kids birthday parties

pink star 28 · 08/03/14 - 16:03

Parents, do you enjoy attending your children's birthday parties or do you dislike it. My son is nearly 5 and he s been invited to quite a few, I've just been to one today. I have to admit I don't enjoy them. Usually they are at these fun play centres, and once the kids are off playing it can be a bit awkward when you are sat there for 2 hours. You get the usual cliques who all sit together, and you can see bored parents sat on there own, checking there watches:D

Frankie_Little · 08/03/14 - 16:26

I generally drop my child off and pick him up at the end. No-one I know stays, I didn't think it was expected. When it's my child's party, I never expect the parents to stay. Mind you, there are only half a dozen kids invited, and it's usually a bouncy castle in the garden, a few barbecued sausages and a slice of birthday cake.

pink star 28 · 08/03/14 - 16:39

Frankie_Little wrote: »

I generally drop my child off and pick him up at the end. No-one I know stays, I didn't think it was expected. When it's my child's party, I never expect the parents to stay. Mind you, there are only half a dozen kids invited, and it's usually a bouncy castle in the garden, a few barbecued sausages and a slice of birthday cake.

The party's I've been going to, are a full class full which is 30 + kids, absolute bliss, Not!!:D

StrmChaserSteve · 08/03/14 - 16:41

So much for family involvement

People make it sound like a 'dumping ground'

The shame !!

You adults should be bouncing in the bouncy castle, and playing musical chairs with 'em

Frankie_Little · 08/03/14 - 16:43

StrmChaserSteve wrote: »

So much for family involvement

People make it sound like a 'dumping ground'

The shame !!

You adults should be bouncing in the bouncy castle, and playing musical chairs with 'em

We do pass the parcel and give out party bags. Musical chairs in the garden would be a challenge though.

[Deleted User] · 08/03/14 - 16:45

No kids here. Just wondering if they still play 'pass the parcel' these days? :cool:

EDIT:

Frankie_Little wrote: »

We do pass the parcel and give out party bags. Musical chairs in the garden would be a challenge though.

Glad to see it's still alive and well

Frankie_Little · 08/03/14 - 16:47

SpangledKes wrote: »

No kids here. Just wondering if they still play 'pass the parcel' these days? :cool:

EDIT:

Glad to see it's still alive and well

We do. Cheap pressies in every layer and a serious present for the winner.

pink star 28 · 08/03/14 - 16:48

StrmChaserSteve wrote: »

So much for family involvement

People make it sound like a 'dumping ground'

The shame !!

You adults should be bouncing in the bouncy castle, and playing musical chairs with 'em

There are no bouncy castles at play centres, it's all climbing frames and slides, I can't see any parents joining in that, they wouldn't be allowed.

Shady_Pines1 · 08/03/14 - 16:52

Soft play. The wee smelling 7th circle of hell. So glad my kids are too old for this now. The never ending Saturday and Sundays I wasted stuck in them waiting for some snotty child to finally blow out the candles...

pink star 28 · 08/03/14 - 16:57

Shady_Pines1 wrote: »

Soft play. The wee smelling 7th circle of hell. So glad my kids are too old for this now. The never ending Saturday and Sundays I wasted stuck in them waiting for some snotty child to finally blow out the candles...

Awww LOL:D

Penny Crayon · 08/03/14 - 17:26

Frankie_Little wrote: »

We do pass the parcel and give out party bags. Musical chairs in the garden would be a challenge though.

Yes ............my grandson is older now but he used to love it - so much so we play it at Christmas after lunch to a Christmassy tune .......we call it 'parcel parcel' which is what he used to call it.

Frankie_Little · 08/03/14 - 17:29

Penny Crayon wrote: »

Yes ............my grandson is older now but he used to love it - so much so we play it at Christmas after lunch to a Christmassy tune .......we call it 'parcel parcel' which is what he used to call it.

We do, too. It's an intrinsic part of the celebration. I spend all year scouting for gifts for the in-between layers.

academia · 08/03/14 - 17:46

Shady_Pines1 wrote: »

Soft play. The wee smelling 7th circle of hell. So glad my kids are too old for this now. The never ending Saturday and Sundays I wasted stuck in them waiting for some snotty child to finally blow out the candles...

You're a bundle of fun making such happy memories for your children and their friends.

Shady_Pines1 · 08/03/14 - 17:47

academia wrote: »

You're a bundle of fun making such happy memories for your children and their friends.

And you clearly have no sense of irony or humour, get over yourself sweetheart.

[Deleted User] · 08/03/14 - 18:15

Shady_Pines1 wrote: »

Soft play. The wee smelling 7th circle of hell. So glad my kids are too old for this now. The never ending Saturday and Sundays I wasted stuck in them waiting for some snotty child to finally blow out the candles...

Haha

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm very glad I don't have to do that anymore.

Before I had kids I loved the idea of birthday parties, but when every weekend revolves around them it's not so joyful. It doesn't help when you're not in the 'school run mum' clique and you're sat on your own at these things. They can be very grim affairs, kids parties!

