How the trend of ‘entitled’ kids’ parties is costing parents an arm and a leg
If you thought lavish kids parties were only reserved for the Kardashian kids, think again.
There’s a new trend making its way to us mere mortal parents and our kids’ parties, and it’s incredibly bad timing with the cost of living crisis.
You’ve heard of gift registries for weddings – well what about for a kids’ party?
Yep that’s right — the kids are getting in on the act, and no they don’t want a toaster and some Egyptian cotton bed sheets: These little party prince and princesses want giant toys, perfume and designer goods.
A QR code and a gift list — for a seven year old
In an interview with The Daily Mail, an anonymous mom has shared her outrage at being sent four separate invitations — each with a QR code that sent her to a website featuring a luxury gift list.
The first one was for a seven year old girl in her daughter’s class.
“Scanning the catalogue of goodies, it also included a Barbie DreamHouse at £250 [about $320 USD] and a Barbie campervan costing over £50 [about $64 USD],” the UK based mom shared with Daily Mail journalist Sadie Nicholas.
“My first emotion was shock, before the rage kicked in.”
She says that as a teacher, who lives in a lovely but not particularly wealthy town in the UK, this type of invite was (until recently) definitely not the norm.
For background, the mom explains that her kids attend a local public school with a mixture of parents who have professional careers or are stay at home moms, but that in the past birthday parties were all about regular toys or little gifts — until this run of four invites.
In the instance of the seven year old girl, the mom said that ultimately she relented and chose the smallest item on the list.
“I picked the cheapest thing”
“I picked the cheapest thing on the list at [about $32 USD] — a bottle of Marc Jacobs perfume, which seems an extraordinary gift for a seven-year-old — and had it delivered to my house so that at least I could wrap it and my daughter could give it to her friend in person.”
For parents who missed out on that one ‘cheap’ item there was a statement on the invite that read:”‘If you want to contribute more or you’re not able to afford items on her list, you can send money instead.”
Oof.
The lavish spa-themed party was apparently a hit with the kids, but there was plenty of eye-rolling from the moms in the room
“Afterwards, we swapped messages venting our fury and also our hope that this was very much a one-off,” the mom said.
“We didn’t even get a thank-you note.”
Three more copycat invites followed
Sadly this wasn’t a one-off with the mom receiving three more copycat invitations with gift lists shortly thereafter also complete with expensive gift requests not out of place on a wedding registry.
The mom said that while some of her friends felt the gifts were at least what the kids wanted, they were far too extravagant and set ridiculous expectations for her own daughter.
“Nothing will persuade me that these wishlists smack of anything other than entitlement, especially when the cost of living is through the roof,” she said.
This bougie kids party trend is at the other end of the spectrum to the ‘fiver’ party where parents request five dollars that can be spent at a later date by the birthday boy or girl to splurge on a bigger item.
In a Facebook post earlier this week, moms debated the appeal of this ‘no gift’ party trend.
“I just recently heard about the fiver party…I think it’s a fantastic idea,” said one woman.
“As a mom who goes to a party almost every weekend, I love it! It takes the stress out from thinking of a toy.”
“So much kids’ plastic junk!”
Another added: “I feel 100 percent the same way and have written something similar this year for my son’s birthday.
“Even if times aren’t tough we all have so much plastic kids junk and it’s annoying to have to race to Kmart on the weekend before parties.”
Whatever your thoughts on the fiver party, it sure costs a lot less than a kids’ gifts registry event: coming soon to a party near you, perhaps?
