Choice of Parties for a 4 Yr Old

Those parents are totally insane! I have never heard of three parties. Definitely pick the first one! I let my kids do some "big" parties a couple times when they are young...when they can invite the classroom. But most often they can invite 5 or 6 friends and we keep it small. My son likes to invite 2-3 friends usually. My daughter likes to invite more. We pick something fun to do...like mini-golf or bowling...and we have a low-key but great time. Imagine how exhausted this kid and her parents will be after a day of three parties!

We usually have 2 parties for our boys - one with the family and one with friends from school. But I would never have them on the same day! Honestly with how busy life is, they are often a week or two apart.

When they were little we invited friends to our family party, but our family is big enough that the friends often felt overwhelmed and left out. So it made sense to just have two parties.

I really can't imagine doing 3 parties in one day. That's crazy. You are so wise to choose the first party of the day.

at 4 each child got one party. now that one has school friends were having a school friends party and a grandparents/great grandparents cake and ice cream time. different days, different times and different places too.

3 different times for 3 different parties for one chids birthday? seems a bit odd and over the top to me. better planning would have one party at one time in one big location.

A 3 year old child that goes to a pre-school program could have a party just for kids. From school.

Then they could have a family and friends party. That would be one that is in your home and grandma and grandpa and mom's best friend and her kids and aunt Sherry and uncle ben come to with their kids if they have any.

It's hard when kids from school and kids from the family get together. They're used to each having the girl in one place.

I truly can't imagine how spoiled this child is. Really? 3 birthday parties! In one day? What a waste of money and effort.

Never heard of that. We tend to do things small scale and at four, I would think that would be way too much. I think you're smart doing the 10-1 :)

I had to read that more than once.
At first I thought 3 different people were having parties - and your granddaughter could go to one of them.
But THREE parties for ONE child? sounds - well - like nothing I've ever heard of before!
I suppose I might understand a preschool friends party vs a family members party but SHEESH 3 parties sounds suspiciously like a gift grab to me.
If that's what they are doing for her 4th birthday, what the heck are they going to do for her graduation or wedding?
Yeah, first shift is the party I'd pick while things were fresh and I'd be curious to see what goes on.

I can see pros and cons. It may very well be an attempt to include family, friends and classmates, as the previous response suggests. Many people on this site talk about not only inviting their children's friends, but the parents and siblings as well. You don't say what kind of party it is. If it is a house party it could be sort of like an open house. While having an all day party might be overwhelming for a child, it might be less overwhelming than having all of the guests present at one time. Will it be structured activities, or casual? I personally keep kids parties small, like under ten guests, no adults. If I were to want to have a party and invite everyone I would prefer to have the people in shifts as opposed to all at once.

ETA: I have two kids with birthdays less than a week apart. I have actually had both of their parties on the same day, but a different times. I tried combining the parties, but the age difference didn't work, and it was too many kids at once for me to comfortably supervise. I tried doing two different days, but then it blew the whole weekend. Having one party in the afternoon and one in the evening actually worked well. Got them all over with in one day and still had a day to relax in the weekend. I have also hosted open house parties that have gone from 11:00am to 11:00pm for other events (Christmas parties, anniversaries etc.) My kids were at the parties all day and enjoyed themselves.

Wow that is a new one. Is one party for classmate, one for friends and one for family? I am confused too. Is it a headcount reason, or not wanting to mix certain people (divorce or family feud).

I am guilty of have two parties. Once we were out of town and relatives had a cake and gifts and an outing (amusement park) since it was over Holiday break. When we got home I planned another with a few of her friends. It was fun for me and my child, so I didn't think much harm other then letting her know you will not get 2 parties every year.

edit: Now I am wondering if there are going to be 3 cakes!?!

That's insane! I agree with you. Definitely go to the first one, before the kids fall apart.

I have no idea how someone plans for an all day, open-house party for a 4 year old, with no idea when people are showing up. I predict this will end in disaster, probably around noon. 2-5 will be with overtired kids who really need a nap, and 6-9 has got to be a cocktail hour and dinner for adults, with completed wasted kids.

We followed the "year" rule - if you were 4, you invited 4 friends. If you were 6, you invited 6. The rest of it is either parents who can't set limits or those who want a big gift-fest. Yes, they could rent a hall, but that's not a party for children - that's an amusement park without rides.

I don't get it, didn't do it, and my kid never ever missed it. He hated the big parties too - no birthday gifts were opened, no thank yous were given, and if gifts WERE opened it was horrible for the guests because it took an hour with the guests just watching.

I disagree that it is a gift grab. I see it as accommodating different guests with their preferred time. The family will spend a whole lot more money on three difference meals/desserts than the child will receive in gifts.

The last one (6-9) is probably adult folk--drinking, etc.

This family sounds fun-loving with a load of friends. I wish I knew them!

Wow! As a parent, I think one party is exhausting! I usually come home from hosting one party and crash! For the rest of the day! We do one party with friends and then usually have dinner and exchange gifts with my in-laws who live in town.

That is definitely different. I kind of feel sorry for the child. I would not want to be at the last one. She will be wired up or totally cranky. I have been to parties where there are kind of 2 times, one for immediate family with dinner etc and then either an earlier time or a later time with friends of the child with more of a snack type "meal" and then the cake and ice cream. This gave the family a chance to celebrate before the party really got crazy, though it was not all day. Family had dinner, kids came, ate finger foods, played games, had cake and it was over.

a skating rink near us does "sessions" instead of all day skate - so you can go for a 2.5 hour time frame and then they close for an hour, then they are open again for another 2.5 hour frame, etc.
I can see if you had your party at a place like that, where the place has restricted times, that it may be split up into 3 "times" for the party but all be one party really. I guess.