Out of reality birthdays

This consumerist post about a crummy birthday cake reminded me about a number of parties in my neighborhood for little kids. On any given weekend, you can spot them by the huge inflatable playground in the background, streamers and balloons everywhere, and at one house; a donkey tied to a pole in the front yard.

I'm not concerned with the difference between the photo and the actual visual quality of the cake. But lets look at this cake (the advertised photo - which actually doesn't look realistic anyway, what cake has perfect 90 degree edges like that?). It looks like a pretty amazing cake. It rivals groom cake wedding-cake quality. And it was for a 3 year old. I have photos of my birthday parties, and my cakes were round and smeared in icing with Happy Birthday written on top with those little colored things and maybe a hot wheels car slapped on the top. What kind of unrealistic expectations can we be giving a 3 year old when their cake looks like it was done by Judy Uson? Or they and their friends have a private portable playground with donkey rides? This goes far beyond hiring some drunk in a clown costume to get hit with whipped cream pies.