By Murray Sherriffs
There’s a growing trend when it comes to children’s birthday parties: encourage the invited children to pay to attend.
There’s the price of food, the cake, the balloons, the entertainment and maybe the bouncy castle or a party package at the soft play, arcade, ball pit, laser tag and indoor theme park or taking pre-teens for manicures or to make splatter art and friendship bracelets at your local pottery studio, craft shop or artisan sandwich cafe.
Already people are seeing requests to help pay for the party on the invitation the invite cards.
The average parent spends at least $445 for a party, at least one in five parents spend more than $700 and a third of parents incur debt.
Two-thirds of parents polled feel that birthday party planning is more stressful than their day job.
Some feel that they are in competition with other parents to throw the best party.