Article: Big blowout.(Family)(Simple cake and candles just an afterthought with today's birthday parties)

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

Whatever happened to Pin the Tail on the Donkey?

That's what a lot of parents are wondering as the competition for increasingly extravagant children's birthday parties starts to look more and more like an arms race.

"You used to go to a person's house, play party games, have cake, now it's huge events," says Laura Brous, a mother of two from Eugene.

"People seem to be competitive about it," agrees Brous' husband, Matt.

The competition for bigger parties leads some parents to do irrational things, such as renting an entire municipal swimming pool or spending a small fortune on an ...

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