$10,000 for child's birthday party?

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/04/18/lw.pricey.bday.parties/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

$10,000 for child's birthday party?
Some parents pay $25,000 for children's birthday parties

Dad reportedly spent $25 million on daughter's bat mitzvah


By Anna Jane Grossman

(LifeWire) -- Two years ago, Stephanie Kaster of Manhattan set out to plan the birthday party of a lifetime for her daughter. Granted, little Sophie didn't have many parties under her belt with which to compare it: She was not yet 3.


Elisa Strauss' Confetti Cakes created this $1,500 Coach bag-themed cake for a 10-year-old girl's birthday party.

"I just thought, 'If I go to another paint-a-ceramic-bowl or stuff-a-bear party, I'll shoot myself,'" says Kaster.

So she booked a fondue restaurant, hired a musical troupe to perform as the Wiggles (her daughter's favorite group) and ordered a four-layer cake. Each guest took home a Fisher-Price guitar and custom CD.

The price tag? $5,000.

"I couldn't believe that I'd ended up spending that much," Kaster says.

Some birthday parties now rival weddings in scale and price -- with some costing tens of thousands of dollars.

[lapfog_1]

1. People with too much money and not enough sense. - n/t

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

23. Our friends kids second is coming up this weekend

Were going to the free como park zoo (Ill probably donate a few bucks) and doing a bbq afterwards..

[Tab]

2. That can't be right, but if it is...

if you can spend $25 million like I can spend $250 then you've got many more zeros in your bank account than I do, and they're all on the right side.

I can see people spending $5000 on a bat mitzvah. I don't agree with it, but they are big-assed events, and can't be cheap. Hell, my wedding wasn't cheap, as much as we tried to keep the cost down. $5000, sure. $25 million, I don't think so.

[Warpy]

3. This is the kind of thing that gets people thinking about revolution

Any sane person would prefer to avoid revolution, a state which is miserable for everyone and rarely produces the changes that are necessary to reverse what provoked it.

Alas, the conspicuous consumers among the new hedge fund billionaires are not quite sane. Eventually we'll reach a critical mass of homeless and hungry and they'll all reap everything they've sown, plus a little extra on the top.

I hope we are allowed to do it peacefully. The alternative is too awful to wrap my brain around.

[tom_paine]

13. Well, we have the 1780s French aristocrat thing down.

But our 1780s French Aristocrats, the Bushies, have something that could not be dreamt of by the original 1780s French Aristocracy.

A society so media saturated that a massive propaganda machine can be created that literally creates false realities and can enslave minds to ten decimal places.

Had the 1780s French Aristocracy had what the Bushies have today, I daresya the French Revolution may not have happened, at all. The French Peanstry would have been pointed to kill each other, as we Amerikan Peasntry are today, and all thoughts of didain and hatred towards the French Aristocracy would have been "re-channeled" by the finest advertising, marketing and public relations' machine in all of human history...

[Warpy]

18. They had it, trust me.

The masses were not literate and everything they knew was handed down from the pulpit. Royalty in the church and the state propped each other up as kings ruled by divine right and they justified each other's existence.

Revolution happened when the controlled information was so totally at odds with what the people knew from their daily lives that they all lost faith in the system and saw its complete corruption at their expense.

[negativenihil]

4. jeez way to make me feel old...

...why back in MY day a good birthday party consisted of some pizza, cake, and maybe a trip to the movies...

damn kids today.

[booksenkatz]

5. "If I go to another..."

The problem is, Stephanie thinks SHE is the one attending the party, when in fact her CHILD is the one who is invited, and trust me, kids can go to 1000 parties that are the same, they don't care! They love it. My kid has attended a jillion Chuck E. Cheese parties, a skillion gymnastics parties, a bazillion glow golf parties, a squillion miniature golf parties, a hillion lazer tag parties in his 9 years... THEY DON'T CARE. Each one is new, as far as the kid is concerned. My kid's an only child, he adores being around other kids, he doesn't care what the reason is, thank God he isn't as jaded and ignorant as the woman in this excerpt.

