Should I Call It Off?

I say take some Alka Seltzer Cold formula and have the party! But if you do decide to cancel, call everyone. No need to play petty games - all that will do is have you up answering the door and you WILL feel guilty for not calling them. Two wrongs don't make a right!

I wouldn't cancel but call and get all the RSVPs.

I'd pop some meds and suck it up. Have the party.

i wouldn't cancel, but if you're super-sick then you should. if you can down some dayquil and soldier through, it will be a lot better than trying to reschedule.
as for notifications, i'd call everyone tonight regardless of the RSVP. that way you will either be able to let them know for sure not to come, or confirm for your own calculations how many are actually going to show up.
hope you feel better!
khairete
S.

If you are very sick, I would reschedule. I had to reschedule my DD's first party because SHE was sick, and move her 5th because her dad had pneumonia. I would call who you can and send notes to who you cannot.

OR hand off the party to someone who is well. I did everything when DH was sick.

I'd take some DayQuil and call everyone who didn't RSVP and let them know you've called off the party. But I'd invite the one child over for a sleepover and movie night with your daughter. Order a pizza, pop some popcorn, get a few movies for them, and then let them take over the family room. You won't have to watch a herd of girls, and she'll still have a lovely time.

L.,

You can be like the mom that asked a question similar to this last week...call the parents that RSVP'd - KUDOS TO THEM!! YAHOO!!!

And when the people show up who DID NOT RSVP?? Tell 'em sorry - we are sick, you didn't respond/RSVP so I couldn't let you know...they might get pissed - but that's on THEM...if they had RSVP'd you would have been able to notify them.

I hope you feel better soon!!

I think it's a way to solve both problems - you call the one family who RSVPd and tell them it's off. For the rest, you can go 2 ways: A) You either call those who didn't RSVP and say "I didn't hear from you so you're probably not coming anyway, but just in case I wanted to let you know that I'm really sick so I am postponing (or canceling) Susie's party." B) You assume those no-replies are not coming, you avoid all the phone calls, and then you (or your designated person) deal with answering the door if anyone shows up. You stand there looking completely shocked t that they are there, and you stammer a bit, and say, "Oh my, I had absolutely no idea that you were coming. I'm so sorry. I called everyone who RSVPd to tell them how sick I am since I didn't want the kids to get sick." (You don't have to tell them that only one person RSVPd, you just let them think they are the only ones who didn't. That leaves you answering the door (if in fact anyone would come without replying) but it makes more of a point.It also means you don't have to call everyone who isn't planning to come anyway because they didn't have the decency to reply. Don't apologize for the "last minute" thing - you can't control how you get sick.

Good luck figuring this out, and feel better!

I would change the party, but I agree with Cheryl. I wouldn't play silly games - call everyone. Two wrongs...

People DO NOT RSVP. They just don't do that anymore.

If you aren't friends with these people then why did you invite them to your home? Why don't you make friends with them and then you can just pick up the phone and call them to talk about the party while you're planning it.

They'll have already said if they could come or not. Having strangers come to your home is just...I just don't do it and expect them to call me and say they're coming. I call them and talk to them. Then the ones that said they could come or might come are the ones that get the invitations.

I'd say call each and every parent and let them know the party is cancelled since no one could make it. If they say "We were planning on coming" you can let them know that you didn't know that and you're sorry but you've already cancelled everything.

I think you can have the one that RSVP'd over to hang out, you're not that sick and it won't be a birthday party per say, just have a play date.

I'd cancel the party and call the one mom who RSVP'd and do something different, like a fun outing. Playing games in a tiny group is super awkward.

you are sick, and one kid has rsvp'ed, time to call time of death for party K. h

I'm confused about this lack of RSVP thing mentioned in so many comments. Are ya'll sending paper invitations? I send Evites and always get responses, because it's super simple to respond. I would probably never call or snail mail an RSVP, but I always respond if given an email address or if it's an Evite or web-based invitation.

Gauge your kiddos reaction on potentially calling it off. Go with what she wants. A cold shouldn't stop you.

Did you send invites by evite/email, or actual mail? Evites are easy because you can just send out one message that the party is either postponed or canceled (everyone I know has been doing it this way for the last several years.) Plus you can see if they viewed the invitation. If you sent them by mail you probably should call people, because likely after only a week many are sitting unopened and/or unread at this point. A lot of people only go through their mail once a week or sometimes even less often.