20 unusual ways to save money: Double birthdays/double weddings

The thought of a double wedding or double birthday party won't work for everyone, but I'm surprised more people don't do it.

It's something that crossed my mind recently because of what seems to be a trend of parents throwing massive birthday parties for their young kids. Of course, it's not a new trend. Chuck E. Cheese has been organizing children's birthday parties presumably since it began in 1977, and maybe in the 1980s and 1990s when raising kids was the last thing on my mind, perhaps big birthday bashes were the norm.

But all I know is that my young daughters are being invited to some really amazing birthday adventures, which is wonderful for them, and I'm very glad for them, but they're both wondering when it's their turn to be the center of attention at one of these parties. Suddenly, the birthday parties my wife and I have had at our house, where we invite some family members and friends, are looking like amateur hour.