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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that birthday parties are a priviledge for the rich?

68 replies

BlueberryPancake · 20/09/2010 13:04

We are having some work done in our garden (necessary work!) and struggling to know what to do for DS birthday party in November. Our house is not very big and usually we just have some games outside with about 10 of his friends - rain or shine! We can't use the garden around his birthday this year.

So I was thinking of getting an entertainer to come over, a storyteller maybe, and I have made calls to various people based in London, and there is nobody who will come to your house for under £140 (I would like someone for just 40-50 minutes, but apparently they only have 2 hour packages).

I have been quoted cheapest £140 and most expensive £500. The average is £200.

Plus food, and gifts for DS.

So I called a few places where we could go to, and have found nothing under £200 (including food) or £130 (without food) plus entertainer!!!

Is this it? Are birthday parties for rich kids? Am I late on the uptake and everyone spends that kind of money? We have been to many parties and I have been wondering how much it costs other people, but THAT much!

OP posts:
TheProvincialLady · 20/09/2010 13:06

I daresay poor people manage somehow. I'm sure you could manage some kind of entertainment yourself for less than £200.

Original poster
BlueberryPancake · 20/09/2010 13:08

yes, that's what I always do!

OP posts:
miniwedge · 20/09/2010 13:08

YABU. I have hosted childrens parties on a very small budget.

Party games/disco in sitting room. Google the subject, there are loads of fantastic things to do.

Lauriefairycake · 20/09/2010 13:08

Go to the pictures plus Pizza Hut - we took dd and 10 friends and it cost less than £200

or ice skating plus a meal after (local ice rink does birthday parties for £14.50 a head including burger/chips)

And then there's no mess to clean up Wink

PosieParker · 20/09/2010 13:08

Erm, YABU. Unimaginative birthday parties are reserved for the rich, poor people have to think of fabulous ideas!! When money wasn't so tight we hired halls and entertainers...as we always had one demanding baby or another on top . But this year for dds 4th birthday we planted flowers and decorated pots, the best ever. How about a camping trip for your ds and three of his friends? Or a trip to the woods to build fires and cook food?

Oh and I've taken to serving hot dogs and ice cream and not a whole load of party food!! (not for dd as she had pink food and smaller children!)

Blu · 20/09/2010 13:09

How old is he, and how many kids will you invite?

I have always done DIY parties at home for DS, on a reasonable budget...but it depends on age.

Chil1234 · 20/09/2010 13:09

Don't feel pressured into being competitive. You can fit 8-10 little kids in the average living room, no problem. Lead traditional games yourself like pass the parcel, musical statues, pin the tail on the donkey and Blind Man's Buff... serve home-made sarnies, jelly and ice-cream.... give everyone a balloon to take home. Very cheap. Spend what you can afford...

clemetteattlee · 20/09/2010 13:09

How about persuading an artistic friend to do face painting for free?

Last party for DD we hired a hall (£20) and a bouncy castle (£75). The beauty of that is you can have loads of children and don't have to pay per head. We didn't do party bags and they only eat about half a sandwich, some crisps, grapes and cake!

MorrisZapp · 20/09/2010 13:10

Entertainers etc are new trend though aren't they. I grew up just having a bunch of kids round, mum pressing the buttons on the tape recorder for musical statues etc and some basic party food and drink from the supermarket.

I don't believe for one minute that kids prefer the modern party type, as long as they get their e-numbers and get to scream a lot they're happy.

MrsMellowdrummer · 20/09/2010 13:10

Hire a hall. Our local one is £12 for children's parties. Then we just do party games,fancy dress maybe, bit of tea. And you're not left with a house full of mess and chaos afterwards.

TheProvincialLady · 20/09/2010 13:11

TBH I don't think the children necessarily enjoy the ones with an organised entertainer as much as the ramshackle ones done by parents. The two worst parties my DS1 has attended were both entertainer types.

How old is your DS and does he have any ideas?

pagwatch · 20/09/2010 13:17

YABU

You don't need an entertainer

I always have one but I need to. And am lazy.

But kids just want to run around and enjoy themselevs

Parties with entertianer at home is way more expensive than party at a venue
DDs had games party at local private health club and it was about £300 for 19 kids....
1 1/2 hours of games and tea and party bags.
Party at home always more plus we do bags and food

Try your local leisure centre

diddl · 20/09/2010 13:18

I never had a party that wasn´t "party games" and a "birthday tea" at home.

Then when you a were too old for that you didn´t do anything until 18!

OP-can you do a treasure hunt or an organised walk nearby?

Is there a park you could do your usual party in?

Swimming?

Original poster
BlueberryPancake · 20/09/2010 13:19

He is going to be five and very much into Peter Pan and Ben 10!!!

Our local halls start at £24 an hour. We would need it for two and a half hours, plus food. He would like a knight or superhero party! Considering that most of his friends are girls, we might open the invitation to fairies as well...

