Anyone done their kids birthday parties together?

finnsmomma

My kids will be 2 and 3 in March. Their birthdays are a week apart, and I'm thinking of doing their birthday party this year together. Last year we did two separate parties bc DD was having her first birthday and we did a big party at home so I did a friends party at a gymnastics place for DS.

I feel a little guilty about doing a party for both of them but I love the convenience of it. I also wonder if people are going to feel obligated to bring two gifts? They do share some friends but they are in two different classes at school.

 Share your thoughts, please.

thanks! 

kagl08

We combined their birthday parties this past year. Their birthdays are 6 weeks apart. They were 1 and 2. It was super easy, we had a ton of fun, and the kids didn't know any different. Despite the fact that we combined heir parties, we still did a small gathering on their actual birthdays too. DH and I, as well as my mom, decided to give them their presents on their actual birthday instead of at the party.

I feel like we were able to make the party super easy for us to plan, but we were also able to give them individual, separate celebrations as well. We will continue this for as long as they let us. 

kcisthebombdotcom

We've done joint parties for the last two years. For DD's first, we rented a hall and went all out. This year we did a small party with family/close friends only. People mostly brought two gifts or something larger for both of them.

We do something special for each individual child on their actual bday--out to dinner/somewhere fun for them/cake and ice cream to celebrate/visit grandparents for presents. For parties with extended family/friends we will keep together for now. As they get older, we'll likely give them the choice between a larger party together or a trip somewhere special (like the indoor water park) with a few friends separately. Milestone birthdays will be a special, separate bash. The day of their actual bday will always be special just for them--we'll never have a party on either child's birthday.

memali26

I don't see anything wrong with having their parties together. My girls' birthdays aren't close enough to share a party, but growing up I shared most of my birthday parties and honestly didn't mind. My mom had 5 kids and did two parties a year - one in winter for her Jan/Feb babies, and one in fall for her Aug/Sept babies. We got our own special parties when we turned 10 and 16. It was so much easier for her to plan just two parties instead of five, and easier on family/friends to attend one party for all of us instead of 2 or 3 parties only a few weeks apart. The day of our birthday was always special just for us - we got to pick what was for dinner and our favorite flavors of cake and ice cream and opened presents from Mom and Dad - so I don't think any of us was bothered by sharing our parties.

ChristyML

I think if birthdays are in the same month (not like on the 1st and 30th though, then I'd have separate parties) then it would be fine to have a combined party. If they were born in separate months (but not like on the 30th of one month and the 1st of the next month, then I would do a combined party), I would do separate parties.

My brother and I are 6 weeks apart, and we always had separate parties. 

fairbl

My girls bdays are july 11th and aug 24th. They'll be 3 and 1 so this year, we are having two parties, but for every other year except milestone bdays, we are having a combo party.

shopgirl78

We did this for the first time in 2012 when mine were turning 5 (9.21) & 7 (8.22).  All other parties have been separate for various reasons.  There was mention of a waterpark birthday and as much fun as it would be it was $$$ but no more than what I would pay for 2 parties, much more than 1.  Therefore, I agreed if they would combine their parties they could have the waterpark birthday.  We had the party the last weekend (Labor Day) of the summer.   We had a lot of OOT family attend when prior to this they would come to one or the other.  It was great to have a lot of family &  close friends though they were not allowed to invite school friends because of the costs.  Much easier to have one party to plan.  Since much of birthday is more little school friends now and DS has already made claim on a karate birthday (and DD a spend the night party), I think it may be our only year to combine.  I think its a little harder when you have a girl & a boy and when they get school age.