The best times we ever have are the times we go hiking or swimming at the lake. Kids ultimately don't care about the $10K parties thrown by insecure parents.

Edited to add: also, a zillion rollerskating parties. Just striving for accuracy here.:silly:

[Ilsa]

33. ITA! It's what the kids want, not the mother. These kinds of moms

end doing the same thing to their daughters when they get married: the mother of the bride forces her will on her daughter to do everything she wants (or missed having) and forgets whose wedding it really is.

[AngryOldDem]

6. My one and only birthday party included about 5 friends

...and a brother-in-law who dressed up as a clown.

I feel so deprived now.

[eleny]

7. And how many jobs were lost this week in the U.S.?

Between Citygroup and AT&T it's about 15,000. Meanwhile, it's party time for some.

[onenote]

15. not sure I see the connection

Personally, I think the amounts spent on the parties described in the article are obscene. But if someone wants to toss their money away on such things, there's not much that can be done about it (other than ridiculing them in hopes that such spending is stigmatized).

But I'm not sure I see the connection between their spending and job loss. I suppose one could argue that the more these fat cats toss around, the better for the economy. I'd rather they spent it on something a bit more meaningful, however.

[eleny]

29. There are "haves" and a growing number of "have nots"

The disconnect is my point.

[SammyWinstonJack]

50. NO TAX CUTS! Enough disposable cash for obscenely extravagant BPs?

Then you(not you) DO NOT need another TAX CUT! Pretty simple

[SoCalDem]

8. I have a cousin who spent $50K redecorating her daughter's room for her 16th birthday present

..this was back in the 80's..:puke:

[madaboutharry]

9. When my son was 11 he had a

"paint a bowl party" at a place called paint yourself silly. It cost $8 a kid. I bought chips and a cake at the supermarket. The whole thing was about $100. And you know what? Everyone was happy and the kids all said they had a great time.

[SoCalDem]

10. We did the "guests equal your age" and we took them to Magic Mountain

fortunately they started just wanting money, before the rates went wacko :)

[uppityperson]

37. When my child was about that, guests wanted to know where "goodie bags" were

It took some explaining to incredulous kids that the reason for a party was to celebrate the birthday of someone else, which included giving gifts to the birthday kid, not taking them home yourselves. Other kids parties followed suit, not giving goodie bags since the kids were way old enough to learn about and deal with the give and not receive thing.

We did fun things, had a fun time, cake, ice cream, etc etc etc, but no. You don't "need" a goodie bag.

[flashl]

11. Seems like somebody just discovered MTVs Sweet 16 ...

My Super Sweet 16

My Super Sweet 16 takes you on a wild ride behind the scenes for all the drama, surprises and over-the-top fun as teens prepare for their most important coming-of-age celebrations. Meet the kids who are determined to go all out to mark this major turning point in their lives, the parents who lavish every wish, and find out first hand what it's really like to turn 16 these days.

[CRF450]

34. The girls on that show are the most spoiled brats I have ever seen

One of them flipped out and cried like a baby when her dad was buying her a used car instead of a brand new BMW or whatever, even though the used one still looked pretty good. I wouldn't stand being around any one of them, much alot of the teenage girls around here. I saw Daddy's Little Girl on FuseTV, even though their dad's spend a shit load of money on them, they're alot more mature than those stuck up little brats on sweet 16.

[Initech]

64. Words cannot describe how much I hate that show.

MTV seems to be pandering to the uber-rich (see The Hills, MSS16, Cribs, all that shit) these days and it really is sickening.

[NYdemocrat089]

12. Most of my childhood parties consisted of movies, pizza, and sleeping bags.

They cost under $50 and everyone had fun.


I would never spend thousands, or even hundreds, on a birthday party.

