I used to spend over $1,000 on birthday parties for my kids. Now I let them organize their parties with a budget of $150 and it's more fun.

During a birthday party, I wondered if kids would have more fun without so much structure.

We decided to change birthday parties. The girls wrote a list, putting an X next to what we didn't have.

When my older daughter turned 10, we held her birthday party at an arts and crafts center in the mall. Every moment of the party was perfectly orchestrated... it felt like school to me.

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