They began to appear timidly last spring, in that awakening of the first state of alarm, but this year, with the arrival of good weather, they bloom happily in every green area, in every
public park
in
Madrid
.
The
children 's
birthday parties
post-pandemic they have taken to the streets shunning of the virus, changing the landscape of the capital and many of its large municipalities day in
and day out
, and wearing an imagination unprecedented, including
sweets and snacks
anticontagios
.
Today there are many parents who, seeking to continue with the tradition of celebrating their son's big day but safely, opt for this
new
fashion, which, ignoring the caveats, is more reminiscent of those homemade friends with whom they The generation that grew up in the shelter of the EGB was more fun than the macro-celebrations of a couple of years ago.
"This is much healthier and cheaper,"
say the parents.
And they are right.
The pandemic has banished the
ball parks
, without competition until just over a year ago, and today, what is sought is to
celebrate outdoors
.
Do the test on Google.
Or, better yet, take a tour of the most sought-after parks and mountains -
Retiro, Juan Carlos I, the Dehesa de la Villa, Valdebebas, Valdelatas
...-.
At 10 in the morning it is already difficult to
find a hole
in shady areas or picnic tables.
And even near schools, gardens are expensive when school is out, especially on Fridays.
Balloons, colored hats, noisemakers and a lot of crowds ... They can be seen from afar.
A portable table or a blanket on the floor, some bags with snacks and some jelly beans ... Or some garlands, pom-poms and
snacks worthy of a Pinterest board
... The variety is endless, although there are lines that do not cross .
More relaxed celebrations
There are no worms on a plate or liter shakes or piñata.
And the candles are no longer blown as they used to.
Now,
the snacks are prepared as individualized as possible
and the happy birthday is heard over a small piece of cake.
Or before a cake covered in film.
Imagination has no limits.
"The merry-go-round has been lost and everyone puts their hand in the same plate," says Virginia, a mother with experience in this type of meeting.
For her, within this
boom
, now birthdays, with a pandemic year,
are "more relaxed"
: "Last summer we had each child in a corner to take sweets" and "not now."
An evolution that Ana, another mother, has also seen.
"It has gone from zero, to a little and, later, to the parties of now.
From 'we do not dare' to 'we get out of phase'," he
says.
Piñata of a birthday in the Retiro.ANDRÉS RODRÍGUEZ
Although crowds sometimes get out of hand - until the end of the state of alarm they could be celebrated by groups of six people and with a safe distance - parents feel comfortable with these celebrations because
normally the guests are part of the bubble. of the child
, they are classmates. And among the smallest, those who do not wear a mask during the school day, there is no added risk.
This type of party, they say, is generating other adjacent positive things.
"It has brought us closer to parents
,
"
says Yoli.
"For the children I like this option more than the ball parks.
It is more fun
. They can play, run and the older brothers usually act as monitors," he adds.
"We have won with this and
the children develop their own creativity,
" Nieves points out.
For Marta, another mom, these kinds of outdoor parties
"are not so ostentatious
.
"
"It was entering a consumerism, with birthdays of 300 euros, which are too much. For me, the celebration in the park are all advantages."
Thus, they say, children have fun in a "healthier" way, because
they have recovered the games of before
: fights with balloons or water pistols, the dodgeball or the pilla-pilla.
The party industry
Companies in the sector are also noticing this change in trend.
Cristina de Luis, from
Nice Party
-a small company that sells custom kits to set up these parties- says that she
is being asked for "more individual picnic boxes" to celebrate "outdoors"
and is appreciating that, in general , "there is more effort to make it beautiful, to make parties smaller but more careful".
And Laura Misis, from
La Fiesta de Julieta
, notes that there is a
boom
in these parties in the parks.
"I have come to count more than 100 birthdays on the weekend in the Dehesa de Navalcarbón (Las Rozas)"
. "In Madrid capital they ask us for celebrations in the parks. Above all we do assemblies in Retiro, Valdelatas and Valdebebas", says the owner of this company, dedicated to the integral organization of parties, from decoration to entertainment and snacks. "We set up picnics, teepees, tents ...
We are at the top,
" he adds.
This businesswoman assures that
"parents are very sorry" not to celebrate
birthdays after a blank year.
Let's remember that, at this time, in 2020 we were confined.
Is it legal?
Faced with this fashion, many wonder if occupying the public highway like this is legal or if you have to ask for permission to be able to mount a birthday.
The answer is
'yes', it is legal
, and 'no', you do not have to ask for permission, except in the town of Getafe, which requires a search.
From the Environment section of the Municipal Police of Madrid they assure that there is no problem in celebrating birthdays in the parks as
long as the noise ordinances are not violated
(you cannot put speakers),
cleaning
(you have to leave everything collected at the finish)
and alcohol
(you can not drink on public roads), as well as the rule of
not hanging any item
(balloons, pennants, piñatas ...) on trees or plant items. Something that not everyone knows or practices. When we see these things, we warn them to remove them, but we do not denounce them, "says officer Emilio Sujar to EL MUNDO.
Once the state of alarm has ended, the restriction of grouping a maximum of six people has fallen, although the recommendation continues to be insisted that this number should not be exceeded unless they are living together.
When these situations occur, "we ask them to disperse," adds the police command, who assures that
there are no penalties for crowds at birthday parties in gardens and parks
.
Parties like this are possible if you have, he says, "common sense."
And if one does not forget that we are still in a pandemic.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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