Parents who feel the pressure of one-upmanship and keeping-up-with-the-Joneses when it comes to organising their children’s parties can breathe a sigh of relief after new research has revealed we’re going back to basics.
The traditional birthday party is making a comeback after years of costly and elaborate gatherings, according to The Telegraph. A study commissioned by party firm Buttons discovered that parents are increasingly hosting celebrations in their own homes or in village halls rather than dedicated venues.
The findings attributed the recession as well as a return to good old fashioned pastimes, such as baking and crafts, for mums and dads getting hands-on with their kids’ festivity plans.
The study showed that now a mere 26 per cent, or one in four, families are choosing specific entertainment locations for their parties. Some particularly virtuous people are also bearing health in mind and are ditching the sugar-filled buffets and treats for energetic celebrations in swimming pools or parks.
Some 200 parents and guardians of children aged between two and 10 were questioned in the research. Founder of Buttons, Ellie Kelly, said: “After years of ever more elaborate bids for entertainment, parents are finding that the best way to do something new and different is to give children a more traditional style of party. We’ve come full circle.”
Revealed in their answers, participants said their aims in planning a party were to make sure guests had fun , closely followed by ‘getting it over with as painlessly as possible’. The biggest challenges were named as keeping children entertained, organising the party games and many preferred to hire an entertainer.
Increasingly mums and dads are shunning off-the-shelf cakes and are donning the aprons themselves, and the study showed that most parents are willing to put any strict food rules to one side for party time. None of the participants said they were so brave to introduce a ‘health food only’ offering.
While a return to traditional values might seem like an honourable thing to do, don’t be fooled that we are completely without today’s competitive streak. Almost a third of parents (29 per cent) said they were still out to impress fellow parents as part of their party arrangements.