[booksenkatz]

19. Same here!

Those birthday slumber parties are some of my best childhood memories, too! I can't imagine growing up without ghost stories, Bloody Mary, "light as a feather", playing Beatles records backwards, exchanging erroneous information about sex, etc.

But I'm just an old hag... hey, get off my lawn!

[demmiblue]

25. Ahhh... memories!

Perhaps not the Beatles in my case, but I can totally relate to the other things you mentioned! All the ghostie stuff was especially fun... what imaginations we had as children! Some of my favorite birthdays were when we told ghost stories AND slept in tents in the backyard!

[booksenkatz]

43. I forgot to mention

seances. Oh, we always had to have a seance with screaming and fevered explanations to our parents afterward about what had "really happened" during the seance or it wasn't a party.

Did "light as a feather" ever work at your parties? LOL

I must say, though, that the Devil always showed up on our Ouija board. Not too shabby.:headbang:

[demmiblue]

45. Never did the seance thing...

however, I swear the "light as a feather, stiff as a board" really worked (in my preteen mind!). We never shared our "paranormal" experiences with our parents, but we did try to convince ourselves that strange goings-on were happening! LOL... I think telling our parents would have taken away from the experience! Good times, good times!

[Mandate My Ass]

14. My son had two b-day parties at a skating rink

They supplied pizza/chx nuggets/soda and I brought a cake. Cheap and fun.

I went to a bat mitzvah a couple years ago that was more lavish than many weddings I've attended. Live music, open top shelf bar, sit-down dinner with salmon and prime rib after butlered hor d'ouevres. If I get invited to the wedding I probably won't be able to afford a gift. People are just setting their kids up for huge disappointments in life, IMHO. What can compare after being feted like that? :shrug:

[AlCzervik]

16. i spent like $25 on a cake last year, thats all i got.

i thought $25 was a stupid fucking price btw but it was the one thing my daughter wanted---that damn cake and a gift card to the book store.

[patrice]

17. status = who get's what jobs when someonne in your network goes elsewhere. nt

[pacalo]

20. Hahaaa! So that's how the top 10% & the wannabes spend their tax breaks.

$25 million for a bat mitzvah, a celebration during which the daughter becomes "responsible for her actions"?

[lumpy]

21. Vanity Fair

Helium balloons with silver lame streamers- while a child starves to death in it's mothers arms.

[Botany]

22. Gee I went w/ zoo pal plates

a game of duck, duck, goose, ice cream, and pigs in the blanket.

Whole thing for about $75.00

the guests left w/ some little drums and horns too :rofl:

[bullwinkle428]

24. These are the same people crying crocodile tears (like Charlie Gibson)

over the idea of boosting the capital gains tax!

[taught_me_patience]

26. If I were the kid... I'd tell my mom

"don't throw me a stinking party, just give me the cash instead."

Seriously... please somebody tell me ONE reason why these insecure, rich assholes shouldn't pay a higher percentage of taxes then me? This is sick and disgusting.

[orangerevolution]

31. Maybe if the candidates would stop charging $2,500

for a plate of food at a fundraiser, then they might be able to feed people who are really hungery instead of feeding the rich.

[LibertyLover]

27. I read the article in amazement and bemusement

My family and my husband's family believed that birthdays were nice, but didn't go the party route. For both of us, it was just the family and a few close friends. Because our daughter's birthday falls 2 days before my stepdaughter's birthday, both at the end of June, we celebrate both together. My daughter's first birthday with us we did do a bbq with a number of friends, but for the ones that have followed, we've kept it very small, in keeping with how we were brought up. But she has been to a few friends' birthdays, which by the article's standards were simple and inexpensive affairs, where the parents rented a bowling alley, or they had professionals come to do face painting on the kids. My daughter is going to be 6 in June and has started saying that she wants a party like her friends. We have told her it's not going to happen. June is one of the busiest months of the year for me and trying to plan and produce a kid's birthday party on top of all that is just not in the cards. We did the "party or present" thing and this year she opted for present. We'll still have dinner at her favorite Chinese restaurant but just us. I just don't see the point in big, fancy parties for children and wouldn't do one even if I could afford to blow $10,000. I guess I'm a failure at conspicuous consumption.

