TheMommyBlog

Honest to Betsy, these parents need help. I stumbled on a story about an over the top birthday party (hmm… yes, I believe it was Tom Cruise who wants to spend half a million for Suri's second), and the link jumping just went from there to places no one should ever go.

I found links for over the top planning companies (oddly enough, called Over The Top Productions), cake purveyors whose wares started at one thousand dollars (Confetti Cakes), a refreshing link to a site run by parents who want to help stop the madness (Birthdays Without Pressure), and finally to a site that offers up to $50 for a monthly prize for the best party idea (Birthday Party Ideas). One of the recent winners was a woman who threw a Medieval party for her sons. That sounded interesting, so I clicked through to her description.

Holy mother of all that is cool and classy, this woman is insane. I couldn't even read the whole post. I finally pasted it into a word counting widget. THIRTY-FIVE HUNDRED words this woman write about her fabulous party. That's seven pages of single-spaced type. If you're a glutton for insanity you can read it here. I wish I were still a Psychology student needing a thesis topic. I nearly peed myself reading just this little bit:

We found some simple catapults the kids could build online. One used wooden clothes pegs and a plastic spoon, the other uses a wire clothes hanger [ed. note: NO. WIRE. HANGERS!], elastic bands and a plastic spoon. The kids could build what they preferred and try them out. We gave them pieces of sponges for ammunition. Once they were finished their building, we lined them up and gave them each a bucket of water to wet their ammunition. We put a silk scarf behind each castle and explained the rules of the game. Each team could use their catapults to attack the other team. The goal was to steal the other team's flag without losing your own first. Anyone tagged by the other side had to go to the tower and have a ball and chain attached to their leg (a black water balloon tied to their leg). They were freed when one of their own team members stomped on the balloon for them. We played this game twice, and they would have gone on forever if we'd let them. One tip: if you use glue on your catapult, make sure it dries waterproof if you intend to use wet ammunition.

CNN, who wrote a piece on the subject of crazy-expensive parties, had a terrific list of sites not written by lunatics living their own fantisies through their children.

Here are some sites that offer tips on low-cost party planning for kids:

• The Dollar Stretcher
• FrugalMom.com
• FamilyCorner.com
• TheDigeratiLife.com
• AmazingMoms.com

I bookmarked them immediately. My eldest is turning ten in a few weeks.