Inside the New Status Symbol: Luxury Kids’ Parties, Where Parents Are the Plus-Ones

Guests entered the club through a long, moody, glow-in-the-dark tunnel. On one side, a merch table overflowed with Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream, monogrammed bags and sweaters, and Stanley cups. Nearby, a makeup station offered eyelash extensions and face jewelry. When it was time for dinner, the kids enjoyed food stations featuring sushi, tacos, and pizza, while adults sat down for farro risotto and ravioli; when they got up to dance, they could slide out of uncomfortable dress shoes and into slippers.

This might sound like the night out of any adult’s dream. Just one catch: Most of the guests were in middle school.

Winchester’s Kibibi Ganz rented the Artists for Humanity space in South Boston—the same space this very magazine uses to host its annual celebration of the city’s top restaurants—for her daughter Eva’s 13th birthday party in May 2024. The initial budget was $60,000, but Ganz estimates that she and her husband spent roughly $250,000 after every eyelash extension was curled. “She’s not having a Sweet Sixteen,” Ganz says.

The Ganz family represents a growing number of Boston-area party-throwers who go all out for their kids’ birthdays. Their soirees now range from lavish infant and toddler bonanzas with bespoke bubble-blowers and customized balloon arches for posing to middle school sleep-unders where tweens curl up in personal teepees (more on that later) with Taylor Swift eye masks and gourmet comfort food.

Let’s face it, no kid’s party is cheap these days: According to a recent nationwide survey from pregnancy and child-development resource What to Expect, one in five parents spend more than $500 on pint-size soirees. However, that sounds downright reasonable considering that some surveyed parents report spending up to $7,000 for fetes that include catering, artful tablescapes, balloon garlands, and a professional photographer. In some major cities, the costs are even more eye-popping: Last year, the New York Times reported on Beverly Hills tots who enjoyed up to $75,000 worth of pyrotechnics, hibachi chefs, and horses accessorized as unicorns.

In Boston, kids’ soirees are often more understated and conservative—but no less curated, says event planner Janie Haas, who orchestrated Eva’s party, as well as everything from teen birthday parties in downtown nightclubs to a one-year-old’s party at a five-star hotel, complete with face-painting, a magic show, a cocktail party for the adults, and mozzarella sticks for the kids—“but the Four Seasons version of mozzarella sticks,” Haas is quick to add.

She attributes the upswing in bespoke birthdays to several factors: newly unleashed demand after the pandemic kept people from celebrating with family and friends; the unstoppable influence of Instagram and TikTok; and—perhaps most important—the age of the parents. “I’m thinking about demographics: for younger teenagers, their moms are in their thirties and early forties. They’re fun. They’re very much in the know. It started with watching My Super Sweet Sixteen back in the day, and it escalated,” Haas says.

In other words: The Kardashian generation is now steering the party ship.

For the Ganz family, the birthday party was significant for several reasons: One, Eva is half-Jewish. While the birthday party wasn’t a bat mitzvah celebration per se, it was a nod to her blended heritage—especially important for her mother, whose family lives in France, Nigeria, and Congo. “We’re an interracial [family],” Ganz says, “so the birthday party served as a way to blend the family together.” In all, they invited 150 guests, about 60 of whom were Eva’s friends. The rest were family members who came from all over the world. “When kids are biracial,” Ganz says, “having a community there that supports them is very important. It was important to have our community there around Eva.”

Eva is the oldest of three; her mom plans to throw similar parties for her younger siblings, too. “I thought: You only live once,” she says.

It’s not just blowout bashes at Southie event spaces; even backyard parties are getting an upgrade. Remember musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey? Seems quaint now. Let’s travel to bucolic Acton, where avid gamer Rachel Berman hired Eric Love, from Haverhill’s LARP Adventure Program (motto: “Discover your personal legend”), to transform the woods behind her home into a live-action-role-play-style forest for her four-year-old daughter, Kali, whose 13 or so guests were asked to dress in adventure outfits. Many arrived as fairies. As for Love, “He was dressed as a wizard—but not like a wizard with a big, tall hat. More like a forest wizard,” Berman says.