[cherokeeprogressive]

28. Hmmm. Spending money in the local economy. I fail to see the harm.

Maybe it even helped some struggling small businessperson to pay their bills or feed their families.

Would you rather have seen that money stay in the bank collecting interest on its way to buying a yacht?

[sanguinivorous]

44. There are the places that poor people shop...

...and the places that rich people shop.

Chances are that most of the money went to businesses that weren't really hurting.

[cherokeeprogressive]

51. Chances are that you're wrong.

In any case, local and state taxes, as well as FICA and other expenditures like Workers Comp, property insurance fees, and utilities were paid.

Again I'll say that I'd rather have those monies spread around than sitting in a bank collecting interest in preparation for the purchase of a yacht or country club membership.

[sanguinivorous]

54. The "trickle down" theory...

...didn't do anything to help the down-and-outs back in Reagan's era, and I sincerely doubt it's doing any better now.

Keep dreaming, though.

[RB TexLa]

30. Kind of like complaining about how much people spend on cars

There are people around the world who would have the same shock over people spending $100 on a child's birthday party.

[Ilsa]

32. My brother's birthday is three years and a day after mine. We shared

our birthday parties, usually homemade cake, ice cream. I loved it then and now. We're very close, too.

[Crabby Appleton]

35. the Great Zucchini

a great article here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011801434_pf.html

[proud patriot]

36. wow that is a great article

[Blue_Tires]

38. 25 mil??

it's impossible to spend that kind of money on a one night event, unless it is held on the international space station or something...

best party i ever had was when i turned 8 (9-11-84)...and that was at the local Putt-Putt...golf, video games pizza, and 22 of my friends may have cost my mom $250...no amount of additional money spent could have made the experience better

[pitohui]

42. someone's money laundering

and the "nice local businessman" that the very naive individual upstream is worried about is the money launderer

he can report receiving soooo many millions for his mah-velous catering job and the flow of drug money can continue unimpeded

at that level everybody involved has to know what's going on

only an idiot who would sit back and excuse that as "well, if he can afford it, i'm sure he's entitled to spend his money as he wishes"

how many kids do they kill with the money they've laundered? they probably don't even know, they certainly don't care

[Crunchy Frog]

60. I think they hired a famous rock band. n/t

[Fireweed247]

39. I don't think these kids are going to be prepared for the new American depression

www.peacecandidates.com

[pitohui]

40. at some point the guillotine starts to look like a good idea

there is absolutely no excuse for this crap, none

i'm not just talking about 3 year olds -- altho it's pretty inexcusable since 3 years olds won't even remember the party -- some people are doing this for their DOGS!!!!

if i were king of the world everybody who spent more than a few hundred dollars on a party, and i don't care if you are bill gates and can "afford" it, would get dropped in the african savannah somewhere there's no electricity or running water and let them walk out, the encounters they would have with folks who have absolutely nothing (and yet would still be willing to help them) might open their minds to their own assholery

and even if it didn't, hell, it would make ME feel better

these people are consuming and destroying the entire planet while millions have nothing, i'm sick of it, NO, you're not entitled to spend all the money in the world because you work hard, every-fucking-body works hard

[XemaSab]

56. Hey, I went to a quineneara for a friend's dog and it was AWESOME!

There were probably 60 people and 40 dogs there, and people got up and told stories about Yogi's life.

There was probably 300 bucks in booze there too. :hide:

[Liberal_in_LA]

59. Seriously? I can't see giving a party for my cat. She wouldn't appreciate it.

[KamaAina]

41. Let 'em eat cake!

birthday cake, that is :eyes:

[B Calm]

46. My cheap labor CEO is laying people off, but last weekend his teenage

daughter and one of her friends took one of daddy's lear jets (he has 7 jets)to England to see a Spice Girl concert.

