I think I have enough pink here to link today with Bev at How Sweet the Sound.
This is what a birthday party looked like at our house in the 50's. Our entertainment was a game of Drop the Clothespin in the Bottle, Drop the Handkerchief, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and Red Rover. The party was held outside, cake baked by our Mom, ice cream, eaten on paper plates and Kool-Aid to drink. My sister was 4 years old here, but her party was a carbon copy of my party at 6 years old.
See what I mean?
But my sister's cake had white frosting.
Fast Forward to 2018 and a birthday party for a 6 year old. I am not sharing all the photos of the children because they are friends, not relatives (and the number of photos was well over 100). Beautifully done. But I'm left wondering how they will top this out each year as she grows up!
Lots of photos showing all the littles doing makeup for each other, decorating beautiful cookies and enjoying sandwiches which looked delicious. The venue wasn't too shabby either. How's that for a dream birthday party fit for a little princess?
I hope this doesn't come across as criticizing because I enjoyed looking at every picture of the sweet birthday girl and her little friends having so much fun and making precious memories. It just blows my mind though how birthday parties have evolved over the years.
Our grandkids have had a variety of parties. Noah's annual party is a big party boat on Lake Travis.
with donuts
Kate and Jack's parties are usually at their home with bounce house slides and lots of water.
Last year Jack's party was at the Ninja Obstacle Course - all the kids loved that.
And Brady has had bowling parties or something similar in the past because his birthday is in the fall. The past few years, his preference is to have a few guys over to their house to sleep over and do something fun, a movie, bowling, or just playing at the house.
When we were kids, a popular thing to do was rent the birthday bus to ride around in as music that sounded like the ice cream truck blared through the speakers. It is unknown to me whether there was a destination because it wasn't something we could afford, nor did I ever attend a party on one. So nowadays, the savvy kids would want to ride around in a limo! Another popular birthday party in the 50's included being invited to Uncle Hiram's TV show where we ate ice cream and cake and watched cartoons through a tiny little monitor in the TV studio. Most parties I attended were pretty much like ours and the gifts were very simple. Many times we wrapped up a coloring book with a box of crayons for the birthday person or some kind of little game. I really don't remember.
So, what kind of birthday parties do you remember attending? Do you see the one above as overkill?
7 comments:
I know what you mean- it is just crazy how many over-the-top birthday parties there are for today's kids. I think sometimes it gives them unrealistic expectations of the reality of life for lots of other kids. My grandkids have also had those same kinds of birthdays. Now, the older ones just do sleepovers or movies and pizza. When the kids would get so many presents my oldest daughter set up a 'shop it' closet in her house. They had so many toys, etc., that they never even opened some of them. So, when one of their friends had a birthday party they would go in and 'shop the closet' and my daughter was very good about no one ever getting their own gift (that they had given to one of her daughters) back. I thought that was such a smart idea. Now, my son does the same thing with his little guy.
Growing up on a farm I never had a real birthday party. Sometimes my aunt and a couple of cousins would stop in for cake but that was about it. We always got a present and a cake. AND- I never went to a single birthday party when I was a kid---farm families were too spread out. xo Diana
Oh my goodness......I can match that first picture. I have one of my party as a little girl, and we are arranged exactly like your photo.
Yes, parties have changed over the years, haven't they? Weddings too. We had cake, punch and coffee and mints and nuts at our reception. Now you can by a home with the money spent on weddings...Guess I am really getting old. HaHa. Loved your trip down memory lane.
Oh the pink table is adorable--speaks to my inner little girl!!!!
Ann
Lovely post, Nonnie-love the old photos too :)
Wow! Yes, I attended parties just like you did. Very simple, homemade cake and ice-cream, maybe 10 kids at the most. I cannot believe what people do today for their kids birthday parties. My niece had a limo for her 13th, took some of her girlfriends to the mall where they shopped and went out to eat...I can't imagine such a thing. So glad I'm not raising kids anymore. We would not be able to compete for sure...but our kids grew up happy and loved...that is what really matters. However, that tea party is lovely. I wonder where they got those pretty paper plates?
My childhood birthday party experiences were like yours. It almost seems like the parties today are more for the parents and "for show" than for the kids to have fun. Fun has a whole different meaning today, though.
We were doing well to have a mother-made small cake for our birthdays. But I do remember and have pictures to prove that we did have a few parties where all the little girls wore their Sunday best dress with little Mary Jane and socks. They were family and community affairs. Things have so changed. My little granddaughter and her friends have had the most amazing parties where grandmothers and siblings are not invited. It's a new day for sure.
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