u/Ellie__1

What the title says. We always do birthday parties at our local park for both our kids because we don't have that much space in our house or yard for a party. We have a great local park, with a playground, bike path, plenty of grass and three big picnic tables. It's such a nice place for birthday parties, and it gives us enough space to invite both neighborhood friends and school friends -- basically maybe 30-40 people without watching the guest list too closely.

It was a wonderful party, and it was so good to see everyone. But for what it was, I can't believe how much it cost.

This year, I wasn't budgeting closely enough, and the expenses added up fast -- Minecraft decorations and party favors, piñata, Minecraft cake, helium balloons, ordered probably two too many Costco pizzas, bought pre-cut fruit instead of doing it ourselves, etc. I definitely could have cut this down to closer to $250, but it was a big birthday for my younger son (5), and I wanted him to have all the Minecraft stuff to make it special for him.

But still, I'm blown away by the cost as I add it up.

One year, we had a "splurge" birthday party for our older son, at a kids' indoor playground, and the grand total was like $300 + a $30 cake with a reserved party room and catering. It was probably the least expensive party we have done.

Anyway tl;dr, I can't believe how much even a damn park birthday party costs. It sounds great to just get everyone together at the park. It's simple and no frills, but somehow it's still so expensive.