Reply #2: This is appalling...

[Debbi801]

It is not supposed to be about the party. It is supposed to be about the whole religious rite of passage. Unfortunately, somewhere down the road, the religion part got forgotten about.

I am in the middle of planning my son's Bar Mitzvah (Feb 2006) and then my daughter's Bat Mitzvah will be 2 years later. It is all about upstaging, or at least competing with, all the other parties going on. We are on a very tight budget and have been floored by how much the simplest things wind up costing. For example, one photographer we contacted wanted close to 3000 just to come and take pictures and give us a 20 page album. It is absurd. Needless to say, we're not using him.

If he has that much disposable income to burn, why doesn't he put it to better use than a party. :grr:

Debbi