Children’s Birthday parties are getting more and more elaborate in Pakistan
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| A designer cake from La Reve bakery in Lahore |
The invitation was a cupcake inside a floral china teacup with a little golden spoon. The momento for guests to take home was a little jewellery box. The décor included little chandeliers and vintage Victorian-themed accessories. The affair had all the trappings of a major celebration except this wasn’t a wedding or coming of age party. This was a little girl’s birthday party in Karachi.
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| A grand zoo park themed birthday organised by Tulips events in Lahore |
The birthday party circuit in Pakistan has become an insane merry-go-round of extravagance and one-upmanship. A simple party with sandwiches, a few balloons, cake and a bouncing castle squeezed into a car porch is no longer enough. Event planners, themed décor, designer cakes and expensive catering have become the norm. The tales of excess are startling.
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| A Red Riding Hood cake by La Reve bakery |
In Lahore, for example, in some circles the cake simply must be from La Reve. The designer bakery’s creations are exquisite but can easily cost as much as Rs100,000. Catering by posh eatery Cosa Nostra is de rigeur and top notch event planners have been known to stipulate a minimum budget of Rs1,000,000. One mother sent out expensive toys from The Early Learning Centre as a party invitation. Another put her child’s picture on a billboard at the party. Karachi is not far behind. There was a Ferrari party recently that used a Cars theme where the décor alone apparently cost Rs200,000. Another parent invited the actor who plays Mr. Bean in the HBL ads to his daughter’s Mr. Bean themed party. The invite for this party was a miniature stuffed toy in a tin while the goody bag was a leather box. A Mr. Bean lookalike may have seemed a coup of sorts but it can’t top the Bollywood themed party for a ten-year old in Lahore a few years back. Katrina Kaif performed live at the party while a huge screen displayed personal messages recorded by various Bollywood stars including Kareena Kapoor.
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| A Sesame Street birthday by Cloud 9 events in Lahore |
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| Mini rides are popular at toddler parties |
Very few parents go to the sorts of lengths that those parents did but parties these days resemble funfairs. Candy floss, popcorn machines, a magic show and jumping castles are all seen as absolute necessities. Common add-ons include trampolines, coin-operated rides and tables overflowing with candy. Girls’ birthdays often include hair and nail stations so guests can try out beaded dreadlocks or nail art. There’s invariably an activity station where bored women sit ready to help children stick glitter and beads all over photo frames or name plaques. Some parents even add pony rides or a pottery-wala who helps the children make pots.
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| This 6 year old’s party in America cost US$32,000 and featured on reality show Outrageous Kid Parties |
Grandiose children’s birthday parties are a global trend. Suri Cruise’s 2nd birthday featured 1000 live butterflies while a birthday party in Delhi made waves with iPod shuffles in the goody bag. On a less pretentious level there is an entire global industry based on themed cake pops, decorations and whatnot. Many mothers in Pakistan are in favour of creative, well-planned birthday parties.
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| Party planned by Cloud 9 events in Lahore |
“There is no other entertainment for our children. We have too few places for children to play. They can’t cycle in their neighborhood, there are very few cinemas and bowling alleys while security issues mean that every visit to the park is an occasion. We don’t have Little League sports, indoor playgrounds or skate rinks and many other forms of entertainment that children abroad take for granted. Birthday parties provide an opportunity for entertainment that is lacking over here.”
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| An extravagant princess party |
Similarly a lot of parents have no issues with extravagant parties. “ There is nothing wrong with appreciating the finer things in life. We give a lot to charity too so what wrong with enjoying our wealth?”
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| Pretty cakes from Pie in the Sky cost just Rs550 a pound |
It seems slightly obscene to spend so much on a child’s birthday party. La Reve may make exquisite cakes but bakeries like Pie in the Sky can provide pretty great themed cakes for Rs550 a pound. The ostentatious parties are as much about showing off as they are about celebrating. They encourage some to spend beyond their means and seem vulgar in the face of the extreme poverty around us.
A few mothers view the culture of excess with distaste.
“When you see your six-year old greedily rifling through a goody bag after a birthday party and critiquing the contents, you start to wonder whether you are giving your kids the best possible upbringing.” These mothers are beginning to deprecate the effect extravagant parties are having on their children.
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| Party favours are increasingly elaborate |
“I was horrified when my son commented on how small his friend’s house was and described the goody bag as ‘lame’”, says Sadia, a mother of two young boys in Karachi. “Luckily this was on the way home from the party and not in public but I was still mortified that my child should have such a materialistic and ungrateful attitude.”
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| A jungle themed party by Cloud 9 events in Lahore |
Lavish parties encourage a culture of showy consumption and entitlement. The children going to these parties are likely to end up like the spoilt teenagers on US reality show My Super Sweet Sixteen – demanding extravagant presents, jaded by luxury and completely unappreciative of either their parents or the value of any of their many possessions.
Published in the Express Tribune on Sunday 27th October 2013
Copyright 2015 Karachista. All rights reserved
This is going over-the-top. This is why very soon, we will have a generation of kids who have bloated egos thinking they deserve everything . As much as I love my children, not in a zillion years will they get this nor would I want them to be associated with any of their peers with parents condoning this behavior. This is bad parenting no matter your income and status in society.
I just commented on this via the Tribune. Not sure if you’ll see it there, so –
I’m so disgusted with what I’ve just read.Having lived in both Karachi & Lahore for several years & taking my elder son to birthday parties like these, I can honestly say that it’s all about keeping up appearances and nothing else.
My parents always taught me the value of money & this is what I’m instilling in my kids. They don’t get everything they want & believe me, there are a lot of demands from my kids thanks to the heavy toy advertising on kids’ tv channels here in the UK.
Birthday parties in my household are small & family orientated – & maybe with a few close friends. These things make the party more meaningful.Give me pass the parcel, musical chairs & musical statues any day. It’s not about who had the biggest inflatable slide or for that matter how many inflatable castles/ slides there were; who the cake was made by, who wore what & whose birthday party was given coverage in the social pages. Where does it all stop? These parents are just making way for a whole generation who’ll suffer from, what I call, the Veruca Salt (from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory) “I want it now” syndrome.
Man, am I glad I never spent this money on ANY of my son’s birthdays. When he’s old enough (he’s 3 right now) and demands a party, it’s going to be home made food and just a few of his closest buddies. The end.
I definitely agree with all the above comments. Totally hate all of this…love birthday parties that a traditional and meaningful.
Wow!! The above themes are looking wonderful. There are so many different ideas given above. They all are amazing And any of them can be used depending on the thing that we like. the cake is also very creatively made. It is an art to make such beautiful things. I also had my daughter’s birthday party last week. She likes balloons a lot so i ordered very special balloons for her from postal flowers and they matched very nicely with the barbie theme which i kept. You can have a look at this for further information http://postalflowers.ie/balloons/birthday-party-balloons.html
I agree on the views of you guys that spend money on such events are useless, but when you have good earning wih grace of the GOD and having everything in your life and the very first baby come’s into your world and he / she demand a birthday, we (specially me) want to give him / her a beautiful day with his / her friends and toys, specially the favorite birthday party theme which i found the bests on http://www.tulipsevent.com and http://www.thematicbirthdayplanner.com.
Finally, we can’t stop our-selfs when your first child ask you in sweet and cute style 🙂
fantastic blog
Superb Work