Happy Birthday to You!
T I M E T R A V E L T U E S D A Y
BIRTHDAY PARTIES
Children’s birthday parties have certainly changed over the years. I thought it might be fun to take a look back and see how we used to celebrate these special days. 
THE GIFT
Attending a birthday party meant dressing up a little. It was, after all, a PARTY! I remember going shopping for a present with my mom, always worried that we’d pick something that wouldn’t get a good reaction from the crowd. Gifts back then were not extravagant like they are today. Usually they ranged from $10.00 to $20.00 and fell into 4 categories. BOARD GAMES such as, Shoots and Ladders, Trouble, or Mystery Date — those were always a safe bet. ART SUPPLIES might include – Spirograph, etc. A NOVELTY ITEM like a Magic Eight Ball or a Slinky was always exciting. And lastly, ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT was usually appreciated; Jump Ropes, Roller Skates, Hula Hoops, etc. *I should mention that BARBIE could be considered her own category.
Bringing clothing as a gift was very risky. It was usually frowned upon by the other children. The best you could do was blame it on your mom.
Children don’t dress up for parties anymore. Parties have lost that special quality because each year parents try to out do the last one. Kids arrive with high expectations and then look bored, “That’s all you have?” Parents keep pushing the bar in an effort to keep up with the Joneses which only makes matters worse. Suffice it to say that gifts today are ridiculously extravagant or incredibly lazy. It’s not unusual to watch the birthday boy or girl open a stack of gift certificates. Good times!
DECORATIONS
In our day the decorations consisted of balloons, streamers, and pointy paper hats. (I always hated that little elastic under my chin!) The theme was always the same – BIRTHDAY PARTY.
Today, parties have elaborate themes that rival a trip to the Magic Kingdom. Parents spend big bucks to create whatever reality they’ve planned. The sky’s the limit. For example, if you have a PRINCESS theme you might buy all the girls tiaras and take them to one of those places that does your hair and nails. If you have a PIRATE theme everyone will be dressed to look like Captain Hook. You can be sure the music, food, games and decorations, will coordinate with all things Pirate. Some people even hire party planners for these events!
THE PARTY GAMES
Let’s just say the games we played were wholesome and innocent. We’d traditionally play Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Simon Says, Duck-Duck-Goose and Musical Chairs. Actually, now that I think about it, those games were slightly anxiety producing. What’s so fun about putting on a blindfold and getting spun around?
The games we played have been replaced with Laser Tag, Ball Pits, Arcades, Bounce House Rentals, Paint Ball, etc. And yes, it all costs money.
THE CAKE
When I was growing up, BIRTHDAY CAKES were home made and always served with either vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Happy Birthday was sung, a wish was made, and the candles were blown out. Simple and sweet.
Most cakes today are special ordered to match the party’s theme. Cakes can cost a bundle, depending on how elaborate you choose to go. Some people set up a make your own SUNDAE BAR. (I’m not gonna lie, I would’ve loved that as a kid.)
THE GOODY BAG
Back in the day, PARTY FAVORS were put in a small paper bag. They were usually filled with candy and sometimes, if you were lucky, there would be a small prize like Silly Putty or Bubbles.
Today, the gift bags are way over the top. I’m not even sure who started this tradition? Isn’t it enough that you just provided fun, food and entertainment for 3 hours? Still, insecure parents nowadays will spend a lot of money so their guests walk away with a gift that leaves them impressed and approving.
What are your memories of Birthday Parties growing up? How do you feel about the parties of today?
Wait are there still goody bags? I was thinking about this just the other day… Odd.
Yup, except now they’re worth more than the birthday gifts received! haha! Maybe with the economy being so bad people will return to some kind of normalcy. Ha!
One thing I always noticed at parties was if two people got someone the same gift everyone would laugh. I got Lucas McGuire a Scarecrow from Batman the Animated Series action figure. That bastard Michael Barbera had already gotten him one. Everyone laughed at me for having my gift opened second.
I could always choose between a party or more gifts. I usually chose gifts. A board game can’t let you down. Sean Dunn saying your party was lame can.*
*Sean Dunn never said that. I also only invited him because he was very helpful to me while I was wheelchair bound. He got me a 1995 Walkman which barely worked.
Your reply fell below NBI.
