I survived Nick's birthday party

14 years ago

I can't believe how much stress a 6-year old's birthday party caused me but I'm so glad it's over. I actually loved planning the party, buying all the stuff, baking and decorating the cake and cupcakes,etc. If only it wasn't so hard to get kids to come! I stressed that there wouldn't be enough guests to make it a party.

I sent out 25 invitations (with some going out to multiple children in the same family so about 30 kids were invited). I got unsolicited responses from only 9 and I ran into two parents and asked them if their kids were coming. 14 never responded at all. 10 kids were expected but 5 kids (from 3 families) who said they were coming didn't show. We picked up 2 siblings who were going to kill time elsewhere with their mom during the party but I said STAY! So with Nick and Dan we had 9 kids but they acted like a group of 50 so maybe it wasn't a bad thing LOL.

I thought it was a great party. The kids had so much fun. It was at the local YMCA, after closing. They had the gymnasium to themselves, along with a closet full of balls of all sizes, jump ropes, etc. I bought lots of balloons - kids that age love balloons. They hit each other with them or just blow them up to let the air fly out of them.

They played for an hour in the gym then we had a conference room for an hour where we had pizza, snacks, cake, cupcakes, ice cream. We played one game of pin the tail on the donkey for prizes. I had another game but they were way too rambunctious to get through it so we stopped. We opened the gifts, some kids got tattoos, I passed out goody bags and everyone went home.

The poor response just baffles me. Is a phone call or e-mail that difficult? And why not come? Sure you have to bring a gift but it doesn't have to be expensive. In return your kid gets two hours of fun, fed very well and sent home with a goody bag and maybe a prize. Parents can leave and have two hours of peace or else stay and eat too. That's a great deal if you ask me! Believe me, the kids who came had a blast. Lordy, those boys were keyed up.

I wondered if it was something personal but talking to other local moms with older kids, that's just the way it is around here. One mom said if she gets 5 to come, that's a success.

I ended up doing a simple cake. I just couldn't come up with any good ideas that I could execute with my limited artistic abilities.

I had cupcakes too:

They had this entire space to themselves (and made good use of it):

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Comments (13)

glenda_al
14 years ago
Sounds like a GREAT PARTY!
Love the cake!
Terri_PacNW
14 years ago
I love the cupcake trees..I need to get one...

The cake looks great Paula..did he love it??
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Lindsey_CA
14 years ago
The cake and cupcakes turned out so cute! I'm glad you didn't stress to make a more "involved" cake -- kids that age don't really know the difference.

Not having had kids, I don't have any experience with folks not RSVP'ing to kids' party invitations, but I can say that I think it's incredibly rude and thoughtless. These folks must all go through the same thing when THEY throw a party, so I'm amazed that they don't all sort of band together and do the right thing.

And what a great idea to have the party at the YMCA after closing!
liz
14 years ago
I can't believe your baby is already SIX!! man has the time flown...I know what you mean about responses...I sent out 40 invites to my little shindig on the 29th...about 15 people showed...no negative responses...HOW RUDE...It's not that hard to RSVP!! Respond...if you please!! I wasn't going to say anything on my post but am sure glad to know I'm not alone on this...Any parent knows how much work there is involved to planning a birthday party...I don't see why they can't at least put the effort in to a Yes or No...

I'm glad you had a great time and I'm sure Nick will remember this for years to come...I think the cake is great...who doesn't like Darth Vader!!
paula_pa
Original Author
14 years ago
Yes Terri, Nick loved the cake. He loved the party too which is all that matters. He hadn't seen his best friend from kindergarten since August and they had such a good time (and his mom is one of those great guests who do everything they can to help stressed out hostesses!) The preschool friends and the kindergarten friends blended together seamlessly.

But I'm already thinking about next year. Nick will want a party and I'll want to throw him one, but it takes the fun out of it when you have to scrape up guests. He's only been in kindergarten a few months so hopefully he will have more established friendships by then and I'll know the other local parents better. He's going to play baseball this spring so his peer group should expand a bit more too.
sjerin
14 years ago
My kids are almost grown now but I remember stressing out about the same thing, come party time. I finally resorted to calling the non-rsvp-ers which forced them into giving me an answer. I just don't get the inconsideration. Having said that, I do recall one time when I forgot to reply and was mortified; I don't even remember whether dd was able to go or not but I do remember apologizing profusely. I'm glad you all had a good time. Great idea going to the Y!
stephmc72
14 years ago
Sounds perfect. You did great on the cake and cupcakes. I love the bright blue.

It baffles me how so many didn't respond. I think it's incredibly rude.

Happy Birthday Nick...I can't believe he's 6 already!
lydia1959
14 years ago
Happy birthday Nick!!!

Great cake and a fun idea for a party. Hopefully next year you'll have a better turnout (and the parents will rsvp!).
socks
14 years ago
Very nice party. 6-year-olds sure could have a good time in all that space.
paula_pa
Original Author
14 years ago
I meant to say he hadn't seen his best friend from preschool since August (he's in kindergarten now). I don't know if anyone was following along that closely to get confused but I wanted to clear that up.

I've given it some thought and I think if we do have a party next year I might try to come up with a clever poem on the invite, beseeching them to RSVP in a lighthearted way. I think that's the best I can do.

Oh well, I can relax now and not worry about the next one until December.
Indy_Anna
14 years ago
For my kids, a 30 kid birthday party would be too overwhelming. For our parties, they pick 5 friends, and I call their parents. I know lots of people don't RSVP anymore, so I simply avoid the issue.
Lindsey_CA
14 years ago
I'm beginning to think that perhaps the problem is that many folks don't know what R.S.V.P. means.

RÃ©pondez s'il vous plaÃ®t, as Liz noted above, means "reply, if you please." Maybe folks are thinking that the "if you please" part means "if you want to." And, since they think it's a bother to respond, they simply don't.

Maybe folks should put Please let me know if you child will attend, no later than [date].
jannie
14 years ago
Lord, I remember those kids parties. and how hard it is to get a RSVP answer. The best parties my two girls had came in the summer, when I opened our home and pool to their young friends. I remember once, inviting everyione in my daughters class plus several girls from her dancing school, and planning on 30-40, yet only five or six showed. We had plenty of food (pizza), cake and a pinata. I had scads of leftover take-home "goodie' bags (little favors for the girls to take home. I let my two girls keep the extras.One thing I always did-invite the kids for a Friday night to Saturday morning sleepover, and decorate the house and yard. I made everyone a big breakfast on Saturday, then had the "family" party on Sunday afternoon where grandparents, aunts and uncles came over. I left up the decorations till after the family party was over. One Grandma used to bring food, no matter that I begged her not to. I remember once she brought a half-tray of her homemade lasagna, there wasn't enough for everyone. I was so embarassed, but I managed to fill-in with cold cuts and salads and lots of fried chicken. Glad those days are long over. My two daughters are now 20 and 21. Parties are all over. Your Nicks looked like fun.

I survived Nick's birthday party

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I survived Nick's birthday party

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