Party Wars

Having been to an outrageously expensive, extraordinarily themed and hyper-planned party recently has rammed home the truth in me that we live in a world of excesses and thrive on a lifestyle of pomp, show, and flamboyance. Simplicity is no longer a given, and people love to be the talk of the town or at least the neighbourhood, with the spectacular parties they throw. I am constantly amazed at the lengths people go to in order to make the event memorable and ensure that others talk about it for months or even years to come. It doesn't stop there ... it's time for the next party and there they are, racking their brains as to how to outdo their own earlier parties and everyone else's they know of. To be moneyed and to spend lavishly is one thing, but to run into debts just to keep up with the Joneses or to outdo them is a problem and spells disaster, financially and morally, in my opinion.

Birthdays, engagements, weddings, graduations, housewarmings, births, and even deaths, warrant a party, not to mention other festive occasions such as Christmas, New Year, Valentine's, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc., etc., where people can let their hair down and convince themselves that life is worth living after all! I am not against the partying per se, but only against excessive pomp and pagaentry, with a total disregard for the amount of money being spent, while the rest of the world is wallowing in poverty and neglect. Event planners, themed parties, gourmet food by renowned chefs, rock stars singing a song or two at the shindigs, chartered jets to exotic locales, celeb DJs spinning records for the hand-picked guests may all be in the domain of the rich and the famous, but the not-so -rich-and-famous are also taking up their parties a notch these days and bleeding their wallets dry to doom.

One of my earlier posts in 2009 was about over-indulgent parents and modern day excesses ( http://oliviakanna.blogspot.com/2009/11/over-indulgent-parents-and-modern-day.html ), with parents planning their children's birthday parties months in advance and giving away goodies worth a king's ransom. I'm pleased to record that the husband and I have been steadfast in our resolve not to over-indulge the kid, but to inculcate in him values that will hold him in good stead in the years to come. Our son does attend the birthday parties of his friends, but he doesn't have one for himself, and that spares me the trouble of staging a hoopla on his birthday. I am definitely not into the party wars and I'm thankful the kid understands that and doesn't throw a tantrum about it. He will be 16 this Christmas, a milestone in his life accompanied by the usual rite of passage of earning his driver's licence - will it be marked by an elaborate shindig and a BMW or Mercedes to boot? I don't think so at all. Perhaps a quiet day with his parents is more likely in the cards, or better still, a volunteering stint somewhere with the sick and the needy would serve him well, I'm sure. Party animals we're not, and party wars mere frivolities to us!