Let’s say you are brave, really brave and you love having parties at your house! Now that we have established that you throw a great party, you decide that you will throw your child’s birthday party yourself! You are a #PINTERESTMOM. There is no shame in your game, own this title and rock it, because you will have this party planned like no other. Pinterest was a 2010 Silicon-valley start-up and started with 5000 users, and now has hundreds of millions. Users create boards with themes and ideas that are “pins” from other places around the world wide web. Think of it like a giant scrapbook where you rip out ads and ideas from magazines because you want to do that someday! To be a Pinterest mom (or dad, granny, etc.) you are elevated to a whole new status, you are officially a hot commodity in the kid universe!
You have your new Pinterest boards ready to go, and you have a lot to decide. You need to decide first and foremost the theme and your budget. After you have decided that, there is much to do. Personalized party gift bags – check. Fun games handmade by you after your little one has gone off to bed – check! Prizes, treats, food, cake, ice cream, entertainment. Check, check, check, check, check, check! Custom invitation – check! You are a party planning expert, after all! Although creating your own birthday party from beginning to end is a lot of work, many local moms wouldn’t have it any other way.
Lynna Egan says this about her kids’ birthday parties, “I’ve done a themed party every year. So far, they have been at our house. I am definitely using Pinterest for inspirations. I order nice invitations from Tiny Prints or Shutterfly, and we have tons of decorations. We also have a themed dessert table and of course a custom cake. Plenty of drinks for the adults and kids.”
Lynna also tells us, “I don’t really track the money but probably come close to $600-$700, depending on food, decorations, etc. I keep saying the next year we won’t go all out but that hasn’t happened yet.” When you are throwing a custom party, prepare to spend a few bucks! It’s worth it though, because you know you created it, from beginning to end. Most of these custom parties can range from $500 to $1000 or more!
Another mom who recently moved to the Coachella Valley, Rebecca Kay, tells us “I did themed parties every year until I moved here. They cost about $300-$400 with an abundance of themed decorations, food, games etc. Because of the move “my kids didn’t have enough friends to warrant going all out like that here. So, we just take the day off school to go to whatever theme park or event that makes them happy.”
A recovering #Pinterestmom is local attorney Rejeanne Eyre who has a four year old. “I did Very Hungry Caterpillar for (my child’s) first birthday. It was awesome because I did the food based on the food mentioned in the books with cutouts quoting the book. His second birthday was Daniel Tiger and the third was Thomas the Train. This year I said forget it, no party, and took him to Disneyland for 3 days! I went crazy Pinterest/Etsy for the first three and probably spent at least $1200 each time. Disney was expensive too BUT I didn’t stress about people not showing up or not liking that party.”
I suppose one set of stress is always traded for another! Pinterest and Etsy and Shutterfly and Tiny Prints has elevated the children’s party to a whole new level of fabulousness! It makes it possible for ordinary moms and dads to become super-parents! We delight in color-coding our kid-friendly mocktails and adding just the right amount of glitter to each custom invitation that we send out. And we have to remember that they aren’t always little, so the hard work that we put into these events is for us parents as much as it is for them. Sure, it can be easier to use a professional, or go to a place that does parties every day, all day long, but we aren’t ordinary, we are EXTRA, and although this isn’t for everyone, it is for some of us!
Editor’s Note: We love Pinterest Moms. We love Amazon Prime Moms. We love moms in between. This is a lighthearted article. Enjoy!
