A child’s birthday used to mean cake, balloons, pizza, and a handful of friends running around the backyard, but today, some celebrations look more like professionally produced events. Parents can easily encounter hundreds of dollars in venue fees before adding food, decorations, entertainment, and favors, while some elaborate parties climb past $1,000. Care.com notes that popular activity-space parties can run roughly $250 to $500 before every extra is included. As kids’ birthday party costs rise, families may be wondering which expenses are actually making the day better and which ones have simply gotten out of hand.
