Best time of day for a birthday party?

McKee3

We're having DD's 4th birthday party at an indoor gym this year and I'm not sure which time slot to pick. They have noon, 3pm and 5:30 slots. I'd like to just serve cake and not worry about pizza, etc. so I'm thinking maybe the 3pm just to keep it simple. On the other hand, I don't mind either way as long as it's fun for everyone. Which would you choose?  

kittylove

If you aren't serving pizza then 3, that said I know a few people who have 4 yr olds that still nap.  At 5:30 I would exspect some kind of dinner food but by then most nappers are up. We only have 2 4 yr olf friends who still nap but 3pm would be right at nap for them. Do you know if most of the kids are nappers or not? That might help you decide.

schnappycat

kittylove:

If you aren't serving pizza then 3, that said I know a few people who have 4 yr olds that still nap.  At 5:30 I would exspect some kind of dinner food but by then most nappers are up. We only have 2 4 yr olf friends who still nap but 3pm would be right at nap for them. Do you know if most of the kids are nappers or not? That might help you decide.

Yes, all of this. We have some friends with 4 yos who still nap, and my DS still naps on very rare occasions (although he can miss it with no issues so I don't care at this point). If a majority of the kids attending nap or are younger and nap, the 3 PM time might be an issue. If not, no worries. However, a 5:30 (and noon) time definitely indicates dinner/food to me. You would have to make it clear on the invite if you have it at that time and are only serving cake.

We have always had our parties at 4:30 to avoid nap conflicts altogether, but we also serve dinner and have our parties (so far) at home.

 

Brewtowngrl

By 4 most kids can handle skipping a nap.  I would do 3:00.  The other times you would need to serve a meal.  

kmhunt11

I'd do noon.  By 3pm even non-nappers are getting cranky.  I'd cringe at a bday party invite for 3pm (my DD will be 4 in a couple weeks).  

RnMom2Be

Anytime between 3 and 5:30 would be ideal.  I have an almost three year old that naps everyday.  Today, we have a birthday party at 2pm (too early) so I need to get him down early for a quick nap before we go.  He likely won't want to nap early and will be a big cranky mess by this evening....OH well!

UsedToBeGoldie

i would do the 3pm one... that way you don't make adults have to cancel dinner plans they might have, etc.  And you don't need to serve pizza at that time.

WestCoastMommy

We always do parties at noon. We've even done them starting at 11:00. I'm not a huge fan of parties that start in the middle of peoples day, like 2 and 3. It just seems like a huge inconvenience to the guest since its right smack in their day and I know DH and I hate it when we have to go to one in the middle of our day on our weekend. We prefer early or later in the day.

We just booked DS birthday at the noon time slot for the indoor party place.

Paigeo

If you don't want to serve pizza and just do cake and snacks I would choose the 3pm slot.  For our DD's birthday next month we ended up with a 4-6pm time slot on a Sunday.  Wasn't exactly what I wanted but the place fills up fast.  More I think about it I am glad we ended up with that slot though.  Younger kids can still take a nap and shouldn't interfere with morning church or other weekend activities people have.

McKee3

Thanks for all the responses. I think 3pm works for a number of reasons. Family and select friends will come back to our house to open presents after the kids party and we'll have food out for them at home. One or two kiddos may need to skip a nap but we've done that for many parties and she just went to bed earlier after a fun day. Thanks for helping me decide! Cheers 

jlw2505

3 pm out of those options hands down.  For me, noon is way to hard as my 4 year old still rests at around that time plus its lunchtime so kids would either need to eat before and that would be too early for some and 5:30 is dinner time and if the party is 90 mins to 2 hours, that gets really late and again, you have the food issue, same as with the noon party.  I personally like morning parties way better as they just don't seem to mess up my whole day as much but out of your choices - 3pm hands down.

KL777

I always have DS's birthday parties at 12 noon.  This gives people time to get there and it will be over by 2 pm---which is nap time/quiet time for DS.