I’m wondering what the convention is for kids’ birthday parties here. I know in Canada starting from kindergarten or grade 1 often the whole class will be invited (maybe half will show up, maybe moe or less) parents might stay for the party depending on the situation, presents might run 25-30 dollars (2500-3000 yen) and kids go home with a goodie bag that probably includes way too much sugar, especially considering they probably had more than enough at the party itself.
Curious how that compares with here.
4 comments
I discussed this with my students and the concept of ‘coming over’ was foreign to them.
They don’t even have birthday parties at school
A kid may have like extra candy on their birthday because their mom gave them some so they could feel special, so they might share some at school with the other kids, or even you. Friends may get some soft cream together JHS-HS, and do the purikura, insta, arcade thing. The younger kids, say 6-8 may invite a few kids over, usually their best friend.
Kids that live in the inaka, and have a farm where their parents know everybody will throw a bbq party.
Yeah, it’s not really a thing here except at international schools. One school I worked at had a mass party every month, with balloons and silly hats and cake and all the trimmings.
Some lucky kids might get taken out for sit-down ice cream with a couple of their friends, but generally birthday celebrations are kept in the family.
My kids have never been invited to a birthday party here. For their own birthdays, we just do something special as a family(like go to an amusement park etc) and have cake/presents at home. Some teens girls I talked to will throw little parties for friends and give little gifts.