WOULD you stump up £5,000 for goody bags to be dished out at a children's party? Probably not - but one American dad thought it was a small price to pay to make his 13-year-old daughter's day.

Faced with increasing extravagance and a fast-growing party industry, fed-up US parents have launched a campaign called Birthdays Without Pressure calling on people to stop trying to outdo each other.

British parents may well need to follow suit. A recent national study carried out by online party experts www.partydelights.co.uk found that 100 per cent of parents admitted feeling stressed about their children's first birthday.

Creating a lasting memory and making their child feel special were picked out as key concerns - even though the infants were largely oblivious to the fuss.

Fast-forward a few years to when a child starts school and you have the extra pressure of having to keep up with the parties held by school friends.

The fear is that an old-fashioned jelly and ice-cream party might not measure up to more high-octane events like bowling, ice-skating or quad-biking.

However, while the pressure might be growing, so too is the resistance to it. We spoke to two Worcester mums about their choice of parties.

Mum Julie Rowberry, who has three children Andrew, 11, Samuel, six, and Elizabeth, one, said she would rather pay a little bit more to hold a party at a venue where all the extras were included. For Samuel's last birthday, he and nine friends took a trip to a children's indoor play centre.

She said: "Samuel went to Having a Ball in Malvern. It's £10 per child but you get a table reserved for the parents and a tent area where there's a king or queen's chair to sit in so the birthday person is special."

Mrs Rowberry, of Harley Goodacre, Warndon Villages, said she liked the fact that the children were made a fuss of by a party organiser and that adults were allowed to accompany children into the play area, something husband Chris had enjoyed.

She was also impressed that the centre provided goody bags and drinks as part of the package.

She said: "The majority of places now include party bags in the price.

"It's really good as then we just have to take the cake.

"If you go out and have to buy bags and 10 pencils, 10 sharpeners and balloons, by the time you've added that up it's more money. They also get unlimited jugs of drinks. I've been places where you have to pay £2 for a squash."

She added: "The kids think it's fantastic."

10 children at Having a Ball - £100 Birthday cake - £7 total cost - £107 Mother-of-two Julie Jones said her children Megan, five, and Owen, three, were both born in October and so they have joint birthday parties with around 25 guests.

She said: "For two years running, I've hired the Lyppard Grange community centre. We have the big hall and the bouncy castle and have to do our own food.

"The price can work out quite high but we can have more children."

Mrs Jones, of Harley Bakewell, Warndon Villages, said she enjoyed giving the party the personal touch.

She said: "We provided our own food and party bags and I did some little games like musical statues with prizes. Party bags still have a piece of cake. I put in some jewellery for the girls. The boys had a bouncing ball or a yo-yo."

"Last year, I did a Mickey Mouse theme and ordered plates and banners from a catalogue that offers party stuff. I like doing it for the children rather than letting a place do it all for us."

Three hours' hire of Lyppard Grange Community centre - £59.25 Bouncy castle hire - £35 Food - £15 Party bags and prizes - £15 Decoration - £10 Cake - £10 total cost - £144.25