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Birthdays in Gotham Are Recession Proof

Why are kid's birthday parties so damn expensive in New York? Every way I slice it, it comes up beaucoup bucks.

Is this because I live in a concrete box where I have to bring the entertainment INSIDE (no jungle gym to let them run around on for moi!) and also a winter birthday rabbit (hence no scavenger hunt in the neighborhood, lest the 92-year woman across the hall beats them with her walker...)?

Sigh. Don't get me wrong. I'm a birthday party queen. Love them. Love them madly. Don't love having to explain the costs to The Prince when all I really dream of is a party for The Rabbit with a pinata tied to a tree in a backyard filled with streamers, balloons, some room for a three-legged race, and those Baskin Robbins ice cream clowns instead of cake.

No matter. Clever mama will come up with a clever solution I am sure. And The Rabbit is bound to love her party no matter what we craft.

That's the beauty of The Rabbit: She's disappointment-proof.

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Anonymous said…
What's a pinata? I want one.
How old is your Rabbit? Disappointment-proof! Give it time.
1:34 pm
Manhattan Mama said…
She's a lovely 5, turning 6, er perhaps 16.
A pinata? The most wonderful thing -- a paper mache hollow creation that you fill with sweets and treats and then bash open with a bat. A lovely diversion for children and frustrated mamas -- depending on the treats of course!
5:33 am
Kate B. said…
I love pinatas, too. but even they are expensive in London! The only solution is to ban class birthdays and invite a handful of friends home for a traditional tea party instead. It ticks all the boxes - exclusivity, delightfully retro and probably saves the planet too (anti-consumerist etc). Announce it's the latest thing in suitably strident tones and all the (s)mothers will be vying with each other over their home baked (vegan, no doubt) scone recipes in no time.
4:56 pm
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