He was armed with props, percussion instruments, and animals, one of which was the grand-dog of Sansa Stark’s wolf in Game of Thrones. The affable and organized Love also had a coterie of reptiles, a tarantula, and “assorted amphibians,” Berman says. He outfitted the woods with pennants and flags, turning it into a fairy world with stations where each child could solve a riddle, read a poem, dance, or complete a challenge. One of the interactive elements involved custom artwork depicting a fairy with Kali’s name in elvish script. “Some of the kids were able to follow the adventure, but they all loved just jumping and dancing and being out in the woods and interacting with the animals,” Berman says. The cost of this magical world? $300 for one hour of party time, plus setup.

At four, Kali was old enough to remember her party. Yet for many parents, the all-out fiestas commence for their child’s first birthday, where the memories will, for the most part, live forever among the parents and on social media.

These parties have a few essential components, experts say. Top of the list: balloon arches. While balloons have been a party accessory since the hokey pokey was considered edgy, photogenic arches have made these must-haves blow up—literally. “It could be Instagram: ‘Who has the better balloon garland?’ Everyone has balloon garlands. It’s a party staple,” says Boston-based personal concierge Christina Kotseas, trying to explain the trend.

That was what led Arlington’s Christina Cotrupi to launch her balloon-arch business, Air + Flow, during the pandemic. Cotrupi practiced inflatable art at her own children’s birthday parties and perfected her technique—make no mistake, this takes skill—by teaching herself online. These days, she fields about 80 arch and garland requests per year. “I went into the balloon arena because I feel like it’s timeless,” she says. “Balloons have been around forever. Everybody is already having balloons, and it’s gotten more extravagant.”

She isn’t kidding: Banish all thoughts of saggy helium creations with cartoon characters and a limp ribbon. These arches combine dazzling topiary with Cirque du Soleil–style artistry fit for a red carpet—or, at the very least, a sophisticated senior prom. Prices start at about $500 but can climb to $3,000, depending on the creativity involved. “Everyone wants a backdrop. If the kid is one, parents want to do a smash cake in front of it. If kids are older, they can take pictures of their friends. They say: ‘I want it for Instagram. I want people to see it,’” Cotrupi says.

For the younger set, photo-friendly neutrals and greenery are de rigueur. Older kids have more specific requests, such as boho, happy faces, or the 1970s. And Cotrupi’s balloons are only part of the aesthetic. While she does some backyard parties, her arches typically grace venues such as the Blanc, an all-white party venue in Canton that functions as a canvas on which hosts can project their wildest (or cutest) aesthetic fantasies.

In Cotrupi’s world of parties, this often means a station from Chic Party Co., which serves cotton candy, popcorn, and other photogenic confections from an elegant—and ’grammable, it promises—perch. Then there are the soft play, ball pit, and boutique bounce-house rentals (often in all white, stains be damned), festooned with chess pieces and slides. In this case, Cotrupi will color-coordinate her balloons to offset the soft-play theme. “People want their balloons to pop,” she says…color-wise, of course.

Cotrupi credits celebrity balloon artist Dede Forgione, who runs Balloonacy Boston, specializing in balloon-skirted wedding gowns with disco-ball shimmer, as one of the best. Air + Flow hasn’t gone viral, yet. But tags such as #balloondecor and #organicballoons (as in, not merely store-bought) have helped raise Cotrupi’s profile.

For those contemplating a DIY approach, be forewarned: Nailing the details is harder than it looks. “I have had so many clients tell me they’ve done it themselves and that it came out horribly,” Cotrupi says. One South Shore mom we spoke with agreed, trying to make good on the teepee trend for a 10-year-old and ultimately paying someone $525 to do it.

