Parents are shelling out a small fortune on their children’s birthday parties it was revealed yesterday.
Extravagant mums and dads now see the fifth birthday of their little ones as an anniversary worth splashing out on, with half of the 3,500 parents surveyed by smile internet bank, admitting that ‘they plan to or have spent’ up to £500 on their child’s fifth birthday party. The average spend by parents on their child’s fifth birthday bash was found to be £185.93 per child. Given that there were a total of 688,200 live births in 1999, it is likely that British parents will have spent nearly £128million on fifth birthday do’s this year as their children leave toddlerhood behind. smile, which is celebrating its own fifth birthday this week also found that the top five most popular activities that parents invest in to keep the young party amused are: - Bouncy castles
- Clowns
- Face painting
- Going to the cinema
- Petting animals
Christine Petty, Director of Operations at smile said: “Parents are under a great deal of pressure to put on a good party for their children, and that’s not only from their child, but from other parents too. From bouncy castles to face painting and goody bags, the expense can mount really up.” “This week also marks our own fifth birthday since launching as the UK’s first full service online bank back in 1999. Whilst we won’t be celebrating with a lavish birthday party, we will be looking to keep up the success that we have had over the past five years which has seen us place customer service as our top priority and return a profit for the first time.” One in five couples said that they invited up to 20 children to their child’s celebration, while a third said they invite at least 15. Three quarters of all respondents said that they spend up to £5 on party bags for each child – meaning that they are spending £100 on the goody bags alone. Nearly fifty per cent of generous parents said that they even laid on a separate spread of food and drink for the parents, bumping up the cost even more. Over half revealed that they felt under extreme pressure to provide an exciting party for their children. Overwhelmingly eight out of ten parents said that other parents were always trying to show off by throwing the biggest and best birthday bash. Peter Robertson owner of Twizzle, a London based company specialising in planning children’s parties said: “Children’s parties have moved on from the days of jelly and ice-cream. Large parties, where the whole class or sometimes the whole year is invited, are now the norm, and the influence of celebrities, which is far more apparent amongst the parent than the children, means that they are getting more extravagant. Whilst most generally last for two hours, the costs can vary enormously, from a modest sum to several clients of mine who have spent over £10,000.” Adults living in the East Midlands are the most lavish parents in the UK with their average on parties being £221.43, followed by East Anglia (£218.18) and Londoners (£214.67). Even when they’re not hosting the party themselves, two-thirds of parents shell out up to £10 on a present for their child to take with them. However, none of the parents polled are as excessive as the Beckhams who spent a whopping £10,000 on Brooklyn’s fifth birthday party in March this year. Held at the Beckham’s Hertfordshire mansion, young Brooklyn’s party was held in a giant white marquee, complete with dance floor, disco, DJ, a magic show and entertainers The research was carried out amongst 3,500 parents by research company 72 point in October 2004. Financial News Feeds provided by OneCompare.com
Date published: 1/5/2005 9:15:15 AM
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