People who have their child's party in a community hall are deranged and should be locked up. Don't ever let me do it ever ever again. Never.

[PeachesMcLean]

Last year we had a disco with a dry ice machine which set off the smoke alarms. 25 screaming 5 year olds.

This year we hired a hall specifically because it included a party games lady who co-ordinated the kids, which meant all we had to do was provide food and party bags. Easy peasy. Or so we thought. Half an hour after the party starts, DH goes to reception to find out where she is. Turns out she's off ill. Since yesterday morning. I'm furious about this because had they let us know sooner, I could have organised some games myself, it's not complicated, but we didn't even have music for musical statues or a parcel or anything.

So for two hours, 18 boistrous 6 year old boys charged around like lunatics in a hall mostly full of soft play stuff which is really too young for them (as I say we only went there for the party games lady) and had fights on the bouncy castle because there was NOTHING more structured. One boy kept getting bashed, I thought he'd sprained his fingers at one stage. Then another came over, complaining of earache, really hot, increasingly crying and wanting his mum to come and get him. AND we didn't really have enough adults, because although DH and I fulfilled the hall's requirements, 18 children of that age take a LOT more supervision. Thank god a couple of the other mothers stayed around and helped out. Again, had the party games lady been there, we'd have managed much better because the kids would have been involved in something. So disappointing.

So, getting to the end of the party... Nearly a disaster on the party bags front because 5 children had arrived although they hadn't RSVPd

And then to top it all, half an hour after the end of the party, we still had one boy who hadn't been collected. Turns out the hall staff know the family and she often turns up late to collect her children! So we leave my details with the hall staff so that if the mother does show, they can tell her that we're trying his home first, and if there's no-one there, we'll take him back to ours. To be honest, I did NOT expect to have a conversation with DH at my son's birthday party about at what stage you phone the police and whether social services would be happy for him to stay with us for a night! Thankfully, just as we're about to get in the car, she turns up, full of apologies.

So I'm stressed and very glad it's over and very glad we only have one child and I don't have to do another party for a WHOLE 12 MONTHS.

[mummytosteven]

commiserations, very very rude of the party games lady or hall management not to tell you she wouldn't be showing.

[cazzybabs]

Oh no we have dds party tomorrow - lucky it is a joint party and we have lots of adults and both me and ny mum are teachers but even so I hate parties!

Oh god I would be so cross they hadn't let you know and with the 5 people who had not RSVP!

[PeachesMcLean]

Major complaint time. In writing I think, to someone in the central offices of the leisure department rather than the local hall. Grrrrrrrr.......

[maisemor]

If you write to their main office you should cc the local hall in on the letter. Don't sink to their level.

I know you are angry and you have every right to be. I would recommend that you go down and talk to the hall first, and ask them to refund your money, as they did not provide the service that you had agreed on providing. You did all the work not them. I am sure you did an excellent job. The hall shows a complete lack of respect for you when they did not let you know about party lady being off sick or even arrange for a replacement. Their responsibility not yours. Did they even apologise?

As for the party bags, how rude of the parents that they did not reply to your invitation. One mum actually told me a week before my son's party that she still needed to find out if she was going to go away or stay at home the weekend of his party, but she would let me know asap. Nice to know that we are her backup plan