Last week my 9-year-old brother had his $200+ birthday in a movie theatre...I told him about my first real birthday party...my very, very different, low-budget 8th birthday.
I can happily say that after a decade of hard work, my parents have great careers and can afford all the modern amenities of a North American upper-middle class lifestyle.
But growing up, I had two immigrant students for parents who had a very different income at the time. So when I was around my brother's age, life was definitely not always easy!
Anyway, on my 8th birthday, we had some other Chinese family friends' kids come over to our house.
I think we had pizza and cake...the cake we almost couldn't get because most places were closed since my birthday happened to be on Civic Holiday that year!
And then for loot bags...my mom and I made "bags" out of construction paper and staples. The stuff inside was from the handy-dandy dollar store.
Items included erasers, pencils, dinosaurs, and a calculator for each kid! Oh yes. Just amazing. In home-made construction paper loot bags.
So we've come a loooong way from that. Since then I haven't really had a lot of birthday parties but hey, it's great to know that at least my brother will never have to experience a low-budget birthday party! Lucky kid.
I know your situation, when i was a child my parents can`t afford many things for my birthday and i know how a kid can feel. But i`m happy for your brother, because a birthday party it is very important for any kid.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you understand how I feel! Birthdays are certainly fun for kids...great memories are so important for a happy childhood.
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