Don't get me wrong, we always do the parties ourselves (I have two DSs) and they have alway been very happy about this (so have we!), but always with the kids running around outside and the games taking place in the garden.

I was extremely surprised about just how much money people actually spend on this. The lady who quoted me £500 is booked 3 months in advance...

OP posts:
Morloth · 20/09/2010 13:23

YABU, you don't need all that stuff. Fairy bread/chocolate crackles, pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs etc.

We have a party coming up this weekend, picnic at the park, BYO picnic and birthday mum doing cake and games, softplay if it is raining.

pagwatch · 20/09/2010 13:35

yeah but most things cost a variety of prices.And if woman charging £500 is booked up then perhaps she is great and people can afford it.
But most people won't spend that and her existing does not mean that ALL entertainers and ALL organised parties are just for rich kids

It is like saying 'having looked at Birkin/Prada/Bottega veneta bags at net-a-porter AIBU to think that handbags are just for rich people'

And people who can spend £6,000 on a hndbag won't consider £500 a lot of money. But most people just want sweaty kids, cornflake cakes, pass the parcel scenario

NordicPrincess · 20/09/2010 13:47

if whether is nice do a treasure hut type thing in a wood
or buy loads of cheap swords and get them to pretend to be pirates in teams and they can see who finds the treasure chest first? followed by cake and play

thereisalightanditnevergoesout · 20/09/2010 13:54

When in November? Why not have a bonfire party? Hot dogs, baked potatoes, drinking chcolate, a few games and some fireworks?

highlandspringerdog · 20/09/2010 13:55

Resist the party madness!!!
In our school at the moment it seems like everyone feels it is compulsory to invite the whole class, give out those ridiculous bloody party bags full of sh1te, AND send a blinking thank you note, usually with some cutesy image of kid smiling on front.
It is insanity.
There are so many ways to mark your kids birthday which does not cost loads of cash:
take child and one friend swimming then to cafe for hot chocolate.
let child have sleepover and watch DVD with 3 mates then have special breakfast with pain au choc or something.
Take them all to the playground and then give them all a balloon and a piece of cake to take hom with them.
Take 3 of them to a (still free as the tories haven't taken them away from us yet) museum and bring a picnic.

Don't get sucked into the madnes......the more of us who resist the more likely we will eventually triumph over competititve party bag HELL!

thereisalightanditnevergoesout · 20/09/2010 13:55

Oh - sorry, just read you can't use the garden.

spiritmum · 20/09/2010 13:56

For my dd1's 4th birthday (fairies/knights)we had a mix of boys and girls, and we had biscuit decorating which was insanely popular. Totally gross too as they all ate the icing directly out of the pens. The girls took theirs home and the boys ate theirs on the spot. Grin

We then had a picnic on the sitting room floor.

petelly · 20/09/2010 13:58

When I was a student, we did birthday parties on the cheap. We used our community hall (free for students) as our flats were tiny, no entertainer and did the food ourselves. Only spent on some stuff for arts and crafts and party bags.

Now we're working, I like to have an entertainer as I want to be able to sit back and enjoy the party as well.

We use a wonderful entertainer who charges £160 for two hours plus £45 to hire a scout hut. She's so good I'd say she's worth every penny. Probably another £50 for food and extras. So not cheap but not ott for a 'whole class' party. I'm doing big parties because my dds love it and also because I'm a working mum so it's nice to make up for the lack of playdates during the week but smaller parties are just as fun! Other parents double up and share the costs which is a good idea.

What part of London are you in? I'm in North London. I can PM you the entertainer's and scout hut's details if you're interested.

daymonkey · 20/09/2010 13:59

Tell your DS to invite a few of his best friends (or just his best friend) and take them bowling. You could even throw in a trip to your local pizza emporium afterwards. He'll have a great time, it won't cost you the earth, and (as a bonus) you'll minimise the number of presents that people feel obliged to buy (and which you don't really want anyway). Everyone wins.

fedupofnamechanging · 20/09/2010 14:04

Swimming parties at leisure centres are great. They swim for about 45 mins, then can have food in one of the function rooms. Some leisure centres will provide nuggets/chips/ice cream and all you have to provide are table decorations, cake and party bags. I think you can provide your own food if it's cheaper.

Again, has the bonus of no mess at home. Don't think I'd want to host a party if the garden was off limits.

Or, you could just take Ds and a couple of friends to the cinema and Mc donalds after.

fishtankneedscleaning · 20/09/2010 14:06

The last party we had was a pool party. Cost £22 for two hours pool hire, including loads of floats, water guns etc. I made some sandwiches, bought some cakes, crisps, fruit etc

All done and dusted in two hours with no mess and everyone had a great time.

The children were too busy playing to eat, although they all had a bite of a sandwich, some crisps and a cake each. And a drink of course.

The cost for pool and food was under £60 - and thats including the birthday cake Wink