How much did upsherin party cost u?

amother

Seashell

Tue, Sep 27 2016, 9:54 pm

I spent about $9000. Went a little crazy but I only have one son, so....

Caterer, table, chair, linen rental, cake, centerpieces, entertainment (for adults and kids), photographer, invitations..... For about 70 people total (don't remember # of kids/ adults).

mommy3b2c

Tue, Sep 27 2016, 10:06 pm

So far I made two. About $1400. Included 12-14 hot foods, sternos, all the rest of the food, paper goods, arts and crafts for the kids, barber.
I can't think of anything else that it included.

Maybe it also included a Tzitzis cake?
Can't remember for sure.

amother

Gold

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 12:20 am

Lets see... maybe 20 on paper goods, tablecloths...., 40 dollars on the food (bagels, a few salads) 20 dollars on a cake (homemade), drop of nosh and 2-3 bottles of soda. So the actual party was probably around 80. Unless you include the present I bought him then it would be more.

oh also if you include the bags he gave out earlier to the rebbe, and the actual haircut by the barber then it would be more.

But it also depends on how many people you have - you can make a party on the same level but spend more just because you have more people (We had about 15 -20 guests). Plus it depends on what's the norm in your community, I know chassidim usually make a bigger deal at of it (like serve hot food...)

amother

Royalblue

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 1:17 am

Around $6,000.

$2,000 alone was for hall and food for one hundred people. Then barber, entertainment, candy station, toys for kids, cake, miniatures, cookies, tablecloths, pecklach.

kalsee

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 3:35 am

At the cheder with the Rebbe-
honey cake - about $5
pekelach for 20 kids- about $20

at ds's gan - 10 kids
pekelach and party favors - about $20

birthday party at home for siblings and neighbors
pekelach and party favors and birthday cake- about $20

All that, and he had 3 parties!

We are not chassidish (it's not really our minhag to do anything at all) , and did not want to make our parents and in laws and siblings shlep in from another city.
If we did live in the same city we would have probably made some kind of brunch or melave malka for relatives.

m in Israel

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 4:04 am

amother wrote:

$0!
So lucky and happy DH holds it's nonsense. It's not his minhag for boys to look like a girl.
And now we avoid this expense and pressure.

Not cutting hair before 3 doesn't automatically require an expensive party. We don't cut the hair before 3 but we also don't do an "upsherin party". We just bring him to the cheder to do the Aleph Bais shtick and then go to the barber for a hair cut. We also do cake and little prizes in his gan, but that is the same as for his 2 year old or 4 year old birthday -- nothing special because of the "upsherin". Total cost is the price of the cake and some pekelach to give out in the cheder, the party in gan, and a regular haircut at the barber. Definitely less than $50 total.

Raisin

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 4:31 am

amother wrote:

$0!
So lucky and happy DH holds it's nonsense. It's not his minhag for boys to look like a girl.
And now we avoid this expense and pressure.

You really do not have to spend the type of money that people are spending. You also don't have to invite hundreds of people. Just family is fine for a 3 year old.

I spent a few hundred dollars. Made everything myself mostly. No hot food. No pecklach. Made the cake myself. Did it either in my house or a hall that we got for free. My husband did the haircut himself. Friends took photos.

Ruchel

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 6:04 am

Yekke dh doesn't by it. But wimpel can cost anything from "the cloth and the paint/thread" to more than 1000 euros for a high level, family doing it for generation, wimpelmacher who does contests. Ye they exist, I innocently discovered of that world investigating who would do Moyshele's.

BUT my family does upsherin, my father had his hair long in 1930s and got trouble for it (as you can imagine, long hair was not normal on boys then and not allowed at school so he was kicked out...) so there was no way I would do without it since per se it wasn't "against" dh's minhag to do nothing with the hair. It was the first cut in my family since the war (1930s?) and it took place at my parents' home, my father (Cohen) cutting the first snip.

I like to think my kids will have the best of both worlds (yekke and heimish) while obviously having their father's mnhag.

So, between the clothes, the upsherin cake, the candy letters and stuff for decor... Maybe 200 dollars. Could have been made less.

I even heard of some people bringing entertainment etc but it's not traditional so I don't like it.

salt

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 6:30 am

amother wrote:

$0!
So lucky and happy DH holds it's nonsense. It's not his minhag for boys to look like a girl.
And now we avoid this expense and pressure.

Why call it nonsense? We also don't do it (yekke) but I wouldn't call it nonsense. Possibly overrated, but it's not minhag shtus. I'm sure it has basis.

amother

Powderblue

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 7:56 am

I'm about to make my second. I only invite family, though that still comes out to about 30- 40 people. Food, space (can't do it at home), barber, pictures and I do like to get a cake that's nicer than what I'd be able to make myself- comes out to about 500. I don't bother with entertainment, there aren't so many kids in my family so it's not worth it. Pekelach are basic, and again, not sp many kids, I only need to makw like 6 of them.

Jeanette

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 10:00 am

amother wrote:

$0!
So lucky and happy DH holds it's nonsense. It's not his minhag for boys to look like a girl.
And now we avoid this expense and pressure.

It's not the minhag that's nonsense. Making a big to-do that could rival a bar mitzva is nonsense in my opinion. But I'm sure the people spending thousands are well off and can reasonably afford the expense and there are no gemaches for upsherin expenses (yet).

amother

Seashell

Wed, Sep 28 2016, 10:36 am

Jeanette wrote:

Speaking only for myself, we made a big to-do because for us it was a big to-do. We went through so many years of IF and never knew if we would have kids. B"H we do have a few kids but only 1 son. So to be able to do this had perhaps much more meaning for us than others. I think overall most people keep things quite low key, the other exception being chabad shluchim (or perhaps others involved in kiruv who share this minhag) who use this event as an educational opportunity for their kehila and so also make a big to-do celebration.