I'm not throwing my kids birthday parties anymore for this one reason

A mum has had enough of this unspoken birthday party 'rule'. Can you see her point?

It seems that creating Instagram-worthy moments is the ultimate goal of children's birthday parties these days - a trend that one mum says has resulted in "eye-watering" amounts of money spent and an "exhausting" amount of effort.

So, after feeling the constant pressure to keep up, the mum, Anna Tyzack, decided to take a stand and stop throwing birthday parties for her kids altogether, opting for more intimate family gatherings instead.

"Most of us remember our childhood birthday parties as a small gathering at home with tea, cake and pass-the-parcel, but for today’s parents, it’s become a highly pressurised and often eye-wateringly expensive affair – which is why we’ve decided to ditch them altogether and go back to small, family parties," writes Anna Tyzack, a mum of five, for iNews.

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"Weren't even making them happy"

"It’s now normal to hire an entertainer for a party, along with a bouncy castle or soft play equipment. Even at toddlers’ birthdays," she continues.

"I’ve seen balloon displays and bespoke cakes – reflecting the theme of course. Parents are working so hard that they simply don’t have the time to arrange these themselves.

"And of course, there’s the renting of a hall or venue – unless your house is big enough to accommodate the whole class of children."

Image: iStock

She then calls out another issue she has with kids' parties - the pressure to invite the entire class.

With preschools and schools now encouraging inclusivity, and some even enforcing it, parents are faced with the dilemma of having to host a large amount of kids that they otherwise wouldn't have.

"There was no way I was going to attempt to entertain 30 four and five-year-olds myself," she admits. "Before even accounting for friends and family."

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"Best birthday ever"

After organising countless big birthday parties for her kids, including hiring a puppet show and entertainment and an entire climbing gym, Anna made the realisation that these weren't even making her kids happy despite "costing a bomb."

Now her kids' birthday parties involve getting pizza with a few friends, quality time with grandparents, going to the beach and birthday cakes.

"[They] tell me they're the best birthdays ever," she says.

"And I think [they] mean it."

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Originally published as I'm not throwing my kids birthday parties anymore for this one reason