Yeah, that is a little ridiculous. The last birthday party I went to for a small child was held at a local gymnastics center, where we got to jump on the trampolines and go on the balance beam and do all sorts of crazy fun things. Even us grown-ups got in on the fun. I would say the "event party" is the norm in kid birthdays, at least around these parts--my young charge has attended a soccer party, a karate party, and a gymnastics party (that's where she got the idea for hers) within the last six months. But the parties themselves are not over the top. Plus, by having the party somewhere other than home, parents don't have to clean up
and it's more fun for the grown-ups too.
My birthday was always a big deal growing up because it's July 2nd, right before Fourth of July, and so it always got tied into the celebration for that. But as I got older, that sort of subsided, because we started taking vacations during that time of the year. Fancy birthdays weren't necessary--in fact, my favorite birthday memories consist of my 15th birthday, spent at a Pizza Hut in Grandville, MI, while visiting old family friends in Holland, MI and Grand Rapids, MI. I got all the quarters I wanted for the jukebox, and spent most of it playing Oasis's "Wonderwall" and "Round Are Way" over and over again. Also, my 21st birthday was quite notable--my parents took me on a brewery tour at the Pyramid Alehouse in Seattle, and then took me out to a fancy restaurant to get me drunk. Other birthdays with simple pleasures include my 17th--I got my driver's license and went out to dinner at Olive Garden, and my 23rd--my friends and I had a potluck barbeque at a local park to celebrate, and everyone turned out for it. I was touched.
By having over-the-top parties like this, parents are discouraging their children to enjoy life's simple pleasures, and they aren't teaching their children the true value of giving. Whatever happened to "it's the thought that counts"?