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My son is about to turn 4. This seems like a very popular age for parties.
We plan to have his party at Chuck-E-Cheese. Another classmate is having a C-E-C birthday party exactly 2 weeks before our planned party. This is the first big party with friends we have thrown for him.
We booked the party at C-E-C but have not sent the invitations yet. The guest list is his whole daycare class (~20 kids) and 2 neighborhood friends. His party is planned for 4PM on a Sunday afternoon.
We received an invitation today from another boy in the daycare class for his party at 11 AM the same day (Sunday). His party will be at a children's indoor play center.
So what are your opinions, should I try to change the date of our party?
I don't really want to since is already planned for 1 week after his birthday and will likely get pushed back further if I reschedule but I also don't want to create a bad situation for the families of most of the invitees.
Let me finish by stating that this is very low on the drama scale, I'm just asking for opinions.
I would not change it if you have already booked it and put down a deposit. Generally, these parties only last two hours so the guests would have plenty of time to get from the 11 a.m. party to your son's party.
Plus, there's always something else going on (sports, family parties, etc) no matter how carefully you choose a date.
In preschool, most parents invite the entire class so parties are big and you get invited often. As your son gets older, there will be fewer parties and most will have fewer kids so it will be easier for all concerned.
By the time my kids were in second grade they wanted smaller parties and now they usually just ask for a sleepover with two or three friends along with a special activity like swimming or going to a movie or the mall.
It's good planning to host a big party outside of your home as you don't have to worry about cleaning up or having parents forget to pick up their kids after the festivities.
Let me finish by stating that this is very low on the drama scale, I'm just asking for opinions.
??
My opinion: Kids are saturated with their parents' need to keep up with the Joneses. No 4 year old needs a birthday party with 20+ kids tow. No child needs a birthday party every year.
Last edited by jakija9311; 01-27-2011 at 12:52 PM..
Reason: Forgot an apostrophe.
If I were you, I'd just go ahead with my plans. This sort of scheduling thing is common at this age for kids who attend preschool. Just grit your teeth (because it's 2 hours at CEC) and try to have fun.
I would normally say just stick with your plans, but those indoor play places really tire the kids out. You might be setting yourself up for some mighty tired 4 year-olds (aka trouble!).
Silly me, we never had those huge parties. We had a party at home and limited the number of kids to the number of kids in their age. At 4, my ds had 4 other kids from his preschool class. My dd had a few more because she was a social butterfly.
At any rate, I would probably not change now especially if you already paid your deposit.
Silly OP, how dare she post a question about a birthday party?!?! Quick every one pounce!
IMO keep the date, some families will undoubtly have something to do in the morning and won't go to the first party but will go to yours and vice versa. Some families will go to both and some will not go to either.
You'll probably get a smaller turn out than if you were the only party that day but you'll still have a few kids and really how many children can one child play with at a time anyway? Plus CEC always has other parties going on so even if you get a very small turnout it's not like you're going to be in a big empty room.
Keep the date, save some money (from having less children) and let it go, remember your shelling out money at a place so you don't have to stress out about it.
I wouldn't change it, but be prepared that only half the class or so will come... I can even see several saying they'll come, and then not show up because the kids are too tired after going to the morning party.
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