Kids parties - keeping it real

Forget the jelly and ice-cream and a few games of pass the parcel and musical bumps. The simple things just won't do. For a recent survey has revealed that middle-class parents are spending more than 500,000 naira on their children's birthday parties.

Who are these people? Fortunately I'm not alone in thinking this absurd. But after canvassing some of my friends for their views it seems that birthday parties are indeed big business. For some, organising a child's party is akin to planning a wedding. It’s all taken extremely seriously.

Venues and entertainers have to be booked months in advance. Then there's the catering, cake and even chocolate fountains. The planning of these parties is like staging a corporate event. Indeed, at some, champagne and canapés are even laid on for the parents.

The peer pressure is starting earlier too. I've some friends whose tots, as young as two, are requesting a certain theme for their birthday. Be it Barney, Cinderella or Teletubbies. Surely the demands can only increase with age?

And in some areas the competition for one upmanship is rife. Venue is everything. I heard of another child whose parents hired out a cinema for the afternoon so she and her little chums could have a private screening. Another friend of a friend nearly bankrupt herself taking an entire class of six-year-olds paint balling. 

Then there is the issue of the party bags. Some are in serious competition with the bags you would get at an Oscars after-party. Well perhaps not quite - but no longer will a sliver of birthday cake in a napkin suffice.

Nowadays you can expect sunglasses, cars, dollies, books and designer cupcakes. One of my friend's cringed when she realised that the party bag  and gifts were more expensive than the gift she'd bought for the birthday girl. Or if you don't want to do it yourself - then there are companies to do it for you. They can be used as another accessory to boost your social status.

Perhaps it's an urban myth but one mum told me about children being sent home from a party with their own goldfish. She'd also heard of party bags containing portable DVD players. With my Son ' s1st birthday fast approaching, MEZRA Party Supply should be able to take the stress off.

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