My son is turning 4 in July and will be having his first "kid" birthday party (prior to this year we only had family get togethers). I have been warned not to expect a huge turn out b/c people are busy going on vacations, etc. His birthday is on a Thursday and I was planning to have it the Saturday prior but a Mom I work with suggested avoiding a weekend party, stating it is extra hard to get kids to show up. We could have it on the acutal day of his birthday (a Thursday) but I am not sure if I should plan it for lunch or in the evening hours. I am a stay at home Mom during the week so either time would work for us. We will be inviting the few kids he has over for playdates as well as most of his preschool classmates. Any advice as to when to plan it for? thank you
I've never had a problem with getting kids to show up on weekends, ever, weekdays are the problem. I say have an afternoon party with some sort of water play to take advantage of the warm weather.
I would go with a weekend. I would not ever be able to attend a weekday b-day party because I work during the week. Actually - I have never even heard of throwing a kids party during the week. I guess that would only work if all of the families of the kids you are inviting dont work. Regarding summer vacations - if people are on vacation, most of the time they will be on vacation during the week and the weekend anyways. I have a July b-day and while some folks could not make it, others could, so it always worked out fine in the end.
My son has a late July birthday, and we've done "kid birthdays" since he turned 3. Always on a weekend. Never been a problem for us at all. Unless you're sure every parent of every child stays at home, weekend is a safer bet.
I wouldn't listen to the advice about doing a party doing the week, personally, and I find it pretty absurd advice. As a working parent, I would not want to attend a weekday party, honestly.
Weekends are more than acceptable & a more normal time to do a party. I would say, the earlier the better, like 10 or 10am, when everyone's well rested, serve a kid friendly lunch or snacks, and keep the party around 2 hours.
Don't be surprised if people don't RSVP, bail at the last minute, or come without letting you know. Apparently, it's normal these days for people not to use manners when it comes to parties.
All that said, have fun!
I always held our daughters July birthday on the weekends. Most of her friends parents worked.
Consider a mid morning party.. It gets so hot here so a 10:00am outside party works great.
As our daughter got older.. she would have sleepover birthdays.. Usually only 2 or 3 girls were available but still fun.
You are correct.. We are all July Birthdays and we had small parties because it seemed everyone was out of town.. But they were still fun.
I always try to plan our kid's birthday parties on weekends - mostly because all of our friends/family do not have the same work schedule and live that close to us. So for one friend - a week night party would never work because they live 1 hour from us. Hubby works weekends, so that comes into play as well. For this summer, we've decided to do a family party with hubby's family during the week and a friend party on a weekend. That way it works for everyone!! (and we're doing a joint party for both kids like we did last year)
I always do a weekend pool party - no problem with attendance. I do Sunday because that way we can clean the house and pool on Saturday. If you can prep on Friday, then Saturday would be fine. I do 11 am so we can start the grill and plan on lunch at around noon.
DS is 6-1/2 - we have NEVER been invited to a weekday party. I did not know there is such a thing. Since both of us work, we would likely miss a weekday party anyway.
Preschoolers don't need much for a party. Have it in the morning - before lunch, naps, and afternoon heat. 9 or 9:30am.
Have one or two easy games (easy meaning, have them come dressed up in some theme and play "balloon on a spoon" race), ice cream sandwhiches, and then playtime (bubbles and music or something like that). 1 1/2 hrs - 2 hours TOPS. Any longer and you'll have to deal with meltdowns.
Don't forget party favors - 4 yr olds love that!
If you know that most invitees are around in the late afteroon, then do it then. If you know that most attend daycare or day camp, then have it for around dinner time.
I was going to have two parties on a weekend in July, but most of the families I talked to have said they will be gone that weekend. I ususally avoid this problem by having the parties in June, but I couldn't this year. I am almost thinking about postponing until September or having them during the week. The venue my 7 year old has picked would be fine for a weekday evening, but the one my 10 year old picked would have to be afternoon. As for your situation, you may find that the kids are at daycare during the day while their parents are at work, which wouldn't work for a weekday party, and some 4 year olds have early bedtimes that might make an evening party difficult. The other idea would be instead of having a party, have your son invite his best friend to do something really special like a waterpark or amusement park.
I always did the kids parties during the week when they were little. So much easier and less crowded. Almost all of the kids that I invivted always ended up being able to make it-even ones with working parents. But take a look at the parents of the kids you want to invite to figure out if this would be the case for you. If not I like the idea of a morning party on the weekend-this way people can go to their activities if planned.
