way to meet other parents from their
school, reconnect with playgroup
families and neighbours all-in-one,”
she says. Up until Caryn’s children
turned eight, all of her parties, she
says, were big. But then the kids grew
wanting. “The birthday boys and
their friends and guests were getting
spoiled, expecting bigger and better
all the time.” So she dialled back a bit.
“By 12, it was dinner at the club with
a few friends. Now at 14 and 15, they
may go to a movie.”
Today, Hong Kong is still a land
of opulence and plenty for many,
where kids have been known to duck
and swoop around the island by
helicopter in the name of celebration.
At other extravagant parties, when
babes are too small to notice or care,
a second treats table is offered for
parents, where delectations go up the
nose rather than in the mouth.
Christine Smith-Mann, who runs
Eezy Peezy Parties, a planning and
party supplies platform, says she thinks
party extravagance is greater now
than five years ago. “I think because
there is more choice,” she says.
Television shows like
My Super Sweet 16
(an MTV reality series) and the rise of
Pinterest, which both feature perfectly
primped and often-excessive parties,
might also fuel desire. Christine
says the average spend on party
supplies – from paper plates to party
decorations – at Eezy Peezy is $650,
but after factoring in food, venue and
entertainment, parents can expect to
pay around $3,000 on the basics.
But that figure is tiny in
comparison to the budget one mum
who shopped with them had for
her baby’s first birthday blowout:
US$2,000. “The party was held in
a hotel with a children’s area for the
babies and an adult area for their
parents,” she says.
Bigger or better?
Big parties – major productions, really,
in many cases – often start at a young
age, with either 100th-day celebrations
or the first birthday. But any big party,
