<p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">I should have known.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">Just when I shout my love for Cleveland from the rooftops, I read this –
</span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt"><strong>Goody bags gone bad 
</strong></span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt"><strong>Kids today expect pricey birthday-party favors, and parents are getting sucked in</strong>
		</span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt">Monday, March 03, 2008 
</span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt">John Campanelli
</span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt">Cleveland Plain Dealer Reporter 
</span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:9pt">At the conclusion of the lovely kids birthday party, with cake and ice cream and games, the hostess bid each guest farewell with a smile and a goody bag. A 6-year-old boy grabbed his, peered inside and said, "This is a rip-off!"           </span><span style="font-size:8pt">
			</span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt">
 </p><p style="margin-left: 36pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt">At another party, a mother decided to do the unthinkable and not even give treat bags. A group of 7-year-olds cornered her and complained: "You should have told us before we came!" 
</span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt">Still another mom called her child's friends to invite them to an upcoming birthday bash. <em>At least one of the kids refused to accept the invitation . . . <strong>at least until she told them what was going to be in the gift bag. 
</strong></em></span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt"><span style="font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt"><strong><em>When another party ended without swag bags, a group of outraged 10-year-olds bum-rushed the birthday boy and . . . beat him up.
</em></strong></span></p><p style="margin-left: 36pt">
 </p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">When I was growing up, the birthday parties I attended were different from the ones today but we were all given goody bags when it was time to leave. 
</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">The major difference is the contents – instead of paper noisemakers and costume jewelry, today's birthday party gift bags include iPods and gift cards.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">I won't deny that there will be gift bags at Luke's birthday party next month. 
</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">And I'm in Manhattan – capital of the goody bag craziness.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">But I'm personally just a bit more reasonable with the goody bag contents and always will be -- no matter what expectations the kid attendees may have.
</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">Planning a birthday party? What will be in the gift bags? 
</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">Not doing gift bags at all? Attended a party where the parents got sucked – suckered—in?
</span></p><p><a href="mailto:Victoria@SavvyMommy.com?subject=Gift%20Bags%20Gone%20Wild"><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">Tell me about it</span></a><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">! 
</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia; font-size:9pt">(Or post a comment below if you aren't shy.)
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