What do you do when family come over to stay and Dc have party invites do you stop your everyday life or carry on????

[Monkeyblue]

Ds has been invited to a halloween party
and he wants to go DS is 8
BUT we have SIL and family visiting us for a long weekend.
This is their 3rd trip to us in 4 years

I don`t want ds to miss out but if he goes we will not be able to do anything with SIL and we were thinking of us all going for a meal out

What do you do in these circumstances change your plans or not

[Monkeyblue]

anyone??????

Dont want SIL to be offended that when they arrive one of us is out most of the night elsewhere<br /> But then part of me thinks well this is our life that we have set up here and we shouldnt change anything just because shes here

[bobsyouruncle]

I would probably let ds go, halloween party big exciting event at that age! You could do meal out another night over weekend, and plan something else special for the night they arrive? If I were your sil I would understand ds would want to go, sounds like you think she won't though!?

[twentypence]

I have my parents stay 3 times a year for a month. Ds is 5.

This time if he got invited to a party of play date I took him and let mum and dad have an enforced rest.

I did let them take him away for 10 days on their own so I think it was a fair swap. I don't feel I saw a lot of him in September!

If they are coming for a long weekend then one party won't mean you won't be able to do anything at all with SIL. If your 8 year old wants to go to the party I think you should let him.

[Othersideofthechannel]

Is it not possible for DS to go to the party and for the rest of you to do something with SIL?

If entirely incompatible, and the family visit was planned before your DS was invited to the party and the visitors include similar age cousins, I would be inclined to tell my children that the visitors take precedence.

If your SIL is coming without children or with ones that are a lot younger or a lot older, I would say let him go to the party. Provided that your DS is stillg going to have a bit of time with his aunt.

[Starmummy]

We carry on. We have visitors all the time from October till April, then it gets too hot and nobody wants to know But to answer the question, at that age your Ds is more interested in his friends and the excitement of Halloween than somebody he sees a couple of times a year. The fall out if you said no to him would be about more than just not going to the party, he could end up being resentful at the meal and making life difficult for everyone. For me I would start getting some early nights in to be in super peak condition when the visitors come so he could stay up later etc.

Presumably SIL will need a rest on arrival and a gossip and a large glass of wine should do the trick.

[Monkeyblue]

Thanks for your help
Ds is going to go

[Starmummy]

Good luck. Hope all goes well and everyone has a great time.