Sometimes I wanna punch parents in the face. Sometimes I wanna punch strangers in the face. I usually wanna punch Wal Mart in the face, even though I shop there weekly. If you happen to be a strange parent who works at Wal Mart, you may wanna steer clear of me. I'm just gonna say right now that this post might offend some of you.
I came home today with a few trinkets for the girls Easter baskets. Chris told me he had just read an article stating the the average family will spend $130 on Easter this year. A few weeks ago a good friend of ours was preparing for her daughters 1st birthday. She had just read that the average amount spent on a 1st birthday party is anywhere between $500-$1,000. I overheard a mother talking about her daughters 1st birthday and how over 40 people attended the party. I'm sorry but all I can say is holy shit people I hope your baby cries the whole time. Ok, I'm not sorry.
So by now you're sensing I'm a little revved up by this. It probably doesn't help that a few weeks ago we were checking out the clearance toys in Wal Mart. As Isis and Chris perused the isle, Isis spied a princess dress. When she pointed it out to Chris, a nearby employee told her that in a few weeks a new princess dress would be hitting the shelves and that maybe the Easter bunny would put it in her basket. Sometimes I am amazed at what people assume. I wanted to ask the lady if she happened to be the Easter bunny who puts very expensive toys into the baskets of children who now have high expectations of what will be in their basket that just so happens to actually be filled with cheap stuff by Mommy and Daddy not by a dumb buck toothed hopper who doesn't exist because Jesus died for your sins. Confused? Yeah, so is my 4 year old.
I am consistently stunned by what kids are handed these days. I have come home from birthday parties that leave me exhausted because there is more hoopla in that two hours than is in our entire Christmas. Parents are setting the precedent very high at a very young age and then foolishly attempting to match it year after year. I'm not even sure where it comes from because honestly all I've ever seen it do is stimulate a child for a very short amount of time and then overstimulate them for a longer time until they crash and boy wasn't that fun?
Then there are the parties with four kids, some hot dogs, a pinata, and a few cupcakes. The birthday boy or girl gets to open up four cards or gifts. Ok here I go again. How much do we spend on other people's gifts? I've seen guests bring gifts that cost more than what the hosting parents spent. I don't know about you but I really like leaving a party knowing I've bought the best, most expensive gift.
Anyway, as I was saying, then there are the parties with four kids, some hot dogs, a pinata, and a few cupcakes. The birthday boy or girls gets to open up four cards or gifts. Then the kids run around for a while until it's time to whack a colorful something with a stick. And when the candy scatters the kids grab it and take a few pieces home. End of party. End of story. The honest truth is....because truth should be honest...Isis has been to both kinds of parties. And the memories she carries the farthest are the ones that were simple and cheap. The kids get it. When will the parents?
2 comments:
"dumb buck toothed hopper who doesn't exist because Jesus died for your sins." AWESOME! Tell Santa to give it a rest too?
K
Geez. Why you so crabby? We don't have any rich friends. Well, at least we aren't invited to their kids' birthday parties. And we never give out Easter baskets to our kids either. Pretty sure Grammy takes care of that stuff. So my motto is to not buy them anything to begin with so they're not disappointed. Mom never talked about the Easter bunny to us anyway so I'm not really sure who he/she is and how that started. Maybe I'll google it. I love Karla's response. Good job, buddy. Don't get Beck started on Christmas. She may cuss really bad then.
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