[AgadorSparticus]

47. omg, these people are nuts. I guess it is all relative....

But I'm not doing the stuff a bear party until my daughter is old enough to really enjoy and remember it. That stuff a bear party is expensive and certainly nothing to sneeze at (to me, anyways).

I can understand booking a fondue restaurant and hiring a band for your big 4-0, 5-0, 6-0, etc birthday...if you've got the money ofr it. But for a kid??? Nuts. Just nuts.

[CatholicEdHead]

48. Given how much the dollar is dropping, that might be true for all of us soon

just for a cheap party.

:yoinks:

[JI7]

49. i would prefer paint a bown and stuff a bear to the expensive shit in this article

and even if we had been wealthy and i could have anything i wanted i would do something like go on a trip somewhere. not some hotel and beach resort type thing but actually learn about the culture and people of different places and see some historical things.

[LibDemAlways]

52. The most extravagent birthday parties for a kid

I ever heard about were ones Will Smith threw for his son. The boy went to elementary school with the daughter of a friend of mine and he used to invite every kid in the class and their parents to these big lavish events. One year he chartered a yacht. Another time he turned his estate into a huge carnival complete with rides. Extravagent, but considering what he makes, I suppose it's the equivalent of me inviting my daughter's kindergarten class to Chuck-e-Cheese.

[Liberal_in_LA]

58. But it's nice the Will Smith is giving the parents and kids an event to remember at his cost

right?

[LibDemAlways]

61. Oh, absolutely. Not criticizing him at all for it. Just

making the point that what is completely over the top and out of range for most people is affordable for an elite few.

[Liberal_in_LA]

62. Agreed. :-)

[Captain Angry]

53. I like how they mentioned, but skimmed over the million dollar party.

Defense contractor.

If I recall the story correctly, he has a no bid contract on body armor. Privately held company. So, if he can sell 50,000 vests for $100M, he's going to bring home a nice bonus.

I wonder what it's like for an Aerosmith or similar level band to be booked to play a private party. That just has to be weird. You're used to 50,000 people, now it's just 200 extremely rich people. Has to be difficult to play without any crowd energy coming back.

My best birthday ever was my 7th birthday. My mom and some other saint took me and a bunch of other 7 year olds to opening day for the Empire Strikes Back. We had cake on the sidewalk while we waited in line, and 50 people in line with us sang happy birthday to me. That ruled. Total cost to mom? Probably $20.00. Children's matinee movie tickets in 1980 couldn't have been very expensive.

If these people feel the need to outspend each other for status, more power to them. How much of the party will the kids remember in 3 months, let alone 10 years? What is the statistic? 95% of stuff given on Christmas is in the trash by March? We're not a very permanent society anymore.

[patrice]

55. Invite your business associates and write it off in your taxes. nt

[XemaSab]

57. I don't think I can comprehend spending more than about 20 bucks a kid

for a birthday party.

Hell, if I was one of the GUESTS at the $25 bat mitzvah I'd just ask for a share of the money and eat hot dogs off a paper plate, ya know?

[RFKHumphreyObama]

63. And since the kid is just turning three, she probably won't even remember it

Unless mommy plans on doing this every year, which unfortunately is a big possibility :eyes:

When I was a kid in the '80s' and '90s', it was quality rather than quantity that counted. The parties were about friendship and fun for the kids and about making sure the kids had a good time for the adults. Sure, the odd rich kid in our class threw an extravagant party but even then the intention wasn't to show the other kids and parents up -it was all about giving the kids a good time

Now it seems that too many parents seem to view parties as a game of one upmanship or "look how special my kid is". How sad

[Initech]

65. This is the kind of thing that breeds future Ken Lays.

:banghead: