Can We Bring Back the '90s Birthday Parties?

When did five-year-olds stop having house parties? Trampoline parks, dance studios, and maker labs seem to be some of the more popular spots for birthday parties these days. There are at least half a dozen of those play centres with colourful foam blocks, climbing walls and tunnel slides near my house. Every weekend, they churn out parties for toddlers – even if they charge over $500 for a two-hour private booking.

The Era of the Destination Birthday Party

While the price tag might seem steep for a preschooler’s happiness, it usually includes some themed decor, admission for a limited number of kids and their parents, pizza and juice, and perhaps, most importantly, set up and clean up. It’s an all-inclusive, but with Frozen instead of frozen margs.

Sure, these play centres existed when we were young – the ‘90s were absolutely the golden age of Chuck E. Cheese. Sprawling, loud and with a focus on arcade games, they were disorienting and overstimulating, and geared towards older kids.

I still remember the rush I’d get counting how many tickets I won from Skee-Ball and Daytona USA – and then trading that in for sticky hands and slap bracelets – but rarely did I go to these places for a friend’s birthday party. Instead, almost every family I knew, my own included, had parties at home with minimal itineraries and low budgets.

The ’90s Birthday Party Formula

What was great about a ‘90s birthday party was how similar they all were. No matter how young, kids were dropped off and free to just sort of wander around a friend’s house. We played Musical Chairs, Hot Potato, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and if we were lucky, swung at a piñata. And we were forced to sit in a circle and pass around opened birthday gifts until our parents picked us up.

The food always included an assortment of UTZ cheese balls, Bugles corn chips, and Cool Ranch Doritos. We washed that down with Sprite poured from 2L bottles or Capri Sun pouches, and followed that with homemade Betty Crocker cake – or a Dairy Queen ice-cream cake, if you hit the jackpot. Parents in the ‘90s were truly unbothered by the amount of sugar we hoovered, weren’t they?

Contrast that with kids’ parties today where tiny organic juice boxes might be the only sugar at the table, “chips” are veggie straws, and everything better be peanut free. Nobody has them at home anymore, and parents are often expected to stay at the party to support their child and socialize with other parents. Not to mention, nearly every party must follow a theme (I’m guilty: my toddler’s second birthday was “two-tti fruitti,” yes, fruit themed).

I’m trying not to get carried away with the parties I see on social media. Parties at home or at the park and playground near our house can be just as fun as the play centre down the street. Betty Crocker cake is still delicious, and a piñata stuffed with candy and dollar-store prizes still hits. When my kids are a little bit older and asking for a party destination outside of our house, we’ll revisit some of the birthday ideas that were big in the ‘90s: five-pin bowling, laser tag, and maybe even Chuck E. Cheese.