What's the worst kids party you've been to

[T181]

Please give me some examples of the worst kids party you've been to?? Im hosting one on Sunday for 25 children and actually am so worried about it I need some real life stories to calm my nerves

An unsupervised (ineffective, lazy parents), unstructured party with a bunch of boys in a church hall just left to their own devices which turned into something out of Lord of the Flies. My two and a few others who were more reserved left as soon as. It was awful and I’m still thankful I didn’t leave them there to collect later. (Happened over 10 years ago, still makes me shudder).

I'd be very interested to hear more about this!

I'm sorry but to be that sounds like the Lord of the flies senario described earlier. DS had a friend whose parents were like this. IME with boys you need structure and military organidsation to prevent blood shed.

Thank you - I think she might have asked him if he wanted the tv on but it was still pretty soul-destroying for him. The girls were mostly girls from his class, who he thought of as friends (at school) so it was a bit of a shock for him to be so left out.

Tbf my autistic DC would love this 😂

One of the mums had taken 3 other girls along with her daughter and as one of them managed to play in the football tournament, she felt she couldn’t leave. The other 2 or 3 girls parents just left them playing with ours and went in the bar.

I missed the best bit off, on the invitation was a link to a video of the dad showing off his football skills. It was like a Sunday League thing with all these sort of older, less fit men standing around on a pitch drinking water and this dad doing funny little flicks and tricks around them like he was Cristiano Ronaldo or something. The other men’s faces were brilliant. Who puts something like that on a kids party invitation?!

Yes - but for food that was it - Marmite sandwiches (which most of the kids hated) and sweets....they were bouncing off the walls as most of them only ate jelly snakes! No alternate sandwiches, no fruit, nothing!

Post lockdown 6th birthday party held outside at swing park in local country park. Not a party held by the park just the parents using it as free venue. Invite stated an adult must stay for each child attending, all attendees have temperature checked on arrival no food or drink would be provided due to covid so bring your own. This was very recently despite all restrictions being lifted.
I thought it was all a bit OTT so I gave it a miss as did the majority of DS class. I did hear one of the mums who did attend didn't take a gift or card and said thought I better not due to covid and all, oh how that made me laugh although I felt for the birthday kid.

The party for 4 yr old boys with no cake, no snacks, no party bags. No adult food or drinks either, at that age you need to stay. Without the cake & song there were no cues about when it was over or when to leave. We were all given a nice little Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit book on departure, a bit boring. A vague attempt at healthy, educational “party”.

Unfortunately, the worst kids' party I ever went to was my own daughter's. It still breaks my heart to think of it today. She was about 11 or 12 and I was a single parent, working full-time. I didn't put enough thought into it. She wanted a 'girly time' type of event. So, I did up a buffet and bought a cake. I thought they could choose a film to watch on Sky (not that many people had it back then, so I thought it would be a novelty). Oh, how wrong I was. She'd invited the popular girls and, within 10 minutes of arriving, one said: 'This is rubbish.' They all got up and walked out. My daughter was absolutely devastated. She really cried and I did too. She's 27 now and we still talk about now. Obviously, she has moved on - but the scar is still there.

Oh my goodness

We were all given a nice little Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit book on departure, a bit boring
Nothing wrong with that at all.

We went to one where the 'entertainer' bullied my DS... its the closest I have ever come to punching someone.

Visual: My DS's have bouncy blonde curls, they both get complimented on it all the time and while they are both cute my oldest also has quite a 'pretty/delicate' face which has led quite a few times to people assuming hes a girl (no one does this with my other DS though and they have the exact same longish curly hairstyle).

Well the 'entertainer' split the group into boys and girls, he then focably yanked my DS out of the boys line by his arm and said loudly to everyone through the mic 'some kids clearly dont listen' and then shoved him into the girl group. My DS responded 'but Im a boy' and the so called entertainer looked around the room and the back and my DS and said 'well get a bloody haircut and look like one then' then started laughing to himself and looking around as if he expected other to join in with laughing at my DS (but no one did).

My DS was 5 for god sake, what kind of adult mocks a childs look then laughs in their face because THEY ignorantly made a wrong assumption about that childs sex - my DS was even wearing a top that said 'the dude' on it ffs.

Mistake with the sex of young children is fairly common, I have never been offended by someone mistakenly thinking he was a girl but grabbing him (litrally assault), then belittling him and laughing at him pissed me off - how this guy worked with kids is beyond me.

I have yet to be at one that I enjoyed. That includes all the ones that I’ve held for my DDs. Themes … Ballerina. Under the sea. Fairy garden. Great British Bake Off. Swimming. Bowling. Bouncy castles and inflatables. Escape room. So
many! And the best part of them was handing out gift bags and waving goodbye. I think it’s one of those ‘things I wish I’d known before I had DC’. Party planning is not my fun - I totally feel your pain OP.

A party held in a village hall where the whole class were invited when my daughter was at primary school and about 6. One of the dad’s brought his son who promptly guzzled a Fruit Shoot off the table and then went wild, running around, shouting and interrupting the entertainer, another parent suggested the dad control his son and he threatened to punch them. He then stormed out and got in his car only to realise he was blocked in by the fire engine which had also arrived to entertain the kids. Much pacifying of the father took place from other parents.

Once took my son to a dry ski slope party where the birthday boy's family had taken him to the wrong venue after letting the 16 year old sister program the satnav. He arrived 5 minutes before the end of his own party and had time for one run down the slope. Everyone else had a great time!

A disco party where at the end, everyone sat in a circle and each parent had to get up one by one with their child and do their best dance in front of everyone - it was mortifying (especially cos I've got serious two left feet). Worst thing was, it was MY kids party - I didn't know about that part. Bet the other parents hated me 🤣

When I was young, parents never stayed at parties, nor when my older two were old enough to go to classmate parties. By the time my youngest was old enough, this had started to be a thing. To be honest this is why I never held parties - I used to invite a couple of their best friends for tea and a treat like going to the cinema or something. My kids were fine with this arrangement.

Why do people do this to themselves? or to other people? or their own or other's children? If it has to be whole class why don't they all have one big party once a year?

I've never been to a bad one - by which I mean I've never been to one where the kids didn't have a great time. I did go to one with a seriously dodgy entertainer who was obviously modelling himself on Jimmy Savile, but luckily his lewd jokes went right over the kids' heads and the Mums I was chatting with and I found it hilarious (in a WTF way).

I thought it was all a bit OTT so I gave it a miss as did the majority of DS class.
I think this is so sad. Yes it does sound really OTT but maybe the parents were incredibly anxious for some reason? Either way, it's not the birthday child's fault.

Alpen bars??! No, just no, OP. 😂

I can give you a few examples of the worst. First are the ones where the adults are drinking, it's a kids party ..... it's about them not about the adults and always ends in disaster. Second was a party where the cake was made of fruit..... none of the kids ate it (which included the birthday child) and lastly are the ones where parents dump their kids and run (been there a few times) and the birthday Mum (and close friends) are expected to look after kids they barely know.
The best party I've been to as a parent was where there was tea and coffee for the parents and the food was quite simple for the kids (cheese, ham or jam sandwiches; cookies; jam tarts and diluting juice), the kids played pass the parcel, there was a small disco.

Wow! Really?? You aim to get shitfaced at kids parties?

God, I'll bet they did . There's nothing worse than expecting the unsuspecting parents to join in with a kids party and make arses of themselves for your entertainment.

My son had a swimming party with a big inflatable monster in the pool and I spent the whole time doing a continuous head count in case any child was in trouble