A book in hand, Aanya dips her feet in lukewarm soapy water. Five minutes later, a manicurist scrubs and massages her feet gently. She chooses “Bubbly Pink” toes and 20 minutes later, Aanya turns heads with her pink nails, glossy lips, shiny hair with soft curls and cat-eye liner.
Aanya is not a 20-something girl at a beauty parlour getting ready to go to a wedding. She is only nine and is attending her classmate Vaarya's spa-themed birthday party, where other girls of Aanya's age also get their hands and nails manicured even as trained hair dressers work on their tresses.
Spa-themed birthday parties are the latest craze among pre-teen girls. Birthday parties where games such as musical chairs or passing the parcel are played are passé .
Priya Dhammi’s 10-year-old daughter was invited to two such theme parties.
“At the first party, the hostess had put chairs in a circle. Each girl was provided spa slippers, a personalised robe and a clear pouch containing a pink stretch band, nail brush and pumice stone. They put their feet in pink tubs decorated with stickers. The warm water in the tubs had rose petals. Three women from a spa cleaned their feet gently with the pumice stone. In fact, even the cake was shaped like a girl getting a spa treatment. The girls got to take home the tub, the pouch and the robes. At the other party, the parents had got someone to do hair accessorising and make-up. All the girls were made to wear a sash and walked down the ramp,” she said.
Prachi Somani, the mother of a six-year-old girl, attended a fashion and spa theme party for her niece in Kolkata.
“My sister-in-law organised the party herself, for which she planned over a few months. The venue was filled with pink and purple balloons. There were princess cushions on chairs, story books on a side table and even a dressing table with perfumes and hair accessories. There was someone to do nail art for the children. A ramp had been set up in the centre of the room and each girl was given sashes for beautiful smile, beautiful hair, etc.”
Organising such theme parties are professional event managers. One such firm is Pink and Purple Events, whose owner Sakshi Khanna Virmani said birthday parties of the past are no longer in vogue.
“Children don’t want the same old birthday parties. They want something new. I have been organising spa-theme parties for 10-year-old girls for the past year. Some parents have even gone for 2D and 3D imaging for their child’s party,” Ms Virmani said.
Robin, the owner of Birthday Party Arrangement, agreed.
“I have organised such parties all over North India, not just in Delhi-NCR. Typically, these events have activities that parents can either include or exclude depending on their budget like manicure-pedicures, professional hair dressers, make-up artists, dress-up trunk, a ramp for fashion show, etc. In fact, some parents have even gone for the fish spa treatment,” he said.
Surbhi Nayyar of Elves and Angels added: “Children are so fashion conscious these days. Even the little ones want something fancier. Such parties are all about the feel-good factor. I have been doing these parties for a while now. From the Diva party package, the dress-up trunk is quite popular. It has dresses, feather boas, tutus, funky glasses, wigs, hats, swords, bow-ties, etc.”
But all the pampering and priming comes at a cost. “A basic spa-theme party for about 20 kids will cost Rs. 15,000. Each activity is priced separately between Rs.5,000 to Rs. 10,000 for a group of nearly 20 children,” Robin said.
“The cost varies depending on what all the parents want to include in the package and the number of children. Theme parties can cost anywhere between Rs.20,000 to Rs. 5 lakh. An average spa-party can cost about Rs.40,000,” Ms Virmani said.
“A dress-up trunk for 15 children can cost about Rs. 5,000 and various add-ons can take the cost up to Rs.1 lakh,” Ms Nayyar said.
Ishika, the mother of a two-and-a-half years old girl, who attended a spa party in Lucknow that had treatments for both girls and mothers, is not opposed to holding a similar party for her daughter when she turns four and if it is in her budget.
Priya Dhammi is also toying with the same idea.
“I may organise a spa party for my daughter when she is nine. Probably for a small group of her friends. However, I try to keep my daughter away from Bollywood. She is not allowed to paint her nails. In fact, she came to show me her pedicure at one of the parties. When I asked her why she hadn’t got her make-up done, she reminded me she was not allowed to do make-up.”
But many parents are not against holding such parties.
“I can never spend that much for a birthday party. I made quilled invites for my daughter’s birthday. It took me nearly one month to make them, but everyone praised my effort,” Prachi Somani said.
