Every year, you promise yourself, your spouse, your family and all the friends who came through at the last minute that you are going to make next year’s birthday party to be nearly as over the top as this one, as you somehow find a few lingering ounces of fortitude to restore as much post-party order as possible, and collapse. You start out the very next day in a feeble attempt to prepare yesterday’s celebrant for the substantially reduced level of festivity and hoopla to expect in the coming years, explaining in your most pathetic voice how so many children in the world don’t even receive birthday presents, much less get to have a birthday party. Your vain attempts to persuade the birthday child and yourself eventually subside, and for a while, everyone actually forgets about that special day of the year…not.

Why it Will Never Work
The caveat that comes with such flights of fancy is that, before you know it, little Chloe’s mother just placed 150 individually hand-water colored party invites in the mail. You know, the kind that were created by an incredibly gifted up and coming Indian artist from Mumbai in exchange for a hefty corporate donation from her husband’s investment company. All proceeds going to a very worthy “feed the” enterprise. And that’s not even close to the level of entertainment she’s got planned for little Chloe’s big day, either. The plane she’s chartered for the party will be taking everyone down to Disney World, where they will be little Chloe’s guests for two days until they board the private yacht she’s chartered to cruise up the intracoastal waterway to the Outer Banks, where each child will receive his or her own personal pony to take home as a party favor.

Come Back to Reality
Well, that may be exaggerating a little, but there’s one thing that never, ever is going to change, and that is the special drive that practically every mother has, to maybe not actually compete with, but at least match her contemporaries’ parties for their children. Everyone has felt the pangs of longing to give their child an absolutely perfect birthday party, where his or her little “every wish” would come true. While most parents don’t have the budget and time for pulling any such extravaganza off (yes, I know it’s done on TV all the time,) it is really not going to end up being all about the birthday child, on such a large scale, and in the end, not worth it, on any level. While a little bit of competition is certainly healthy, sometimes it can be a damaging lesson to teach Junior, when it comes to being applied in such a Hedonistic way. There are, however always trends that everyone tends to follow, some for every budget, and if the current ones are slightly beyond your budget, you can always pick and choose your favorite elements of what’s currently trending in the children’s party birthday industry.

Legos
Lego themed birthday parties are really popular now, and to substantiate this fact, in addition to the local mall’s Lego stores that host birthday parties on a regular basis, there continue to be more and more lego-focused facilities that offer hourly play to the public, group classes, events and kids’ birthday parties. The kids play with legos and get legos to take home, and the parties are usually all-inclusive, so all you need to do is show up with the birthday child and a check or your smartPhone pay app.

Girls Only Pink, and Tutus
Not that you can’t invite boys, but if you do, try to include a few, for camaraderie. With everything pink, pink rose and balloon decorations, pink confetti, pink cake, favors and an all – pink birthday girl. Go all out with the feminine touch, and have helpers to do hair, nails and makeup for all the guests. Then take the pictures– one individual shot of each girl to take home, and a few group shots, behind a pinky – pink fru-fru background!

Other Current Trends
The main thing is that everyone feels welcome, has a good time and that no one gets hurt. Everything else is just details. Some other current theme trends are Ghostbusterss, firefighters, “decorate then ride your wheeled vehicle in a parade,” Jackson Pollock paint party (messy!) and pirate parties will always be a hit!