Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a few questions about my son's upcoming 7th birthday party. He used to be fairly timid and last year only wanted two kids at his party. This year, he wants about 10. I'm limiting it to seven because he is turning seven years old.
Question #1: Is it too rude to say on the invitation 'no siblings, please'? Last year both kids brought their respective siblings and my son was not happy. This year I don't think he would mind the extra people, but since it's a pizza party at the house, I need a definite head count (and my nerves can't handle more than seven kids at a party) What would your reaction be to an invitation that read 'no siblings, please'.
Question #2: He wants to invite about a third of his first grade class. This is iffy to me because I don't want other kids to feel left out. But inviting the entire first grade class is out of the question financially and mentally (for me!). I suggested he chose his favorite seven classmates and invite those, hoping all will rsvp 'yes' but knowing probably all seven will not.
Question #3: Last but not least is neighborhood politics. I hate it. He has a love/hate relationship with the boy across the street and mentioned his party is coming up. I scolded him for that because he was lording it over this boy, telling him that he would invite him if the boy treated him well. They have a bitter relationship, compete all the time, but yet play together at least 4x per week outside in our yards. It's a strange relationship. I am in the beginning phase of friendship with the boys' mom because we are new to the neighborhood.
Because he mentioned his party to this boy already, should I strongly suggest he needs to invite him? I think so, but want to see what other moms or dads think about this.
Any insightful comments or suggestions regarding the above questions are welcomed.
Maybe instead of saying "no siblings," you could say something like, "you can pick up [child's name] at 4:00" or something to reinforce that only the invited child is invited. Seems obvious, but sometimes people are clueless.
The classroom thing is touchy, the best bet is to invite the kids you want but do so outside of the classroom - don't have your child hand out invites at school. Call the families, or catch them at pickup time...
I think you should invite the boy across the street. It could get dramatic, but from what you've said, it seems appropriate. Consider how you'd feel if you didn't invite him, and he saw the partty going on. Not a good way to strengthen the friendship.
I would invite the whole class. Not everyone will come.
I would invite the neighbor absolutely. He probably plays with him more than anyone else. I never understood not inviting neighborhood playmates when the neighbor kids are the ones who are around the most, although I know plenty of parents who think neighbor kids are not "real" friends and shouldn't be invited to parties.
Thanks for your replies. Yes, I will definitely mail the invitations and already have the addresses written down. I would never think about having him pass them out to the 'select' few while in the classroom.
I think he should invite the neighbor boy, too. He shouldn't have said anything to him in the first place if he didn't want him there. And now that he opened that can of worms, he needs to keep his word.
I never understood that either, FarNorthDallas, about neighbor friends. I am still very good friends with one of my old neighbor friends I met when I was two years old. That was 35 years ago! We never attended the same schools (I was public school, she was private school) but we were SO close. But her mom fed into that thought...whenever my friend had a party I was never invited, even though we played everyday after school and on the weekends. I invited her to some of my parties, though.
You are definitely on the right track. I would also suggest asking for an RSVP on the invitation - only about half of the people will do so, but it will give you another opportunity to talk to the parent and say "we are looking forward to having Lauren at the party. It is so nice to get an exact number so I can plan ahead. Last year some kids brought their brother or sister and I didn't know what to expect!". Keep it light, but they should get the "no siblings" point!
I agree about inviting the neighbor kid. My children always had similar relationships with neighbor kids We called them "friends of convenience" - they either out-grow each other toward adolesence or actually become close friends.
I have a few questions about my son's upcoming 7th birthday party. He used to be fairly timid and last year only wanted two kids at his party. This year, he wants about 10. I'm limiting it to seven because he is turning seven years old.
Question #1: Is it too rude to say on the invitation 'no siblings, please'? Last year both kids brought their respective siblings and my son was not happy. This year I don't think he would mind the extra people, but since it's a pizza party at the house, I need a definite head count (and my nerves can't handle more than seven kids at a party) What would your reaction be to an invitation that read 'no siblings, please'.
Question #2: He wants to invite about a third of his first grade class. This is iffy to me because I don't want other kids to feel left out. But inviting the entire first grade class is out of the question financially and mentally (for me!). I suggested he chose his favorite seven classmates and invite those, hoping all will rsvp 'yes' but knowing probably all seven will not.
Question #3: Last but not least is neighborhood politics. I hate it. He has a love/hate relationship with the boy across the street and mentioned his party is coming up. I scolded him for that because he was lording it over this boy, telling him that he would invite him if the boy treated him well. They have a bitter relationship, compete all the time, but yet play together at least 4x per week outside in our yards. It's a strange relationship. I am in the beginning phase of friendship with the boys' mom because we are new to the neighborhood.
Because he mentioned his party to this boy already, should I strongly suggest he needs to invite him? I think so, but want to see what other moms or dads think about this.
Any insightful comments or suggestions regarding the above questions are welcomed.
~Invite the boy across the street. They are friends whether you understand their relationship or not.
~It's okay to state that siblings are not invited to the party. I cannot believe that people would not ask to begin with but since they don't then you must state it if you don't want it happening.
~It's okay to invite the people that you want to invite. That said, do not get your feelings hurt if your son does not get invited to every party. Some parents take it personally and you have to be prepared for that and you have to kind of prepare your son for that as well!
yes, the neighbor boy should be invited, esp. if your son mentioned it to him already....
on the sibling thing, I might not write that on the invitation....
Did you have a drop off party that the siblings were dropped off to without permission? Or were they just kind of there with their parents?
I would be surprised if parents just dropped their kids off to a party they weren't invited to, but walking in with siblings, although something they really shouldn't be doing w/out permission, is a little different.
I am thinking of how to get around this one. Are the same kids coming this year? It sounds like you are in a new area so maybe not...
Maybe just have a conversation w/the parents before hand about it.
Are there really that many siblings to worry about it, especially if your son won't mind this year?
Or, when the kids show up, if the sibling is there with them, bend down and say to the sibling, "well, what are you going to do with mommy while bobby is here at the party?" Maybe the mother will get the idea. lol.
Unless you're inviting the entire class, invitations shouldn't be passed out at school. Call each parent and invite the kids individually or mail the invitation to their home. NEVER "pick and choose" kids to invite to a party at school unless you can invite ALL of them!
Unless you're inviting the entire class, invitations shouldn't be passed out at school. Call each parent and invite the kids individually or mail the invitation to their home. NEVER "pick and choose" kids to invite to a party at school unless you can invite ALL of them!
Yes, this I know. I have already mailed the invitations to each person's home. I would never have my son take the invitations to school and pass them out in front of people. That's rude to others and puts my son in a very awkward position.
Interesting thing is, after all my stressing about these invitations, that is exactly what one of his classmates did. He has two other classmates whose birthdays are the same week as his. One of the boys took his invitations to school yesterday and passed them out. This child was invited to my son's birthday party, but my son was not invited to his. Ah, the joys of parenting!
What has been done at my daughters school is that if it is a boys birthday then they just invite all the boys or the whole class cause not everybody will show. Good luck
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
