Not a second wedding: Gen-Z gives 21st birthdays a ‘make-under’

On Friday, Alison Galbally will celebrate her 21st surrounded by Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and maybe even Lindsay Lohan.

OK, not the Paris, Britney or Lindsay, but about 60 of her closest friends will be dressed like them. Galbally will welcome her guests – all donning butterfly clips, low-rise jeans and body glitter – into her home in Melbourne’s South Yarra, to celebrate her milestone in true 2000s fashion.

Twenty-first birthday parties are still popular in Australia, but the attitude towards them has evolved. Though a welcome excuse to celebrate, young adults are opting for smaller budgets, tighter guest lists and “low-key vibes”.

Galbally, a law-arts university student, turned 18 amid COVID-19 lockdowns. She says her 21st is an opportunity to make up for the social experiences lost to the pandemic – school formals, house parties and, most importantly, her 18th birthday.

“A lot of people like having the opportunity to go out and have some fun because we were locked down for so long,” Galbally says. “We’ve missed three years of just having fun.”

But for Galbally and her peers, something no longer has to be massive to be fun. It seems, for many at least, the full-blown marquee-DJ-hundreds of guests model of 21sts has been left in the past.

After years of pandemic-induced anxiety, Galbally says 21-year-olds want something stress-free and wholesome.

“Doing something low-key, like at your house, just makes it easier to enjoy yourself – that’s what it’s for after all,” she says. “And people have spent so much time in their homes that it’s probably where they’ve become most comfortable.”