For many news parents, social media feeds are seemingly filled with scenes of extravagant birthday parties other parents are throwing their young children, leading to feelings of guilt and pressure to compete – but how much truth is in what we see online?
Moonpig, the UK’s leading online greeting card retailer, surveyed 1,000 parents of 0-3-year-olds to uncover how we’re really celebrating our children.
Competitive celebrations: Nearly half of all parents feel in competition with other parents to throw the ‘best’ party
The survey revealed that nearly half of all parents (49%) admitted to throwing a birthday party more for the guests and other parents than for the child themselves. Over two-fifths (43%) felt as though they competed with other parents to throw the ‘best’ party for their child.
Interestingly, the research revealed dads feel the most pressure when it comes to throwing the ‘best’ party, with more than half (52%) stating that they feel in competition with other parents, compared to just 39% of mothers. Similarly, half of Gen-Z (50%) were found to feel pressure to throw the ‘best’ party – more than any other age group.
Party pressure: A third of parents now hire a professional party planner for their toddler’s birthday
Almost half (46%) of the parents surveyed admitted to feeling pressure from family and friends to throw a birthday party for their young child. To make sure that the party lives up to expectations, one in three (30%) admitted to using a party planner to plan their toddlers’ birthday parties.
Planning stress: The majority of parents find planning their child’s birthday party a major source of stress
Over half of parents (55%) said they felt stressed when planning their young children’s birthdays, with mums suffering the most – with almost three in five mothers (57%) feeling stressed, compared to 49% of dads.
Picture-perfect parties: Social media influences parents to throw aesthetic birthday parties
Almost three in five parents (59%) felt inspired by social media to throw their young child an “aesthetic” birthday party. Gen-Z and millennial parents care the most about their child’s birthday looking picture perfect on social media, with 44% citing this as a key consideration. 14% went as far as to say the main reason they threw their young child a party was to post about it on social media.
Costly candles: Parents are struggling to stick to birthday party budgets
Brits spend on average £248 to celebrate their baby’s birthday, with 55% of parents revealing they struggle to stick to a budget for the occasion. In addition, almost two-thirds (65%) of parents agreed that birthday parties for babies and toddlers had become too extravagant.
When asked why they throw their young children birthday parties even if they won’t remember it, almost two-thirds (61%) cited that the celebration was to create lasting memories with family and close ones, and so their young child can look back on pictures and videos when they’re older. Four in five (82%) also agreed that they prioritised creating memorable experiences for their child over an extravagant party.
Modern milestones: How parents celebrate their baby’s birthday
When celebrating their little ones, parents are likely to stick to the classics with traditional party food (66%), creating goodie bags (61%) and supermarket-bought birthday cake (61%), taking the lead on baby birthday party essentials.
| Rank | Baby Birthday Essentials | % Who Have Done This |
| 1 | Offered traditional party food options (buffet, pizza, sandwiches) | 66% |
| 2 | Created goodie bags for guests | 61% |
| 3 | Bought a supermarket birthday cake | 61% |
| 4 | Bought a custom-baked personalised birthday cake | 59% |
| 5 | Arranged specific food and drink options just for adults (cocktails, nicer food) | 57% |
| 6 | Created entertainment for the party myself | 52% |
| 7 | Arranged activities for the guests to do (bouncy castle, inflatable obstacle course, giant slides) | 52% |
| 8 | Baked my own birthday cake | 46% |
| 9 | Given a party a pop culture theme (superheroes, princesses, favourite characters from movies/TV shows) | 45% |
| 10 | Offered custom photo opportunities for guests (Balloon arches, custom backdrops, photobooths) | 42% |
Sarah-Jane Porter, Moonpig’s global design & licensing director, comments: “At Moonpig, we champion celebrating milestone moments, and early years birthdays are no exception. With growing pressure to make sure our babies’ earliest celebrations are memorable, it’s unsurprising that parents are going the extra mile to celebrate their young children.
“We know how important it is for these special moments to feel truly unique and personal to the recipient, which is why our range of personalised cards are great for celebrating your little one. From sharing milestone pictures and videos or including their favourite characters, our cards are the perfect keepsake for them to look back on in years to come.”
