Growing a year older has always been a joyous occasion for the young, says Amany Abdel-Moneim, but it was never celebrated with quite such panache It no longer does to whip up a candle-studded cake and switch off the lights, apparently. "Birthdays are all about celebrating life and if you can't celebrate the life with those closest to you then what else is there to celebrate." So comments Mohamed Talaat, the managing director of Party Fun, a new affiliate of Happy Fun, an international company dedicated to organising children's parties. And he speaks for a growing sector and, judging by Party Fun, a complex and lucrative one. Party costumes and animation staff are imported from Russia. Plays in both Arabic and English are especially commissioned for a dedicated troupe of performers. And a line of top suppliers provides all that a child could possibly dream of, from popcorn stalls to ice-cream carts: "Our prices are average judging by service rendered and market cost. A birthday starts from LE500 and can go up to LE20,000." "My little girl's first birthday is round the corner and I'm planning a carnival theme party," says Laila Othman. "We'll be celebrating in our backyard with shows as well as games. She was my miracle baby," recalls Othman, "for I got sick during pregnancy and she arrived 10 weeks early. I seriously feel that her birthday should be a whole festival. People tell me she won't remember, but I remember my first birthday and I'll be 33 in November. So I keep saying to people, 'If you feel like having a blast for your child's birthday, by all means go for it.' It's fun." Nor is Othman alone in such thinking: the work of Party Fun, which started business in November 2004 with the birthday of pop star Amr Diab's twins, and followed up with parties for the children of such media figures as Yasmine Abdel-Aziz, Mona Zaki and Hanan Turk, as well as comedy superstar Adel Imam's grandchildren. "I'd rather save a big bash for when they are older and have more friends to invite," says Sahar Mahrous. A baby, she says, won't distinguish cheap from expensive. "They only see colourful boxes to rip up and chew on, with toys inside, pretty hats and cakes. And that, when the people who love them are about, should be more than enough." Others, like 27-year-old Sahar Mansour, concur: "This is far beyond my budget. I love planning events," she went on, describing her plans for the birthday of her four-year-old daughter, "but I'm afraid to go overboard." Her home being off the beaten track, she headed to a well-known fast food restaurant with a playing area to have the party in. "It would cost me over LE600 to host only 15 kids. The problem is -- some parents can afford very expensive celebrations, even in five-star hotels; and at this age children like to imitate each other. My daughter wants to have a birthday similar to that of her friend Sara, with lots of fun and face painting, coloured hats..." Faten Gouda, the mother of a 14-year-old boy, sums it up: "Everyone has a right to do whatever they want to do -- to spend money or not. Happily the dilemma seems to come to an end during the teen years. When children reach this age, we become an embarrassment to them; no way would they want us to attend, let alone organise, their parties."
