My kids want a birthday party every year and I'm not sure they need it

"But saying no worries me for a couple of reasons."

Emily Blatchford

2 min read

November 1, 2024 - 4:48PM

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What’s with kids having big birthday parties every year? Was this always a thing?

We have three kids and it’s bloody expensive - how can we keep the costs down without disappointing anybody?

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Image: iStock

Advice from the Kidspot Editor, Emily

Your house, your rules my friend. You get to be the boss of birthday parties and how often they occur, period.

Something I have noticed since having kids myself is that parties do seem to be getting more and more extravagant. It’s all about hiring a DJ or going to a play centre or - the creme de la creme for my house full of girls - a pony party with ACTUAL PONIES.

(I looked this up out of curiosity for my eldest daughter and it was like $1000 for six kids. Sorry, kiddo, but yee-ha-hell-no.)

I don’t know if it’s Instagram or just a plain case of keeping up with the Joneses, but that’s a lot of money to be forking out in this climate. Props to you if you can afford it, but most of us can’t. So what to do?

Firstly you need to be super clear with your kids about Birthday Party Expectations. Is it a party every second year, is it a party for milestone birthdays only, is it a party but no presents? Do kids even need a party at all?

What’s wrong with having some mates over for an icy pole and a movie/popcorn night?

I think sometimes it’s the adults who get carried away when the kids themselves would be satisfied with something much simpler. God, let them game with a couple of their friends for an afternoon if that’s what they want. ]

One of the best parties we had was just at our house with some retro games and crafts from the $2 shop. Show me a child who does not enjoy trying to eat donuts off a clothesline and I will show you a liar. Likewise anything to do with slime. Is it a mess in your house? Yes. Does it require some child-wrangling when you’d rather be watching from the sidelines? Also yes.

But it’s cheap and, believe it or not, the kids LOVED it.

We all want our kids to have magical childhoods and fond memories of special occasions, but if your kid has you believing you need to work overtime for that to happen, it’s time to let them know that particular party is well and truly over.