Finding the right venue for said balloons is also essential. Kotseas name-checks Little Lovage Club, a pristine playspace that recently moved from the Prudential Center to the South End (“It’s a thousand dollars, but they do a great job. All you have to do is show up,” she says), or Minni in Beacon Hill and the South End, where parties include two art projects led by professional artists; bespoke coloring options honoring the party theme; celebratory paper lanterns in Minni’s signature orange; and white tableware and cutlery. Families handle the food themselves, with preferred vendors including South End Buttery and Formaggio Kitchen.

Then there are the celebrity guests. Forget clowns: These days, no swanky kids’ party is complete without an appearance by a bubble-blower. Remember the balloon artists from the days of yore? They’ve been supplanted by performers such as Bubbles McGee and the Improbubble Poppy, who are basically the Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift of Boston-area tot parties.

These bubble artists (Poppy calls herself a “bubbleologist”) shape bubbles in various awe-inspiring forms, but they’re also happy to create “ambient” bubbles that wobble through an event, like a child who’s slurped one too many juice boxes.

Just as important are the goodie bags. Kotseas, who has arranged mermaid birthday parties at The Country Club in Brookline and nightlife-themed outings at swanky Seaport boîtes, says that her clients favor U.K.-based party supplier Meri Meri, renowned for its kiddie swag: gift bags shaped as cauldrons and skeletons; Peter Rabbit motifs fit for a Boden catalog; and velvet bows, gingham hair clips, and T-rex piñatas that would put your mom’s 1980s malfunctioning kazoo and Pixy Stix to shame.

As for dessert: Cupcakes, all the rage just a few years ago, have aged worse than Orange Crush at a Gen X slumber party. Now, on-trend parties feature cakes, preferably from Party Favors in Brookline (known for their intensely creative custom confections, like edible Paw Patrol towers and 3-D guitars) or Newton’s the Icing on the Cake, whose colorful creations, including circus tents and teddy bears, make them a favorite for spendy celebrants.

And if any of this sounds a little over-the-top? Consider the circumstances, Haas says. “COVID, I think, was such an awakening because it didn’t discriminate with regard to age,” she says. And the parents who couldn’t throw their tot a lavish first birthday are certainly making up for it at their fourth and fifth.

Once kids get a bit older, cakes and bubbles give way to teepees. Remember piling into a friend’s basement inside an itchy sleeping bag to watch Heathers? This is not that.

Instead, parents call Crystal Murphy. As the founder of Boston TeePee Party, she decorates about 200 parties per year from Wellesley to Needham to Norwell, where she stocks a warehouse. Murphy launched the business organically, serving as both founder and first client by creating teepees for her daughter’s 10th “OMG”-emoji-themed birthday after seeing the tiny-tent trend blow up on social media. Six years later, she has a staff of nine, with prices starting at $300 for a three-person party. She’s also designing family suites at the Four Seasons, crafting tot hideaways filled with a jumbo stuffed giraffe, teddy bears, tray tables for snacks, and soft lighting. “People are in love with unique, whimsical, and memorable events. I get a lot of custom requests for things I haven’t necessarily done before,” Murphy says gamely from her warehouse, surrounded by Taylor Swift–themed teepees.

Right now, Swift is her most in-demand party: She creates themed teepees, each based on a different album, festooned with on-brand blankets, sheets, decorative pillows, lighting, and even eye masks monogrammed with the kids’ names. Other times, she’s crafting teepee-housed spa sanctuaries, rose gardens, or even pint-size stores where kids can shop for—and keep—Mickey and Minnie Mouse–themed backpacks stuffed with macarons.

These customized teepee tents also must have precise color palettes, accessorized per the birthday child’s theme. “Teepees are such a thing. They are really curated with slippers, monogrammed bathrobes, and colors,” Haas says. The sky is the limit, but she points to Barbie-themed sleepovers complete with a bubblegum-pink palette to illustrate what can be done.

Just one detail: Oftentimes, the kids don’t even sleep in them since they’re picked up before bedtime, ensuring that they and their parents remain well rested. “The new thing is sleep-unders,” Kotseas says. “Kids will come, watch a movie, have popcorn, do custom eye masks, eat from trays with their name on them, and then go home.”

