Celebrating the anniversary of your birth should be a legal right, I mean who does not love parties. Birthday celebrations usually entail foods, cakes, drinks and lots of music, while some people just take out time to pray and reflect on their past years.
Despite the fact that birthday celebrations are fun, a lot of people use this as an opportunity to go against set moral codes especially because there is a high commercialization of birthdays. Firstly, celebration patterns across families may indicate social expectations that lead families to celebrate birthdays in a certain way. Many parents feel obligated to throw expensive and extravagant parties because that has become the norm in their community, while others feel compelled to compete with their neighbors.
This culture has a lot of people trying to earn bragging rights with birthday celebrations. Many go as far as renting houses at highbrow areas to celebrate. Of course, there are many downsides to this culture, for instance, on 3 October 2017, a 20-year-old girl faked her own kidnap with her boyfriend to raise money for her birthday and demanded 200,000 Naira from her parents as ransom fees.
Here are ways one can cut down on spending during birthdays and still have fun:
- Set a limit on the number of guests you are inviting: You necessarily don’t have to invite everyone who you had the privilege of attending their birthdays. Invite those who are special to you and would be necessary to invite.
- Set a budget: Have an estimated budget. Do not go above the specified amount to avoid spending all of your savings on your birthday.
- Be creative: Birthday celebrations are not cast on stone; learn creative ways to have fun. Who knows, you may start the new birthday trend.
- Be charitable: Use your birthday as an opportunity to give. Not those charity events that are done for promotional value but truly give out to those around you who are in need.
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This article was first published on 21st October 2017 and updated on October 22nd, 2017 at 10:53 pm
adepeju
Adepeju Adenuga is a writer (considering where you are reading this, makes perfect sense). She holds a Masters Degree in Literature in English from the University of Lagos.
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