I need a loan to pay for my kid's birthday party!

As we prepare to celebrate my child's first birthday, I think I better start investigating loans or maybe sell some plasma. In order to have the best party a one-year can have, I should have started planning sooner, like when he was in utero. It's coming up in six weeks, and I haven't made a reservation. All the best places are going to be reserved! I've clearly failed my son.

In all seriousness, kids birthday parties have become complex events that need a "planner" and a "gift registry" so that each little darling birthday boy or girl gets all the attention he or she can take and that perfect, oh so expensive, gift. Boy have things changed.

When I was a little girl, I had birthday parties at our home. A few select, real friends would come over and eat cake and ice cream. Once the very inexpensive gifts were opened (if they even brought one), we would head to my room and play. As you got older, you might even have had a sleepover! That was a birthday party. It was a day that my parents celebrated my arrival into their lives - a day very special to them. To the rest of the world, not so much. It was just another day.

When I read the story this morning about a mom suing her child's playmate's parents for $24 because they were a no-show at her kid's birthday party, I realized people have lost their minds. Seriously. Things have gotten out of control, when a kid's fifth year birthday is as complex to plan as a Bar Mitzvah or a Quinceañera ! As I read the story, I noticed so many things wrong, I don't even know where to start.

First, who the hell spends $24 per kid on a birthday party...at a ski lodge? I remember my parents saying people have more money than brains, but $24 worth? That is insane. Is it any wonder kids grow up thinking that the whole world revolves around them? Let's be clear why people pay $500 for a kid's birthday party - to impress the other parents. It says that we are successful enough that we can blow this kind of money when in reality, my kid would be happy with pizza and some friends at the park.

Second, what happened to following through with your obligations? You don't ask the kid what he or she would rather do. When he initially accepted the invitation, that was it. You don't get to change your mind later. That's horrible manners and poor home training. These are the same people who grow up and don't show at weddings, a place where it is expected to spend top dollar per guest. What if everyone had just decided not to show? You would have had one very disappointed little boy sitting in his fancy ski lodge eating cake alone. Not cool.

But it gets worse. It's bad enough the kid didn't show and mom wants to sue. They went on to do the number one shitty thing parents do to their kids when they are angry - they brought them into the fray.  Party Mom and No Show Dad have started a Jerry Springer-esque battle royal in that fair court of public opinion, Facebook, and now their kids don't even play together anymore. The whole thing makes me sad.

As for our little guy, I think we'll just have some cake and ice cream with little man, family and his one little friend. We will reminisce about the day he was born and how our lives changed completely with the joy of his arrival. There will be no brass bands and carnival atmosphere - just the intense love we have for him. Hopefully, for now, that's enough. If not, I can always hit our 401K.

Fondly,
Amanda Z
Domesticology