Posted on 01/17/2007 4:20:52 PM PST by Ptarmigan
NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters Life!) - Heard the one about a group of seven-year-olds picked up in stretch limousines to transport them to a friend's birthday party?
Or New York's designer candy store, Dylan's Candy Bar, that charges $1,200 for a 90-minute party for 20 preschoolers?
Or the sleepover party at New York's upmarket FAO Schwarz toy store on ritzy Fifth Avenue where a store spokeswoman said prices start from $25,000?
If you wanna see a preview of these children's future, watch "My Super Sweet 16" on MTV.
You'll see the most vain, superficial, shallow, overdramatic, demanding, daddy's-girl, greedy, materialistic little bee-atches the world has ever seen.
Don't ask me.
I remember the birthday cake and games as a kid. Good times.
You're right. What was I thinking? I feel for the kid.
oh, come on. These kids are handpicked. No doubt there are spoiled ones...but even they can grow up. They're on 16. I have some very wealthy friends who have thrown incredibly lavish parties for their children. Their children are well-behaved, smart, respectful kids. Please don't measure this current generation by what you see on MTV. It will only depress you. It's good TV, it makes you glad you're not that wealthy.and that's something! But it's just not indicative of the real world.
If what you wrote was actually funny...then we'd be having a different discussion.
If what you wrote was actually funny...then we'd be having a different discussion.
When I was a kid, I had a great 10th B-day party.It was Oct 30th and we had a costume party with a bonfire in the field, hay bales, caramel apples, and my uncle's friend played guitar for us. That's high living right there!
of course, when I was 18, we went to Maggiano's Italian Restaurant in Atlanta and it cost around $400 for 9 people to eat(no alcohol, either). That's about as expensive as we got, and only for a very special birthday.
"Camping out" with friends in a tent in the back yard with "Jiffy Pop" Popcorn in the aluminum pan!
Not understanding that your flashlights, and voices, could be detected outside the tent when it's 3 am and you're keeping the neighborhood awake!
A friend of mine is the son of a hollywood star from the 50s and early 60s, and his birthday party used to be a private party at Disneyland, with Walt Disney there. (His mom starred in some Disney films). So, this is nothing new, just a sign that more people have lots of money.
No class envy from me....I was being sarcastic.....
... and the same goes for their children.
I have a friend who throws big birthday parties for her little girl, starting when she was like 2 years old! They aren't extravagant...But what gets me is the mom invites all of her adult friends, not the little girls' friends. There were 30 people at the last one. What's wrong with that? It makes the kid think that she is the center of the universe! She will keep expecting bigger and better parties as she gets older. Funny, her mom has always seemed to place importance on her own birthday, expecting parties and attention herself. Interesting...
They had a bit about this on the radio the other day. One lady called in to say she plans her kid's party four months in advance! And she was calling to say it's okay because she is teaching the kid "event planning" and "budgeting" skills. Yea, right. That kid is going to expect people to pull down the moon for him. Wouldn't want to be his future employer.
Me? When I was like 3 or 4, my parents had a little party for me with neighbor kids. When they sang "Happy Birthday" to me, I cried! I didn't want all that attention. That was the end of the birthday parties for me, as far as I can remember.
I always appreciated your parents inviting me, too. Thanks! (I'm the one who always brought you a goldfish for a present.)
Will you share your mud slide recipe?
It seems to me that these parents are giving these kids childhood experiences that can never be equaled nor matched again in their lives. So, do those kids turn into snobs or brats who are never satisfied by "normal" experiences? Expectations, hopes and dreams are better than childhood memories of excess.
When I was faced with giving a birthday party for my grandson, when he turned 9 years old, I started looking around at what other parents were doing. Mostly, they gave sleep-overs.
Our home is not large enough to accommodate 10 rowdy boys overnight. We don't have a pool. Our yard is not large, etc. etc.
There were several options: There is a "sports arena" with sporting gear: batting cages, basketball hoops, etc., which supervised games. One can rent it for about $15 per child. Includes refreshments. One could rent space where a "magic show" could be viewed, complete with refreshments, and the "motor speedway" was waaaaay too expensive.
So, we settled on taking 10 boys to an indoor "rock climbing" place. We paid about $12 per boy for them to climb, with supervision. We provided the refreshments.
It was probably much more expensive than the parties I had when I was his age, but I guess times have changed, and birthday parties have definitely been upgraded in the past 50 years.
We used to spend a certain amount of time on the Upper East Side, and whenever we walked down Fifth Avenue we'd go into FAO Schwartz with the kids.
We couldn't really afford to buy anything, but it's kind of a fairy wonderland, or at least it was. I haven't been there in recent years. They had slides the kids could go down, large toy animals they could ride, and all sorts of marvellous things to look at.
Then we'd stop and look at the jewelry in the Tiffany's window. I hate to shop, and I'd never buy any of that kind of stuff, but some of it was pretty beautiful to just stop and admire for a minute.
Half mudslide mix, half captains morgan spiced rum and a quarter hersheys chocolate (i know, it's more than 100% :). Keep adding ice into the blender until it becomes too stiff to mix, then cut it back with more rum. Repeat until it's nearly flammable, then add some more chocolate.
Line the glass with a layer of chocolate, pour in the mdslide mix, top with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.
I hear you. Since my divorce, the pool parties are out, so The Sportsplex, similar to what you describe, will probably make some money off me, or I may do the local cruise line around the islands in my town. Either way, it's more cash than i have ever spent before.
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