those of you with kids -- how do I find addresses for birthday invitations? (renting, limo)

[Canine*Castle]

Well, too much to answer, but I will say that birthday parties are a simple and fun thing with so little fuss needed.

[blkgiraffe]

I never invited my whole class to my brithday parties; My birthday parties as a child usually consisted of tons of family members and close friends.

[love roses]

My daughter is in 2nd grade now, but last year there was one girl she didn't want to invite from her class and 2 from other classes she did want to invite. I had to go to her school at lunchtime and hand the 2 girls an invitation discreetly so no other kids saw what I was doing. This year she pretty much likes everyone in her class and wants to invite them, which is fine with me, but mainly it's because I know most of her friends/classmates parents.

I like momof2's idea of going at lunch. That way you see who their friends are and it's easier to hand out invitations without too many kids noticing.

[martashop]

Moderator cut: rude You keep talking about what is practical and easy for you. What it boils down to is etiquette!!!! It is just rude to disclude kids. It's like passing out birthday treat cupcakes to only your kids friends. Now do you see how rude it is???? If you want to pass out just a few invites do it away from school on your own, done.

[HtownLove]

wonder how the party turned out

[LilyLady]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

wonder how the party turned out

Yes, I wonder too. There have probably been a couple of parties since then.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by LilyLady

Yes, I wonder too. There have probably been a couple of parties since then.

and still no invitation for me

I want cake

[Babypuppy31]

Just made the mistake of sending invitations to Kindergarten with my son on Friday. I have met and gotten the contacts of 2 of the parents in his class, but being that he is my only child in school and his first year, I thought it would also be a nice way to get to meet as many other parents as possible since I have only been able to meet and get the info of 2 other parents so far this year during school functions. He did take enough invitations for all the children in his class and was instructed to give one to each kid. His class is only 15 to 17 kids and generally only about 20% of the people you invite to a party are going to come anyway.
But it's Monday morning and i just got a call from his teacher saying that she will be sending a letter home with all the children to ensure that the parents are aware of the policy that this is strictly prohibited. So now I have inconvenienced her and made a fool of myself I guess for not knowing this policy. It just makes me wonder, what is happening to the sense of community that folks used to have. And the theory that this policy is going to keep some kids from being hurt is silly because if I had only invited the 3 kids (2 are twins) from his class whose contact info I have, what would stop them from coming to school on the following Monday and talking about it? People aren't likely to stop having parties for their kids and schools can't make them? So I am still just confused as heck about why this is a rule to begin with.
As a child, I was definitely aware of the fact that there were parties I was not invited to and yes, on some level I can still remember that I felt sad when I heard the other kids talking about the party afterwards, but it wasn't the end of my world and I got over it pretty quickly. I guess we just don't live in that world any longer.

[cinnamon_toast]

Imagine my surprise seeing this topic on top, I am the OP! Especially as it is almost my son's birthday again. Just to update, the teacher did allow me to send notes home to a couple parents that I wanted to get in touch with. What a disaster! The kids figured it was a birthday invite (which really it kind of was, it was a note to Mom/Dad please contact me about our kids getting together) and caused quite a disruption at school. And after all that fuss, only ONE person ended up calling me out of 3 or 4 notes that went home. Since then I have gotten to know a lot more parents but that first year was a little rough, trying to get in touch with everyone being new and all. And really I completely agree with the comment above about shielding kids from disappointments. My kids get party invites from teachers' kids at school ALL THE TIME - I mean seriously? Come on! If they can do it, why can't we?

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by cinnamon_toast

We just moved here and apparently our school does not publish a student directory. Ridiculous!! Due to school policy, my son can't pass out invitations at school. Now I have to invite my kid's entire class to his birthday party or invite no one. I don't have last names, and even if I did, I don't think that would help. The teacher won't do anything, either. Is this a statewide policy? I think we've gone completely overboard with privacy.

Ridiculous is right!

No, this isn't a state wide policy. Our current school sells a directory/year book for a few bucks that includes everything, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, teachers info, class pictures etc etc. Last years school back home issued a coast list with names, phone numbers, an email addresses. Now one thing that does coincide with your school is that you have to invite the whole class...but you can invite an individual(s) from a different class. One thing I can't wrap my head around is not passing out invitations at school? We always send our to school with our son an he hands then to his teach which she passes out after class.