We also had something popular named ‘Play City’. It was full of… you know… it was a sort of labyrinth of corridors and ball pools (is that an existing word?). It was just a building fillef with stuff you could run through and hang in and hide in and so on. Man, I didn’t know it was so hard to explain!
filleD
haha! I know what you’re talking about! Those kind of things don’t give the party any unity, though. It seems like kids just run off and do their own thing?
We ran after each other :).
Did you have fun?
I’m so glad you mentioned the horror and humiliation that came with buying a duplicate gift. It made me feel so sad for my mom, for some reason. I felt like she had wasted her money and time and the thought that went into it. : (
Parties could definitely have a traumatic aspect to them.
Kids can be so obnoxious. That’s part of the reason that I think parents try to out do themselves. It’s like they’re buying their kid a better social status.
I would go for the presents, too. Back in the day, no one had a PARTY every year, it was considered extravagant, so like every third year, maybe?
Wait, why were you wheelchair bound?
I was playing American Gladiators on the monkeybars and Nick Tallone kicked me off. I must have fallen funny. The monkeybars weren’t very high.
When you said “your comment fell behidn NBI’s” I thought there was some kind of contest that I had immediately lost haha
Ouch! The monkey bars always scared me.
No, I hate it when I post something and it comes in at the same time as another comment and then it gets bumped to where you might not see it! haha! I’m such a mom! I feel like I have to tell the person where it is or they’ll think I never responded!
I was unlucky – I only remember going to one birthday party in my childhood. I didn’t mix much.
I do agree that parties these days tend to be completely ‘over the top’ and very extravagant. There is too much ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ involved, and not enough emphasis on true fun.
My daughters say their most memorable parties were the ones I sabotaged by inviting all the kids to come down the path to the beach. The pretty dresses were either shed or became total casualties. I remember the looks of horror on the faces of parents collecting their dishevelled offspring afterwards!
Your daughters probably had a wonderful childhood if they had a beach close by.
A child’s idea of a proper party and that of an adult are two different things. Inviting the kids to go down the path to the beach in their party clothes sounds like a good time to me, although I could see how it might get a little unruly! haha!
Maybe you weren’t so unlucky after all… I remember feeling quite anxious at the thought of socializing with all those children and trying to fit in. I think small family get-togethers are slightly nicer : )
I had my hands full to keep the little darlings out of trouble!
When I was a kid, we would do dress-up parties (princess, costumes, whatever) and roller skate in my basement. I am quite sure this is not happening anywhere anymore. 😉
Haha! Those are the best sort of parties – lots of freedom and fun. I think people have lost touch with the element of FUN lately.
I remember having some good birthday parties! I dressed as a blonde Jasmine at one I believe! But once I hit middle school, I always thought it was weird when people had extravagant parties. Umm we’re 12 now…lets just have a sleepover and watch a movie. Remember when I popped my ankle in that bouncy castle?! UGH that was the summer before high school. Who has a bouncy castle for their 14th birthday?! Granted, I went in it. But still.
Yeah, I was guilty of making the parties a little theme-ish. But they were almost always family parties so it wasn’t so expensive. They were fun. I wish I had kept an album of just birthdays, year after year. The best ones are always with your good friends and are much more casual.
Hi,
I always enjoyed going to friends Birthday Party’s when I was a kid, I assume they felt the same coming to mine as well. We always had fun, and I also used to hate the bit of elastic that went under the chin for the party hat. 🙂
It has just gotten ridiculous now, the amount of money that some parents spend, Their was never any sort of competition concerning the party’s when I was growing up, you just went to have fun, and fun we had, and it didn’t cost the earth. 🙂
That’s the truth! Things are terribly out of balance when a birthday party is no longer good old fashioned fun. I’m glad someone else remembers that bit of elastic the same way I do! haha!
Parties when I was a kid were nice dresses and games and cake and ice cream. I wasn’t fond of any of that, so, I dropped off my gift, grabbed a little dish of ice cream(remember those?) and a good book and sat outside. The moms all understood, thankfully, and left me alone.
When Name Redacted left us, things were tight–really tight–for a bit. One year, for Anne, I had the teenaged girl next door help me, and we sent out 6 invites (one per year), then, when the girls arrived carrying their dresses (as advised) she made them up and I made tea, serving it in my great grandmother’s set. Possible breakage was worth the looks on their faces, with the girl next door and I in black dresses and white aprons, serving little sammiches with the crust off. Pretty soon, they had their pinkies out, and were talking like little madams. Good times.
