growing trend observed in recent times is ostentatious family celebrations, such as birthdays and weddings. In the essay below, I will set out the importance of these family occasions, and explain why I firmly believe that the current generation is spending excessively on these parties.
Key occasions such as birthdays and weddings are cause for celebration as they are happy events that bring the family closer. Meeting family members during such occasions, especially if they are regular such as birthday parties, is certain to build familial ties and bonds. In addition, certain family celebrations such as those to honour a recent graduate may also spur and inspire other family members to reach similar heights of achievement. However, in recent times, lavish amounts of money are being spent during these celebrations. In my mind, the extravagance is not warranted, as the sheer amount of money spent detracts from the key reason of having the celebration, which is to enjoy the company of family members, and to share in the joy of the occasion. A typical wedding dinner in my country, Malaysia, is now held in luxurious hotels, and the cost of such dinners goes into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and frequently lands the newly-weds into debt. Guests at the wedding also feel uncomfortable attending such lavish dinners, as they feel obliged to contribute large sums to attend. Some young couples even make the drastic decision to postpone their marriage due to peer pressure to spend similar amounts. Indeed, a family can still enjoy a family celebration for reasonable amounts of money by organising parties such as pot-luck dinners, where all those present will bring a dish to be shared, thereby lessening the burden on the celebrant.
Having considered the points above, I believe that family celebrations allow relatives to cherish the important moments in each other’s lives. I do agree that nowadays people spend too much on these occasions. I am firmly in favour of celebrating family occasions only in a modest manner. This would ensure these celebrations would not pose a burden to all present, and would keep the focus on the joyous occasion. 
 growing
 trend observed in recent times is ostentatious  
family
  celebrations
, such as birthdays and  
weddings
. In the essay below, I will set out the importance of these  
family
  occasions
, and  
explain
 why I  
firmly
 believe that the  
current
 generation is spending  
excessively
 on these parties.
Key  
occasions
 such as birthdays and  
weddings
 are cause for  
celebration
 as they are happy  
events
 that bring the  
family
 closer. Meeting  
family
 members during such  
occasions
,  
especially
 if they are regular such as birthday parties, is certain to build familial ties and bonds.  
In addition
, certain  
family
  celebrations
 such as those to  
honour
 a recent graduate may  
also
 spur and inspire other  
family
 members to reach similar heights of achievement.  
However
, in recent times, lavish  
amounts
 of money are  
being spent
 during these  
celebrations
. In my mind, the extravagance is not warranted, as the sheer  
amount
 of money spent detracts from the key reason of having the  
celebration
, which is to enjoy the  
company
 of  
family
 members, and to share in the joy of the  
occasion
. A typical  
wedding
  dinner
 in my country, Malaysia, is  
now
 held in luxurious hotels, and the cost of such  
dinners
 goes into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and  
frequently
 lands the  
newly
-weds into debt. Guests at the  
wedding
  also
 feel uncomfortable attending such lavish  
dinners
, as they feel obliged to contribute large sums to attend.  
Some
 young couples even  
make
 the drastic decision to postpone their marriage due to peer pressure to spend similar  
amounts
.  
Indeed
, a  
family
 can  
still
 enjoy a  
family
  celebration
 for reasonable  
amounts
 of money by  
organising
 parties such as pot-luck  
dinners
, where all those present will bring a dish to  
be shared
, thereby lessening the burden on the celebrant.
Having considered the points above, I believe that  
family
  celebrations
  allow
 relatives to cherish the  
important
 moments in each other’s  
lives
. I do  
agree
 that nowadays  
people
 spend too much on these  
occasions
. I am  
firmly
 in  
favour
 of celebrating  
family
  occasions
  only
  in a modest manner
. This would ensure these  
celebrations
 would not pose a burden to all present, and would  
keep
 the focus on the joyous  
occasion
.