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• The Return of the 10 Grand Birthday

  Write about parent-y stuff long enough and you'll notice certain stories cycle in and out again and again. One of the modern classics is the super-duper expensive birthday party for kids. Yes, some parents are hosting shindigs that cost up to $10,000, and there's even companies like Over the Top Productions that will help you spend your money plan your kid party. These stories usually have quotes from some parent who says it was worth it to "create a memory" that will last a lifetime (though often the kid is so young it's unlikely they'll make a mental snapshot of that pony ride) and then there's a few folks who didn't exactly mean to spend so much, it just sort of happened. The counterpoint to all this is the idea that lavish events send the kids the wrong message about consumption, and... Read More... Posted Apr 21 2008, 03:01 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: kids, wealth, money, CNN, infants, events, expensive, party, excess, memory, birthday, party planners, story, consumption, pressure

• Chuck E. Cheese Is Hotbed of Crime

  So what exactly is it about Chuck E. Cheese, um, entertainment centers that inspires violence and crime? Perhaps it's the infernal noise of fifty video games beeping wildly. Maybe it's the fact that there's a giant mouse walking around and everyone pretends that's normal, just like they do at Disneyland--and someday I'll tell you about the time the guy in the mouse costume actually groped me. It could be the animotronic creatures that line the walls, punctuating the din with even noisier singing and clacking (though to be honest, I don't even know if they have those animals anymore, this is a childhood memory we are mining here.) Could be the wretched pizza, the sticky floors, the crying and the ultimate frustraton that is skeeball. What the hell am I talking about? Well... Read More... Posted Apr 11 2008, 04:01 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: entertainment, activities, parents, crime, violence, police, birthdays, party, arrest, restaurant, Chuck E. Cheese, fight, brawl

• Two Moms Brawl at Chuck E. Cheese

  You know how it goes: One minute you are hosting a birthday party for your kid, and the next thing you know, you are in a fistfight with another mom. Two mothers are going to court soon over a tussle at a party at Chuck E. Cheese. I'm pretty sure part of the defense strategy will be, "Your Honor, there are mitigating circumstances to consider. After all, my client was at Chuck E. Cheese, and I doubt anyone has spent time there and not wanted to strike someone." Of course, it all started over a video game... Read More... Posted Mar 03 2008, 06:02 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: children, kids, video games, crime, moms, violence, parents behaving badly, birthdays, words, party, sharing, fight, court, brawl, chuck e cheese, fistfight

• Parents Spent $3,000 On The Kid's First Birthday Party

  A while ago the parenting story of the day was paring down parties for kids, and how these celebrations should be small and cost nothing and we should all forgo the party favors. There was even an online movement called Birthdays Without Pressure, for people who were kinda grossed out by the excesses of it all, and the word on the street was that big parties had more to do with competitive parents than the kids. At the time, I came out in defense of the lavish affair. However, I'm here to tell you I do have my limits, and they are definitely shy of this one-year-old's birthday.  How do you spend that much on a kid birthday? These parents did it by renting a room at a country club...   Read More... Posted Feb 25 2008, 04:35 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: parents, parties, toddlers, money, birthdays without pressure, birthdays, expensive, party, magician, one year old, pony rides

• Fun Birthdays Despite Recession

  In all this talk about economic downturns and recessions or "recessions" and whatnot, politicians are overlooking one very important thing when calculating rebates and tax cuts and interest rates freezes and economic stimulation: what the hell is a parent to do about birthday parties? Listen, party-planning expert Lisa Kothari, author of Dear Peppers and Pollywogs...What Parents Want to Know About Planning Their Kids' Parties knows your pain and she wants to help out with her three-part series on recession-proof children's birthday parties. Thank God, because I was worried we'd have to leave it up to our kids this year to create their own fun.   Read More... Posted Jan 24 2008, 05:36 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: parties, birthday parties, birthdays without pressure, peanut butter, birthdays, party planning, baby cake, cake, party, Birththdays without Pressure, birthday party, party hat, birthday, cake decorations, recession, angel food cake

• Parent's House Trashed After Teen's Party Advertised on MySpace

  I so do not want to be Rachael Brown, age 17. (Okay, I so do not ever want to be 17 again for any reason, but that's beside the point.)  Nor do I want to be her parents, who are faced with a $40,000 bill after Rachael's party, advertised on her MySpace page, got out of hand. Rachael claims her site was hacked (and I believe her, poor kid) and that she attempted to bolt the door when hundreds of alcohol-soaked people began pouring into her house, but she was unable to stop the tide. Rachael was going to clean up the mess the next day, thinking that she had a few days before her parents returned from their vacation (is anybody else thinking "Risky Business" here?), but instead went into hiding when she found out they were due home any minute. As a result she was unable to save them from a major "ohmygod" moment when they walked in and found the self-described "house rape": mom's wedding dress was urinated on, urine and vomit was everywhere, clothing and jewelry was stolen, ceiling light fixtures were ripped down from being swung on (and here I thought that was so cliche), and there were numerous cigarette burns in the carpet. Read More... Posted Apr 15 2007, 07:11 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: MySpace, Rachael Brown, party, Risky Business