For her 25th birthday, Beyonce Knowles got a very pricey gift from boyfriend Jay-Z. He picked out a 1959 Rolls Royce convertible with an estimated value of $1 million dollars, though the full amount he paid for the car will probably be known only to him and the dealer.

Even with a steep price tag, the gift doesn't quite measure up to the $5.4 million necklace Mariah Carey got from her prince, but it's safe to say that Beyonce could have done a lot worse than this car.

The Burj Al Arab has been rented out for the next three days, all 18 floors of the sail-shaped, seven star hotel, at a cost of $1.8 million. Supermodel Naomi Campbell is footing the bill, celebrating her 36th birthday party with 72 hours of partying with a star-studded guest list and her millionaire boyfriend Badr Jafar. The hotel was recently upgraded from its status as a six star hotel to become the world's first seven star hotel and one can assume that the high standards of service will be upheld throughout Campbell's party.

This New York Times article about the TV show My Super Sweet 16 really got me thinking about spending. The show, if you are unfamiliar with it, is a reality program that follows the planning and preparation for some of the most expensive teenage birthday parties in the country. Many of the parties cost upwards of $200,000, not including the gifts of cars, clothes and jewelry that many of the lucky kids receive in addition.

The show has its fans and its critics, but the critics are always the most vocal, saying that such "celebrations of self... [are] an excuse to prolong the whiny, self-centered greediness that gives infantile a bad name." In contrast, a mother whose daughter appeared on the show said "Unless they were crazy or hated their child, any parent who was financially able would do it." Would they? Is there a point where the spending for a child's entertainment should stop?