And, more often than not, requests are coming directly from the savvy kids themselves. “They’re seeing it on TikTok or from the Kardashians. When Kim throws a party for North, the children are seeing that,” Murphy says. “It’s cute. It’s Instagrammable.” Indeed, Kardashian created a “Camp North” party in 2022, complete with tents (and a private jet to fly to rural Wyoming).

Still, these sleep-unders aren’t purely frivolous. “It’s an easier way to feel safe going to other people’s homes and a very fun and easy way for kids to spend time together, where everyone has their own space. We’re working on designing a sleepover permission slip to make guests even more comfortable,” Murphy says, with questions about dietary preferences and allergies.

For the teenage set, the stakes get even swankier. Needham event planner Rachel Glazer has arranged meet-and-greet birthday parties where guests have mingled with TikTok influencers or star athletes at Gillette. Her own daughter’s Sweet Sixteen included a disco-lit party-bus tour of Boston with stops for photo ops in front of the Institute of Contempory Art, shopping on Newbury Street, and food at Chick-fil-A and Taiyaki. “As kids get older, they want big,” Glazer says. This means candy buffets, monogrammed merch (sweatpants and sweatshirts), taco stations, video walls, glow stages, fog machines, DJ booths, and swag bags stuffed with skin-care products, often at venues that most adults would covet.

The dynamic between parents and teens in party planning has shifted, with young people often taking the lead.

Of course, not every one of these big-budget parties has a happy ending. For every magical night and sleek swag table, there are tales of kids being tagged on social media while their classmates scroll at home, feeling excluded. And there are parents who worry that they just can’t keep up—a real-life extension of competitive social media culture. “I see parents grappling to balance the joy of celebrating milestones with resisting a culture of excess driven by consumerism and social pressures,” says Wellesley-based child psychiatrist Allison Baker, a Harvard Medical School instructor who lectures often on smartphone use. The curated, visually stunning birthday parties on Instagram and TikTok, in particular, “amplify the adolescent drive for deference…pushing both kids and parents to follow suit to gain social recognition through likes and views.”

Still, if done right, there can be benefits. Baker recommends “celebrations tied to effort,” such as graduations or b’nei mitzvahs. “They help foster emotional resilience, delayed gratification, and a sense of achievement, all critical to mental health and long-term fulfillment,” she says.

So where do these milestone bashes happen? Haas has thrown parties for the under-18 set at nightclubs, such as Big Night Live or Garage B at the Speedway. It’s almost as good as the real thing. “Lots of clubs rent earlier in the night. They’re phenomenal. There’s no alcohol, only mocktails, and the caveat is you need to be out by 10 p.m.,” Haas says.

When it comes to who’s taking the lead in party planning these days, the dynamic between parents and teens has shifted, with young people often making the decisions. “Most of the parents have kids who are pretty sophisticated. I’m dealing with parents and kids together, but the kids are driving the bus with regard to theme—certainly swag and décor,” Haas says.

This was true for Eva Ganz, who requested the glow-in-the-dark party theme and collaborated with her mom and Haas to execute the evening at Artists for Humanity, from Sephora to sushi, many months in advance. (“It was wedding season,” her mom explains.)

But most important: Did Eva have fun, once the lights came back on and the face jewelry came off? Absolutely. In fact, the party quickly became legendary among her peers. “She’s made lots of new friends,” her mom says. Teepee titan Murphy has a similar outlook. These elaborate parties, she says, are “about the bonding, the friendship.” While it’s true that many families do it for the ’Gram, these days, “a lot of parents don’t even post,” she notes.

But they do outsource. Her own daughter is on the brink of celebrating her Sweet Sixteen amid a pink rose-garden theme at the Labé Venue in Easton, with an expected 175 guests. Murphy—who does 200 parties per year, remember—is taking her own advice: She’ll leave the soiree to the pros at Event Executives. Parties, she says, “Are good for mental health. They help to avoid depression and isolation.”

Especially, of course, if you know who to call.