A Not-So-Super Birthday Party

When a party costs more than a college education

I confess, I am hooked on a little reality TV.

My guilty pleasure is not one of the more popular shows my mommy peers tend to follow like "American Idol" or "The Apprentice." No, I watch a show which airs on MTV called "My Super Sweet 16."

This series is all about the planning and execution of parties commemorating one lucky teen's 16th birthday -- or 15th birthday, in the case of the Latina girls.

The concept sounds simple enough, but we are not talking about a DJ, balloons and a little cake. The parties on "My Super Sweet 16" are grand-scale events usually with a price tag which exceeds what I paid for four years of private college.

The girls on this show, and a few boys, are divas to the nth degree. They whine, cajole and pout their way through every stage of party preparations and, in the end, always get their way and usually a new BMW to boot.

Watching this show is like watching someone sprinkle salt on a live snail. I am horrified by what I see and hear -- you would not believe how these teens speak to their parents! -- however I am unable to tear my eyes away from the screen or change the channel to watch something else.

These teens have professional party planners and stylists at their side. One had silver coins minted in Mexico which she passed out as invitations. Another had rap artist Kanye West perform. Almost all of them have several outfit changes and some sort of choreographed entrance.

I cannot believe how much goes into these parties, I said to myself recently while watching an episode. But there, in my hands, were a pair of scissors and a color printout of Swiper the Fox body parts which I would later assemble and hide in our backyard for my daughter's Dora The Explorer backyard birthday bash.

Earlier in the year, I had gone all out for Berkeley's second birthday party. I hand stamped the invitations, stuffed tin pails with fake hay and toys for goody bags, and served an Old West lunch on aluminum pie tins -- heehaw!

As Barcelona's fifth birthday neared, I decided to take the easy route and use store-bought invitations and thank you cards. But before I knew it, I was printing personalized tags featuring Backpack for the goody bags along with a Map for the obstacle course in our backyard, CD labels and good old Swiper the Fox. Oh, let's not forget booking the larger-than-life Dora bounce house which loomed over the our single-story home and the 50 partygoers in our mingling in our backyard.

When I picked up a recent copy of a local parenting publication, I found pages and pages of advertisements for theme parties and party entertainment. Every couple of months a catalog dedicated entirely to party supplies arrives in my mailbox. Birthday parties are a cottage industry for children of all ages.

There is some comfort in knowing other parents also strive to throw a good party, even if it is for a toddler. And, honestly, at this age the party planning is for the parents because I have found that as long as there is a place to play, the little ones generally entertain themselves.

Now the shindigs I throw for my little ones are nothing to the scale of those I see on "My Super Sweet 16," but I cannot help but wonder is that where I am headed? Ten years from now, will I be one of those mom's smiling wanly as my daughter stomps her foot and shouts, "Daddy promised"? Will Barcelona's 16th birthday party cost more than my wedding?

Probably not. (Knock on wood.)

Mommy Time Column ~ July 2006