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birthday party issue

salesmomsalesmom member
in Pre-School and Daycare

I sent out invites almost 6 weeks in advance as its smack in the middle of summer.  Its at a bounce house that holds 20 kids (25 were invited but i figured some wouldn't make it).  Well, only 1 kid has RSVP'd yes so far!   I found out at least 14 can't go beacuse they will be out of town and I haven't heard from the others yet.  What do I do?  I'm not going to pay for that facility for 6 kids to go so I'm not sure if I should just move venues to something smaller or change the date?  I'd do a simple party but its too hot that time of year for 5 year olds for outside.

Advice?

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Re: birthday party issue

  • WestCoastMommyWestCoastMommy member

    I wouldn't change the party date because your going to run into the same problem all summer long. Summer is a busy time for all families and lets face it, if the majority of the kids were invited from school/daycare most of them wont show up anyways.

    My son's bday is June 30th and we sent invites out 4 weeks in advanced. We have 7 Yes RSVPs and are holding his party at an indoor play gym. I knew that a lot of people wouldn't be able to make it do to summer so I was prepared for that and will host the party for my son at the same place no matter how many show. We also invited lots of family. I think we invited a total of 15 kids but I could care less if it was only 4, the party will go on :)

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  • kmhunt11kmhunt11 member
    I'd use evite.com to send an email invite.  You need an accurate headcount for a party like that.  My mom always said you invite the number of kids that your child is turning- i.e. DD turned 4 so she thought we should do something small with just 4 little friends.  I chose not to, but I bet that's how my bday parties were planned when I was a kid.  6-8 kids makes a great sized party.  
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  • salesmomsalesmom member
    Thank you everyone!  that makes me feel better...
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  • neverblushedneverblushed member

    Sigh.  It's the reality of having a summer birthday.  People are either out of town or out of their school-year routines, and classmates' birthday parties just seem to slide lower on everyone's priority list.

    Also, when you invite the whole class, people are more slack about RSVPing and attending.  I'm not sure why that's the case, but it seems to be true.   

    My kids have late summer birthdays.  They don't have a kid party every single year, but when they do, we tend to keep it to close friends so that I can call parents and pick a date when I know enough kids will show up to make it worth it.  I have also had DD's party well after her birthday, during the school year, so it would be easier to schedule.

    ETA: I have done a bounce party for eight 9 year old girls, and it was totally fun!  Not at all less of a "party" than if she'd had 20 kids there.  Have it as scheduled, but maybe call the party place and see if you can get a smaller room/party and get some money back while there's still time for them to rent the big party room to another group. 

    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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