the perfect party location? To goody bag, or not to goody bag? Do you foot the bill for uninvited siblings? And how much should you spend on the whole event, anyway?

In spite of reports of $5,000 parties for 1-year-olds or a mind-blowing $32,000 bash for a spoiled little princess (though she insisted that it was actually for her 6-year-old daughter), a look through the Yahoo! Shine archives shows that a couple hundred dollars is the average that parents are willing to spend on a birthday party for their young children-and that the kids are fine with it.

"My parents TOTALLY spoiled me at my last b-day party," Katy Nash, 11, commented on this 2008 post about a $100 birthday party. "Each of my guests got the goody bag of a lil' kinz webkinz, which are $12 each. I was very thankful to them but they did try too hard to make my party perfect, when I could have been fine with a Sleepover Movie Night with 5 of my friends!"

One almost expects Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes to shell out $100,000 on a birthday party for their daughter Suri. And it barely registers on the outrage-o-meter when Gwen Stefani spends $15,000 on her son Kingston's celebration. But the rest of us don't have quite as much coin as the movie stars and music moguls do.

"I think spending anything over $200 is crazy. Have it at your house or a park, get some sandwiches, soda, a couple dozen cupcakes and be done," commented Shine user StephanieM in 2010. "One the kids eat and open presents they will probably need a good nap anyway. Put the other $4,800 toward the kids college fund."

Note to parents: Stop trying so hard. And maybe take a moment to think about who the party is really for: you or your child?

"This is all about the mom one-upping other moms," a Shine user, springtime, quipped on a post earlier this year about the crazy-expensive party for a 6-year-old.

But not all parents are opposed to a big birthday bash-even if the person of honor is just a little kid.

"Honestly? If I had the money to spare I'd totally do it!" Shine user Daphne Blake said. "Why not? Kids remember parties, and that would be one heck of a party! Everyone's getting so worked up, but you spend what you can afford! It's not a competition, people!"

What's the most you've spent on your child's birthday party?




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