It's always the same scene: After four hours of partying in a Casablanca club, during which the kids shoot each other in teams in a laser game or scream as they cross Dubai on a virtual rollercoaster, the parents who come to collect their little ones inevitably end up reminiscing about their own birthday memories. "In my day, it lasted an hour. It was at home with family and a cake. Mom and dad would never have imagined renting a hall for my birthday," explained Ilham (who, like the others we spoke to, did not wish to give her name), an insurance company employee who organized a 10th birthday party for her only son, Ali, on a recent Saturday in October.
The plan: 20 or so friends, a giant cake inspired by the video game Minecraft, a mountain of gifts hidden behind a table and dozens of activities. The event lasted from 2 to 6 pm with a bevy of kids, led by an activity leader, performing a random choreography to the sound of the "Macarena." The cost was over 8,000 dirhams (around €750).
What happened to Ilham to make her go against her parents' principles to such an extent, agreeing to spend almost three times the Moroccan minimum wage every year so that her offspring could blow out his candles? "The desire to please him," she replied. "Besides, all his friends do the same. Ali wouldn't understand if we didn't participate." Is it out of a desire to conform to the norm? "Not only that," said Mounir, a bank executive and father of two children born in Brussels. "In Belgium, I used to hold their birthdays in a public park. We'd invite their friends, play football and board games and have a picnic. But Casablanca is a city where green spaces are sorely lacking."
For several years now, leisure centers have been springing up all over the port city, offering a wide range of birthday activities: indoors, with themed attractions (arcade games, laser games, escape games), or outdoors, in private parks on the outskirts of the city, with tree climbing, mini quad biking and even a "kid city," with a recreation of a police station, post office, supermarket and school.
For parents, the organization of a party follows a precise ritual: Spaces are reserved several weeks in advance, then invitation cards, complete with "RSVP," are distributed in class. "But there are always those who confirm the day before, and others who arrive at the last minute, when we weren't expecting them," said Khalil, a father of twins and head of a communications agency. "You thought you had 15 kids to look after, and in fact, you're dealing with 25." When it's not their child's birthday party, few parents stay behind. The more affluent send their chauffeur, and sometimes a nanny.
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