Half hearted party invite, what to do?

[alisonP83]

So to cut a long story short we have been invited to a surprise birthday bash. We were told the date by word of mouth a few months back, I told them we would come.i havn't heard anything else about it.
I don't want to text and ask details as I think they might have asked us to be polite and will then feel obliged to ask us. (It's a distant relative party who we don't see often)
I'm worried if I don't ask they will think us rude not turning up.
What would you guys do?

I'd go with following up with a text. That said, if you're absolutely certain they were only being polite maybe instead of asking for party details, you could say that unfortunately you're not going to be able to come now (no need to say why) and wanted to let them know. They'll be relieved and you won't need to go to the party feeling uncomfortable about being there.

When is the party and do you actually want to go?

The party is in a couple of days I have left it pretty late in the hope their may be a follow up text soon.

Definitely ask. At least then you know where you stand. It could be they tried to contact you, it might have got lost, and they'd be wondering why you hadn't replied. You could say you were excited to hear about the plans, and wondered what the arrangements were, but no problem if there's been a change.