A mother has explained why she is already fed up with children's birthday parties.
With a video shared on TikTok on March 24, Hannah Winslow sparked an online debate, causing parents to deliberate the benefits of hosting regular get-togethers for young children. The mother of three began the video by saying, “I think we're sick of kids' birthday parties.”
This idea came to the young mother after she had recently organized a birthday party for her six-year-old son.
“Is this fun for anyone?” The 34-year-old continued in the video. “Like, why are we doing this? “I just added all that up and that was $718 for a mediocre, average, run-of-the-mill birthday party.”
She explained to Good morning america She wanted to give her children (ages seven, six and two) what she didn't have when she was their age, so she started going all out, doing everything she could while hosting annual birthday parties for her daughter. and two children.
“I grew up not having birthday parties every year… and I remember feeling like, 'I really want a birthday party all the time.' I want to do that for my kids,'” Winslow said. However, the rising costs of hosting these extravagant birthday parties eventually took a financial toll. She admitted that all the planning required to throw three birthday parties each year, each costing about $700 for an “average” party for about 15 people, led her to feel “disenchanted.”
“I just got a little disillusioned with it. It didn't live up to my expectations. My kids would have a good time, but they have a good time doing just about anything,” Winslow said. “The experience did not match the dollar spent by me.”
In the comments section of her video, parents were divided. One user pointedly wrote that organizing these parties was not about his passion for planning parties, but about celebrating his children. “Like a kid who never had a birthday party, and we could have allowed it, he throws a damn birthday,” they wrote. “It is important.”
Meanwhile, someone else suggested that maybe Winslow should try planning an experience instead of a party, and that maybe the change would get her out of her party-planning rut.
“My two children get overwhelmed with birthday parties,” they commented. “We decided to take trips to the beach, to the aquarium, out of the city and we have noticed that they enjoy it much more.”
Since the video aired, Winslow said she's talked about different ways they could celebrate their special days. As a family, they have been inclined to take trips, whether locally or to a new destination.
“When I told them: 'This is what it costs.' Think of all the other things we could do instead.' They got really excited about doing other things, going on a one-on-one trip with Mom or doing something really special locally with a friend or two,” Winslow said. “We can take the birthday party money and spend it on something else that continues to create memories.”
Now, when it comes to birthday parties, Winslow makes sure to talk to her kids about what they want and what's in their budget so everyone can be happy.