[Deleted User] · 08/03/14 - 18:42

I hated them when my son was little as I worked and rarely did the nursery/school run, so wasn't one of the 'mummy mafia' and had to sit for two hours feeling like an outcast - and this was in the days before smart phones and wifi, so I couldn't even fiddle about with my phone!

Now my daughter is at that age, I don't work and have made a couple of really good friends from the nursery playground. Still not part of the cool crowd though as we are, shall we say, slightly more mature than the majority of them, so we tend to keep to ourselves

Starpuss · 08/03/14 - 18:47

I am so glad mine are older now. I hated the parties. Only ones which were bearable were ones arranged by close friends where I had a role (paper plate cleaner upper or refiller of juices). Those of random school friends of my children were excruciating.

I used to stay sane by taking a book and sitting in a corner.

[Deleted User] · 08/03/14 - 19:10

I was strictly a games-and-tea-at-home mother and I thought that worked well. Otherwise you can get fatally drawn into some kind of one-upmanship, where one person books a Macdonalds party (quite dull, and definitely the bottom of the heap where mine were concerned), another books the soft play room, and next thing you know someone is booking a conjurer or, heaven help us, an animal handler.

The secret with a games-and-tea party is not too many children, keep the whole thing short, not too much food - none of them will arrive hungry, and they won't want to tuck into a pile of sandwiches - and at least one sustained quieter activity, eg a simple craft. And if one of the children turns out to be a monster, learn the technique of saying, "don't do that, someone might get hurt!" - in such a way that the child realizes who you have in mind.

pink star 28 · 08/03/14 - 19:31

Miss Hoolie wrote: »

I hated them when my son was little as I worked and rarely did the nursery/school run, so wasn't one of the 'mummy mafia' and had to sit for two hours feeling like an outcast - and this was in the days before smart phones and wifi, so I couldn't even fiddle about with my phone!

Now my daughter is at that age, I don't work and have made a couple of really good friends from the nursery playground. Still not part of the cool crowd though as we are, shall we say, slightly more mature than the majority of them, so we tend to keep to ourselves

Glad I'm not the only one then, thought I t was bad that I dreaded going to all these party's but looking at some of the other reply it seems I'm not alone.:D

academia · 08/03/14 - 20:13

Shady_Pines1 wrote: »

And you clearly have no sense of irony or humour, get over yourself sweetheart.

You were being ironic? Really. And here was I thinking you were doing that old DS style sneer at all things to do with children and feeling sorry for your kids.
And I'm not your sweetheart. Now was that a sneer or more of your ironic humour?

[Deleted User] · 08/03/14 - 20:35

Frankie_Little wrote: »

I generally drop my child off and pick him up at the end. No-one I know stays, I didn't think it was expected. When it's my child's party, I never expect the parents to stay. Mind you, there are only half a dozen kids invited, and it's usually a bouncy castle in the garden, a few barbecued sausages and a slice of birthday cake.

These are the best birthday parties, when I was kid which wasn't that long ago I had a couple of birthdays at fun centres and swimming places, cinema and bowling but my most favourite birthday memories and parties were the ones at home with Buffett food music games and BBQs

handymelon · 08/03/14 - 20:42

I'm very lucky, as my daughter, who is six, has known most of her friends since we all went to Mums and Tots together. The kids all know each other, so do the Mums and we all get together at a very nice soft-play when it's someone's birthday. The kids play, the Mums have a coffee and a gossip and all are happy!

DiamondDoll · 08/03/14 - 20:57

I demand sympathy around here.

I endured it all with my trio and I'm going through it all again with my grand-daughter most weekends.

Had to pick her up last Saturday from a soft-play area. It was horrendous with about three hundred kids going bananas.
There were eight 'parties' going on and each child in the 'party' cost £9.00.

Some folk are making a fortune out of one-uppmanship parties.

My little darling will be five in May and her mum doesn't want anything 'common' for her birthday. I'm pinning my hopes on (at least) a helicopter flight.

pink star 28 · 08/03/14 - 21:33

handymelon wrote: »

I'm very lucky, as my daughter, who is six, has known most of her friends since we all went to Mums and Tots together. The kids all know each other, so do the Mums and we all get together at a very nice soft-play when it's someone's birthday. The kids play, the Mums have a coffee and a gossip and all are happy!

It all sounds lovely, but also sounds like you are in a clique, so all party's will be good. If your not part of a clique tho, party's can be quite daunting.

DiamondDoll · 08/03/14 - 21:39

pink star 28 wrote: »

It all sounds lovely, but also sounds like you are in a clique, so all party's will be good. If your not part of a clique tho, party's can be quite daunting.

My exact thoughts.
The soft play area with 300+ kids sounds more appealing than a 'keep-out' clique.

PrincessTT · 08/03/14 - 21:43

I tend to drop my son at party's and go unless the parent is a friend of mine... Not because I find it boring or anything like that, but 99% of the time I'll have my daughter with me and if I don't really know the parent then its unfair for me to just bring my daughter to a party she wasn't invited to.

Its my daughter's 3rd birthday party next Sunday and the 20 children invited has become 28 attending due to parent's letting me know that they'll be bringing invited child's sibling(s) to the party too.

Luckily we don't know many people who do the awful soft-play parties.

Hey there!

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