It’s interesting how everyone seems to have strong feelings about parties from their youth. I think as kids we’re either social and love them or on the fringe, inward and are made anxious by them. It probably has to do with social expectations.
Sounds like you had some very dainty little tea parties. Lovely!
Tell me about it. I’m about to iron out the details of EB’s party! The younger they are, the more effort parents put into it. Last year we had a pony (and a friend that brought it over for free). This year we’re doing a Yo Gabba Gabba theme. For my birthday I make everyone dress up (it doubles as a halloween party), so maybe I do exert the same level of effort for adult and child parties after all. Birthdays are my favorite. ALWAYS home-made cakes. Always.
Home-made cakes are the best. Birthdays can be super fun, it depends on the person throwing the party and what the expectations are. I think the pony will be hard to beat. One year we hired a “gorilla” to come to my son’s 6th birthday and act goofy, dance around and play games. The kids loved it. If my son had been any older it would have been a disaster. haha!
I don’t remember that many parties to be honest. I think they tended to be jelly and ice affairs.
It’s quite sad if there are communities out there constantly trying to outdo each other. It’s a huge expense and effort when the kids would be perfectly happy with something more modest and the money going to something more practical.
Yeah, Americans are so out of whack when it comes to living a modest life. there’s a show here called Beverly Hills House Wives and one of the families spent $60,000.00 on their child’s 4th birthday. Granted, I know she’s from Beverly Hills, but still… That’s insane.
jelly and ice, huh? I’m not sure what that entails? ; )
Perfect description of the way things used to be. And I kind of miss it.
My mother bought the same type of gift for every friends birthday – a Tonka Truck.
Those were the coolest.
And I agree with Magsx2 – the elastic on the hat was awful.
Yeah, that elastic was bad enough that we all remember 30 to 40 years later! haha!
It’s funny because people seem to have strong reactions to birthday parties from the past. They either love the memories or it makes them anxious. I’m surprised how many people didn’t have this experience? I thought it was pretty standard?
Tonka Trucks, good call. If I went to a boy’s birthday, I usually brought Battle Ship! HaHa!
I remember going to parties like this as a child but never had one of my own. I did used to get loads of gifts as a young then, then as I got older the gifts got less but the worth was increased. Then when I was old enough to drink I would be surrounded by my friends on drunken nights out.
Now a days I just ask for money for my birthday from my parents and I barely even go out and celebrate my birthday. Just can’t be bothered. Oh what it is to be old haha.
Yeah, when you’re old you just want money!! LOL!!
Going out with your friends and getting drunk seems about right.
I’m surprised how many people didn’t have birthday parties like this growing up… I figured everyone did? I guess my parents weren’t so bad after all! haha!
That’s strange. I really can’t remember going to any birthday parties when I was a kid. Could it have been that I wasn’t invited? HA! Well I take that back. Thinking back on it now I did get invited to birthday celebrations. One time I got to go to the Ice Capades in a town three hours away for my friend’s birthday. I’ll never forget how much fun that was! I remember when we went to the restaurant to eat, Tracey (my friend) ordered a steak and he dad said. Tracey I didn’t bring the bank! It was a shocking thing to say back in the early 60’s which is why I probably remember it to this day. I love reading your blog because it makes me think of things I hadn’t thought of for years. It’s always fun! 🙂
I’m really surprised how many people don’t remember going to these “pin the tail on the Donkey” sort of parties? But then again, our memories are probably not so keen anymore! I barely remember what I ate for lunch yesterday! haha!
That’s funny about the comment made by your friend’s dad. Stuff like that stands out when you’re a kid because it’s so unexpected and it’s sort of adult? – Parents aren’t supposed to make comments like that, especially in the 60’s! haha!
I’m not a mother so I’ve no experience of current children’s parties but I had a birthday party every year til I was about eleven and then I decided I was too ‘old’ to have parties anymore (til a few years later, of course!) and insisted I be taken to the cinema on my birthday instead! But yeah, my parties weren’t too different from the ones you remember (though I’m probably older than you, I suspect. This was in the 1950s).
Love your post, and your blog looks interesting too. 🙂
Val, you may be one of the few who had these types of parties. I was surprised and sad that so many didn’t experience this. Like you, I eventually started going to the movies or having sleepovers instead, etc. I was born in 1962 so you’re not that much older than me. You would be slightly put off for what passes as a party these days.