British Birthday Parties

This is a question for all those that have thrown American birthday parties for their sproglets.

I have been attending quite a few children's parties of late and I've been rather surprised at how carbon copy they all are - right down to the food. I can recall very little about children's parties from my own past but I do remember sitting down to eat a large slab of cake with ice cream, which is not the done thing over here (a sliver of cake is wrapped in a napkin and shoved in the goody bag on the way out).

Can anyone tell me what a traditional American kid's party consists of these days? Does it include goody bags which seem to be a major source of competition and stress for parents? And is the food as typical as over here (i.e. utter garbage)?  Is a bouncy castle standard practice over there?

I know it's not terribly deep, but I am just curious....

at one of the first bday parties my kids attended ... i saw the mom put the cake in the napkin and place it in the goodie bag...i thought ..hummm must not have had time to eat.  then i realize this was a normal things...yikes!!  i def didnt like that, lol.  i have also noticed that the kids dont open any of their bday presents until everyone leaves the party.  

as far a the traditional american bday party ..humm i dont really know.  but i do know the goodie bag is definitely a  standard thing.  ive tried to stick with more of the american feel for my kids bday parties since living here.  i do the NORMAL CAKE (hehe) with ice cream, all the muchies, and play the party games and i even let them open their presents while their friends are still here.  no one seems to mind, in fact ... everyone definitely seems to enjoy the change.  

IMO, the birthday parties can really get out of hand in the States!  In the past 2 years I have been to parties at the local waterpark, local indoor playground, backyard parties w/ SuperJumps (i.e. bouncy castle), etc.... all included goodies bags with several small toys and treats, plus pizza, snacks, drinks and cake.  These parties were for 4 & 5 year olds!  I shudder to think what a 10 year old party would be. Renting out the local adventure park?   I have had more low-key parties for Cole.  1 -- party for the parents -- we survived the first year!  2 -- cupcakes at home w/ Mom & Dad, very low key.  3 -- first playmate party -- I tried to stick to the "age + 1 child" formula, cake, balloons, small goodie bags.  4 (last year), 6 friends, pizza, cupcakes, and Mimosas for the parents  .  Goodie bags still, but stuck with things like mini-Playdoughs, party blowers, mini packs of crayons, etc.   Stuff that you can buy in multi-packs in the party sections of Target, Wal-Mart, Party City, etc.  Fun, but cheap.  I was almost glad that Cole's birthday was at the end of December -- no chance of having a bouncy castle in December in Minnesota!  Cole has never gotten cake in a napkin stuck in the goodie bag, but Minnesota isn't on the cutting edge of trends.  In my experience, the cake was always served, sometimes with ice cream, before the little guests left.  Gifts were always opened while the guests were there, because the little guests were so excited to have the b-day boy/girl open their present, and because they wanted to play with it.  Some tears, but it's a learning experience, right?  

Bottom line -- you can get sucked into the birthday party competition, if you let it happen.  Or, you can have what you think is a nice, appropriate party for your child, and to heck with everyone else.  I don't think the kids really care, all they want to do is play with their friends and have some cake.  Most of the goodie bag stuff that Cole has gotten is forgotten by the day after the party, and what he remembers and talks about is how much fun he had playing with his friends.  The competition amongst parents is an entirely different animal...

Stephanie