how much do you spend for DC's birthday party?

[happyfishcoco]

I went to a few children's birthday parties so far (ages 1-5), one was a softplay party.

I checked softplay party is £22 per person,(including meals.) at least 10 kids, which is a minimum £220 to pay,

and other parties were held in a hall. they have to buy food and may have some entertainers, a bouncer castle etc.
also need to prepare a party bag for kids.
I think to hold a party like this maybe needs £500-1000??
(I am in London)

I always wish to hold a hall party for my DS,

who is turned 3 this year...
but I didn't do it in the end, because I thought it is too expensive.

feel like not worth it, and he is too young, he won't enjoy it, he doesn't understand it does it for him (???)

finally only bought a cake for him, because he had kept asking for a cake. (if he has not asked, I won't even buy a cake for him. awful parent lol)

1. how much do you spend on DC's birthday party?
2. What age do you hold a 1st party for DC?
3. Do you think is it worth holding a party for a 4-year-old? would they enjoy it?

I would like to know what the majority think and do, thanks a lot!

I'm just sorting out my DS's party- he'll be 5 and he's never had one before

We've just invited close friends (15), coming to our house (!) , I've got little
lunchboxes from Ebay £10
Filling them with food from multipacks (crisps, fruit, chocolate, sandwiches or wraps, juice) I'd imagine around £20
Paper sweet bags with sweets, little toys, tattoos etc (under £20(
Bought helium tank (£23) and 20 dinosaur balloons / decorations (£15) , put out our tuff trays with dinosaurs in (free!) and a Spotify playlist of party games I'll run. Pulled in a cake baking favour for cost of ingredients (£15).

So all in for about £140 or so.

We can't afford much more but in honesty I think he'll just be so happy to have a party he'll not mind. He's 5 and he can eat sweets all day 😆

You spent £310 on a cake for a kids party?!?!?! Fucking hell that's more expensive than my wedding cake! That's a crazy amount of money on cake!

@OhhhhhhhhBiscuits to be fair, it feeds 40 and then there are 40 cupcakes on top of that! It’s quite a niche design…I have no other defence!

Around here most people do parties at the local college or leisure centre. They both do the hall and the bouncy castle/ soft play bits for £100- £125 which often works out cheaper than hiring your own hall. Have you got anything like that near you?

@grosgirl never know the cake can be so expensive! that would be great if you can share the pic.

@mondler my borough leisure centre doesn't do hall rental, but I know some have soft play areas, I will check if they do soft play sole hire. maybe need to call the local college to ask too. thanks for your recommend.

@OgdensGoneNutFlake hope you and your DS have a lovely party!!
I can't do a party at home, as I live in a small flat.

seem most people bake the cake instead of buying it.
very good one, I should have practice for it too.

i went overboard (got carried away) organised my DS first party (6 years old) early this year ... always wanted to give him a party since he was 4 but thanks to c19, 4 & 5 years old normal childhood were wiped off

390 £ for the hall, 390 £ for the mobile zoo entertainer, cake £ 150

(too much) food + drinks (parents were too polite lol)

deco, hired helper from airtasker as adults + children total 50+ ppl, party bags.. I think I went slightly over £1k.

We had got so much leftovers and luckily, there's a church band practice at the venue after the party and they happily gobbled up all the food and drinks 😂

i asked for a quote and got quoted £280 for a round single tier cake for 30 portions. That's about right for a bespoke cake with delivery on the day in London 😅

Also in London and it has cost around £400 all in every time and have done a few different parties for 2 children. I usually provide food for adults (not a full meal) and including take home gifts. I hate how the latter has become such a big part of parties but sadly is an expectation so have made a point of giving items which will not end up in landfill eg seeds and gardening tools, books, puzzles etc.

As it is so expensive, I am fussy about making sure I know the parents of children I invite are because I find when I don't know them, they do not RSVP or just don't bother showing up. Fortunately we have school class Whatsapp group so class parties are easier to get RSVPs. At nursery, I was more selective

I don't spend so much on kids party cakes as they often don't get eaten. Plain supermarket cake and then getting creative with figurines/decorations from etsy works wonders.

Can order some from M&S for £50ish too if don't want the effort of doing anything yourself but want something fancier than standard supermarket cake

My daughters 5th birthday, I spent about £800. There were 40 guests and that was a hall, disco/entertainer and face painter.

My sons 4th birthday was £600. That was at a small soft play and we hired it exclusively. There was also a face painter

We are in Essex

Entertainers aren’t a thing here, thank god. It’s games and food and the kids playing tag.

We didn’t do parties until the kids were 5, then every second year (alternate year is 3 friends at the movies).

We did a joint party for our DD and DS (2&1) in a local hall, ordered premade sandwich platters and pizza, 20 adults and 10 kids, with party bags, decorations and cake, came to £150!

How much do you spend on DC's party? It has varied from £200 to over £500. The most expensive being the exclusive hire of soft play party and hall party with an entertainer. My kid's favourite parties have been at-home parties with a few friends. Go figure.

What age do you hold a 1st party for DC? Our first party was at age 4.

Do you think is it worth holding a party for a 4-year-old? would they enjoy it? My DC remember their 4th birthday parties and still talk about it fondly years later so a yes from me. For DC1, it was at home and we invited 3 friends. Didn't have a celebration cake, but had cupcakes. I did a few party games, had a craft kit for when they arrived, and gave each child a large bubble wand plus lots of free play and this is still the DC1's favourite party. For DC2, I hired a local venue and paid £225 for the hall + decorations + party tea + soft play equipment + toys for 24 children. I hired a face painter and simply arrived with party bags and cake. It worked so well and was hassle-free for me. I think the key is to do something that your child enjoys as a party and invite their favourite people to join in.