Quiceañera cutbacks

From the Associated Press:

Milestone parties shrink to survive for teens

By ILEANA MORALES (AP) – 2 days ago

MIAMI — For a generation of girls, coming of age during the recession calls for a celebration that can be as much DIY as it is mini-wedding.

Planning a quinceanera? Think about choreographing your own dance routine. Feeding a Sweet 16? Hope you know how to bake. Bat mitzvah on the way? You might want to share your party with a neighbor.

"You don't know if you're going to lose your job. You don't know what's going to happen. You don't want to go overboard," said Yanicet Ganuzas. For her daughter Yanelis's quinceanera, the lavish party many Latino families throw when their daughters turn 15, she spent $14,000 — a little more than half of what she spent two years ago on another daughter.

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