KEY POINTS:
Forget pass the parcel and homemade cake - competitive Kiwi parents are spending thousands to ensure their child's birthday party is an occasion to remember.
Party industry sources tell the Herald on Sunday that children, some as young as one, are being lavished with celebrations costing as much as a small wedding.
Must-haves include special loot bags, fairground attractions and hot locations, such as the Auckland venue where pre-teen girls can hold pamper parties with manicures and spray tans.
Albert Chan, of Auckland's Hummer for Hire, said parents often organised a limo to pick up the birthday boy or girl and friends. A top-of-the-range Hummer usually cost about $750 an hour, but kids qualified for a 20 per cent discount.
Alternatively, parents on a budget would pay a mere $130 for an hour in a six to eight-person Lincoln.
Papakura-based 3-2-1 Fun offers bouncy castles, tots train and an inflatable water slide.
In the cake department Ali Chamberlain, of Ali's Celebration Cakes on Auckland's North Shore, said orders were becoming more extravagant. "They want Dora the Explorer, or ... the cars from Cars, or aeroplanes, or pirate ships," she said. Her most expensive kids' cake was a detailed reconstruction of Noah's Ark costing more than $250. "The average price is up to $80."
Meanwhile, party packages at New Zealand's only "enchanted forest" venue, Ivy Cottage, in North Shore's Greenhithe, cost $250 for 90 minutes and another $80 for food. "We're booked up two months ahead, and do six parties every weekend," owner Lisa Ritchie said.
"Ivy Cottage also offers pamper packages for the girls for $30-$60 per person.
Auckland's Rainbow's End theme park hosts up to 20 such events a weekend.
Groups co-ordinator Christine Ene said a standard package meant birthday children aged 4 to 13 were excused the $30 entry fee when mum and dad forked out for four or more of their thrill-seeking mates.
No food is included, just rides and the star guest's name is flashed up on a giant electronic sign.
And entertainment? Auckland magician Andy Walker charges $390 for two hours and is often booked up two months in advance.
