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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Charlotte Cripps

Tipping jars, gift registries and a £1,000 bash: How children’s birthday parties became the new weddings

Lola Traitors Instagram Kim Kardashian North West Amazon
School-gate drama: Amanda played by Lucy Punch and Meg (Tanya Moodie) in ‘Motherland’ - (BBC/Merman)

I am organising a Traitors-style birthday banquet at home for my daughter, Lola, who will be 10 next month. But that is just the sleepover part of her celebrations.

The next day, on her actual birthday, I’m taking her and her sister, Liberty, seven, to Cirque du Soleil’s insect-themed show Ovo, where a seat with a clear view costs £149.40 (and £138.40 for a child). Lola wanted to do something special with me, not just for her friends, and she desperately wanted to see the show at the Royal Albert Hall, so I caved in – and of course gave her everything she wanted.

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