PFB party invite - is this ok?

[ManonCrochan]

First time doing a whole class party in our local church hall.

Do I need to include anything else in the party invite? We've not been to any yet so can't look at what everyone else is doing!

I'd take the sibling bit out. I'd also ask for 'dietary requirements' instead of intolerance as people may be vegetarian/ vegan/ not eat pork for religious reasons or have allergies.

Ah thanks so much, i will remove pizza and siblings and correct the spelling!!

Thanks so much!

The party isn't until April and you're already on with the invitations? Wow! Don't give them out until mid March, will you?

All you need is your kid's name, time, place and rsvp number etc. You don't need to invite siblings, you can assume parents will stay, don't ask about food requirements - use your common sense and parents will tell you if necessary. Assume a few siblings will show up without telling you, assume a few invitees won't show up without telling you, and don't feel you have to provide party bags for any child not invited.

Don’t invite siblings, and don’t state what food you’ll be serving. Just mention at the bottom: please inform in advance if bringing siblings.

Going against the grain - I've always explicitly said that siblings are welcome on party invites. So that single parents or a family where one parent is working can sti come. I've never had more than a couple of siblings turn up.

Slightly irrelevant, but if you want replies by the 1st April, will the party be the next weekend and therefore probably in Easter Holidays? Might find that is a problem

Party is at the end of the Easter holidays a couple of days before they return to school. I Was planning to hand them out when I get round to printing them so in a week or so. Should I wait.. is there's an etiquette!?

Handing them out now/ in a week or so is WAAAAY too early. People will forget.

Oh god! Haha! Ok I'll have them ready to go but hand them out in March?

It's not a wedding. Wedding invites wouldn't be sent that early

For reference my son's (6th party) is on February 13th and I did the invites last night to send out on Friday. If I was inviting loads I'd wait a bit longer but only inviting 4 friends (covid) so want to make sure they can all come. I'd wait until the week/two weeks before Easter holidays start OP.

Most kids party invites seem to be handed out two weeks before.

I've just recieved an invitation for a party on Saturday! But thats Yr6, the kids half sort it themselves...

For April, I'd put it to one side and probably forget. I can't predict work commitments etc that far out.

I'm going against the grain here.

In our area, once they are at school, no parents stayed.
I am not sure if this is nursery or school?
Even at nursery, aged 4, only about half parents stayed.

We also always had tea table, all sat down to tea, and did eat, maybe not loads, but they certainly ate. (pp saying kids won't eat much)
At the soft play areas round here the party all sit down to tea, and a good chunk of food gets eaten, so i don't think it is that unusual.

If you are happy fro siblings, just let them be there on the day, or ask you. Otherwise you could have 2 parents and 3 siblings from some kids.

You have a 2 hour party. That is quite long. What are you doing for entertainment/games?

What are you doing. Two hours is imo too long. Make it 1.5 (one hour for activities, 30 mins for eating) then when it overruns you will still all be out within 2 hours.

Finally I'm not sure of the date, people will forget, get involved in family stuff, be aware of no shows.

Definitely take siblings out, otherwise you’ll end up buying enough pizza for siblings, parents, grandparents, pets

Maybe have coffee and a couple of costco trays of muffins or pastries on hand for parents. I think most will stay at a 4th birthday party.

Also, not that you asked for this opinion but pizza for 30 is quite labour intensive to actually get out on the table all at once (unless its takeaway) - the easiest parties i had were ones where everything was cold and prepped in advance- either trays of sandwiches etc or little individual packed lunch boxes. Just in case that helps :)

Two hours is standard length for a kid's party @Ducksurprise

I think the second invite is fine. I'd hand them out a week before the Easter holidays but be prepared to have more no shows than normal as people might be on holiday.

Invite looks lovely, agree with points others have made though. I actually avoid holding parties in the holidays now- too many no shows. If possible, I’d hold before the holidays and hand invites out 2 weeks before.

Clymene for an older child yes, but at 4 it is generally too long. Especially if the activity is one hour.

Parties round us have always been 2 hours for whatever age.

Make sure you have someone on the door so children can’t wander out. It’s a nightmare of mine because it happened at a party in this area.
How are you planning to entertain the children?

Both of my DC have birthdays that fall near/in school holidays ( easter being one). I’d also add tba that you will tend to get quite a few who can’t come as Easter is a popular holiday to go away, plus quite a few no shows. Might not be a problem with a whole class party but I ended u always doing mine either before they broke up or at least on the very first Saturday of the holiday ( unless Easter Saturday).

Looks lovely! Hand them out no more than two weeks beforehand or they'll be forgotten/lost. Definitely take out the siblings bit - I failed to specify that once and ended up with eight extra siblings queuing up for party bags at the end (luckily I had a few spare).

I have an Easter baby and tend to avoid having a party in the holidays as lots of people are away then. (May not be a problem if you want to reduce numbers).
So mine is mid April, I used to have his party at the end of April. Though you may not be able to move it now!

Definitely too early to give out invites now. No more than a month before.

It's lovely. I'm a single mum so the siblings bit would be appreciated especially as in Reception it was still 50/50 as to whether kids could be left or not. They're all different.
Going against the grain I'd suggest adding to the text actually.
"Drop and go or welcome to stay. Your call.
Let me know if you need to bring siblings. "

You'll need more than pizza as kids are fussy but random crisps etc is fine. They focus on the sweet stuff. Although token carrots and cucumber is de rigeur - mostly ignored by the kids tho. Anyone with food issues will let you know. If anyone mentions ARFID don't press them about what you can get instead and reassure them you don't care if their child eats or not. They'll collapse with gratitude trust me.
About a month to 6 weeks before for invites is normal round here. Busy professionals tend to plan their lives that far normally.
You can always send a reminder out 2 weeks to go for those who don't work that far in advance.