Parents are spending thousands of dollars on children's birthday parties

Cellophane lolly bags, a Women's Weekly birthday cake and a round of musical chairs are a thing of the past as parents now look to professional party planners to give their little treasure a perfect day.

After years lost to the pandemic and milestone birthdays spent inside and under curfew, parents are spending up to $20,000 on luxurious parties with balloon garlands, ice cream vans, photoshoots and custom cakes.

Founder and party planner at Little Party House, Mascia Bruno, told ACM that creating a magical birthday party was a special experience for children and parents.

"A mum had tears in her eyes last weekend, she was so emotional," Ms Bruno said.

"It was a third birthday, and it was the child's first ever party. The mum was so emotional because she saw the child playing and interacting with other kids, it's such a special moment for parents because they've seen their child locked in the house without seeing family and friends for so long."

Little Party House, based in Melbourne, offers a "private, stylish, elegant, full service, specialised kid's birthday party" including entertainers, candy stations, glitter glam, and even refreshments for the parents.

A party will set you back $2,000 to $8,000.

Sydney based events stylist Belinda Rubbino, founder of B Styled by Belinda, told ACM one of her clients spent $20,000 on their child's birthday party, but the average spend was between $5,000 and $10,000.

"People are seeing things on Instagram, with celebrities like the Kardashians, people want to go more extravagant because they're influenced by celebrities," she said.

"I've been in the industry for going on 12 years and I've never seen it like this before. Social media means everyone wants the next big thing."

The Kardashians frequently document their opulent birthday parties to their hundreds of millions of followers on social media, which include trips on private jets.

Ms Rubbino said it's younger parents that may be inspired by celebrities and are willing to spend more money on a picture perfect event.

"A lot of the time people send me inspo from celebrity events, but most people don't have a budget like that. So we try to meet their budget, but it is influenced by celebrities," she said.

"They even have special photographers coming in to do nicer photos for those memories, instead of your iPhone photo."

Ms Bruno of Little Party House observed a demand for two and three year old birthday parties after COVID-19 rules were relaxed.

"When we reopened after COVID, there was a big boom of two and three year olds, because they missed out on their first birthday. So they were seeing their family and friends, as if for the first time," she said.

She believes this is an attempt by parents to make up for lost time.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"Our clients spend a lot on their child. After COVID, they're adding extras, so the price increases, because they think, my child hasn't had a party for two years. So they want to go bigger and better,

"It definitely has been more extravagant after COVID," she said.