Browsing by Subject "syntymäpäiväjuhla"

Aims: The purpose of this research was to clarify things that matter to children at a birthday party and how the consumer culture shows in children's views of a birthday party. Birthday parties just for friends is a modern phenomenon, that began to stabilize in the end of the 1960's. Birthday parties became more substantial in hospitality, decoration, the number of guests and program. The upturn in children's position and in the standard of living, plus the growth of children's market and their becoming a consumer have affected in the change of a birthday party. The previous studies showed that birthday parties were usually celebrated with old customs until the end of 1990. The latest change in the birthday party customs is giving gifts for the quests. In addition, organizing a birthday party outside home in a commercial playground has become very popular, which will further increase the commercialism of the birthday party. Data and methods: This study is a qualitative study. The research data was collected by means of five group interviews. There were 23 children participating in total. Eight of the children were girls and the rest were boys. The data was analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results and discussion: The results showed that most of the children's birthday parties were celebrated with old customs. Gift giving, hospitality, a guided program, free play time and goody-bags were the basic elements. Birthday parties were celebrated both in and out of homes. Parties at home were more common, although children were wishing for parties in commercial playgrounds. The results showed that goodies, guests and material gifts are important to children at a birthday party. The media culture and individuality were present at the birthday parties. Taste preferences and theme decorations pointed this out. Children's gift wishes reflect the children's desire to own material things and how children's consumption has become a part of the everyday life. Particularly boys wish for expensive gifts. According to children's view they have some influence in the planning process. The results show that the parties are not as child-oriented as children would wish them to be. This is because the adults make the decisions in some subjects such as the limit of the guests and the duration of the party. Particularly informal birthday parties are very important to children. Free play time, informal eating and less supervision are the things that children wish for a birthday party.