When it comes to planning a children’s birthday party, it used to be enough to invite the neighborhood children over for homemade cup cakes and a plan game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey to commemorate the passing of another year. But over the past decade, the traditions have been changing, fueled by some particularly ambitious parents who are bent on planning the most elaborate – and also most expensive -- events for even the very youngest celebrants.

Rising Stakes

For celebrity baby Suri Cruise’s second birthday recently, her well-known parents, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, spent a whopping $100,000 for a butterfly-themed party. While such an investment may be out of most people’s league, stories abound in newspapers, magazines, parenting blogs and cultural websites about people who spend large amounts of money and time on their children’s parties each year. Some of the parents go so far as to invest the cost of a luxury car on a one-day children’s event and to hire professional event planners to help coordinate all of the many details.

Set To Impress

For about $250 or less, you can have a first-class party for kids with all pizza, cake and some kind of activities and/or entertainment that will please the birthday child and his or her guests. So why are parent feeling pressured to fork over four, ten or even twenty times this amount to celebrate the special day? In some circles, children’s birthday parties have become all-important social events, so parents feel pressured to top their neighbors and friends by coming up with new and impressive details that get big and better every year. Even in a tight economy with gas prices skyrocketing, some parents say that they feel their children deserve their turn in the limelight and are determined to spare no expense to provide this type of excess.

The Sky Is The Limit

When money is no problem, with a little hard work, or better yet, the help of a professional children’s party planner, you can turn anything you can imagine into a reality. If you live in California but your child wants a sledding party, consider getting a set designer to help transform your yard with fake snow, ice and snowmen. Or bring the wonder of a zoo into your home for a modest investment. And if the theater strikes a chord with your child, you can hire professional actors put on a live show for your private audience.