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

This was me not them. Dd friends 6th birthday party ( didn't know parents to well) They live in a very posh street and considered upper class. When they invited dd i was quite nervous and didn't want dd to stand out there( i know) So i brought an expensive gift and fancy dress for her. So we rocked up to the party to find kids in leggings and paint covered clothes with a modest spread basically i thought it would be a formal posh occasion but it was a normal kids party. Both parents are lovely and so down to earth

This wasn’t the worse party but I had a Star Wars theme for my sons 5th birthday and within 5 mins of it starting there were 30 x 4-5 years olds wacking each other with their life sabers which was quite a scene and we swiftly confiscated them all until their parents collected them.

I think my worst was when a new (lovely) friend asked me to take her daughter to a birthday party - they were about 5. She'd just had a baby and said she'd join later. Unfortunately, she'd told the host family they were veggie, but not me. Her daughter was on her third chicken leg, when she walked in with her other daughter and baby son and she just cried. I felt absolutely awful.

One where my kids caught EColi and were banned from school and nursery on public health grounds for 5 long weeks! (Local farm)

I would just go with the flow and drink lots of wine!

Poor kid missed out on their present because you were cross about the shit party his/her parents arranged??? 🤔Disgraceful behaviour and bloody mean

Not just one but a series of parties held in a really dubious playarea/party place in Doha.
The entertainers were very unique- a dwarf husband and wife who did knife throwing and fire eating as well as weird acrobatics , none of it appropriate for the under six audience . Then they had a "magician" "called Tiger . He wore only leather trousers, was a older bodybuilder with terrible acne scars. He did really dodgy dancing and winked at all the mums.
So glad we've moved on.

I'm always conflicted on people imposing vegetarianism on young kids who clearly have other ideas...
That kid clearly thought she was in hog heaven with unlimited chicken legs!

Beautiful birthday cake presented.
All the children asked to have photos taken with said beautiful cake.
At the end of party, cake taken away, and kids given a plain shit looking fairy cake, which looked like they had been made with no care/cheapest white paper cup.
Staggering how greedy and mean some people are.

One birthday party for my very young son traumatised me for a while. Lots of boys so I'd prepared very energetic games out in the (large) garden. No one would play them. I went inside for a 'comfort break'. When I came out again there were no boys. Or at least, there were. Behind a clump of mature trees. On the roof of the tall shed. No idea how they got up there and I wasn't tall enough to get them down. Little blighters thought it was hilarious to see me begging them to slide off the roof and drop into my arms....After that experience, every other birthday party was at McDonald's.

When my DC was 6 we moved towns so on their 7th birthday a few months after we organised a big party in a church hall.
We went through all the do's and don'ts with the church and everything was sorted or so we thought.
Saturday of the party comes, DH goes to the hall to let the DJ in and to start setting up the food- hall is locked. He phones the number we have to be told "oh yes the group in there may over run so wait and they'll let you in"
They did overrun by 20 minutes, leaving us 10 to set up before the kids arrived.
We managed it, just thankfully.

So DC and I arrive, DH didn't even tell me that bit until after. We had told the church we were having a DJ to check that was OK and they said fine.

Half hour into the party, the DJ puts the smoke and bubble machines on for the kids. The fire alarm goes off.
We go to check if we can turn it off but no, it needs a key. So we call the number for after the time it was and I spoke to the rudest man ever who is "watching the cricket" so won't come down to turn it off. We explain the alarm is not stopping, we cannot turn it off so he says "the fire brigade will arrive soon, they can deal with it".

The alarm was deafening, so we had to walk 25 children over the road to the local park, we then took all the food over and made a make shift picnic. We could still hear the alarm. Tried calling the other lady and got no answer.

The fire brigade then arrive, not impressed. We had to apologise but we said we called the contact who refused to come over. The firemen tell us this is not apparently the first time this has happened, they've been called out several other times.

Kids get picked up. Woman arrives with the right arse with us. She told us not to have a DJ. Utter bull.

I now know about the delays to get in so I said, I want a substantial refund on the £150 hire charge. We had wasted £200 on a DJ who played for 30 minutes as well, their warden refused to attend saying he was watching cricket. She refused.

I've never hired a church hall ever since. Luckily, the kids all had a great time regardless but bloody hell I needed gin that night.

Hot tip for pass the parcel, instead of wrapping a layer for each child to open just have a tub of mixed sweets (moam, Haribo mini bags, lollies etc) so they can just help themselves to one when it is their turn. I've wasted too much time wrapping before!

I also can’t understand why amazing cakes are whisked away and guests get given crappy cupcakes or the like.

Part of the fun is sharing the cake out!
I can understand if you have 50 guests but other than that, let everyone eat the cake!!

No one else turned up, the whole class was invited and only me and my 3 year old were there as Mum was a good mate.
Birthday girl was 7.She was fucking heart broken despite all our best efforts.

I'd imagine the fire engine's appearance went down a storm with the kids 😁

If there’s no kitchen you could take some sandwiches or either get pizzas delivered or get a relative to pick up some pizzas and take them to the venue few mins before the play time ends

Oh Jesus, who does that . Poor child.

Party for 5yr old, the whole class plus family and friends were there. Lot of effort went into decorating the church hall in a fairground theme. Crucially forgot to tell the children not to just launch themselves at the table full to the brim with sweets and prizes.

5 minutes of carnage as parents tried to peel their kids off the table and encourage them to play the now largely pointless games.

2 hours with no other entertainment.

Utter carnage.

A 2 year olds party in a park (basically a field) with no entertainment apart from a couple of footballs. Only a few children there and the hosts family. No food provided. The hosts family seemed pissed off as some of them had travelled far to attend this ‘party’ in the park. DS was bored and we left after an 1.5 hours. I do really hate Children's party’s though!

When we lived overseas in a tropical country DD2's 6th birthday party was hugely stressful. There were about 20 kids and DH was recovering from appendicitis so I was managing more or less on my own as he wasn't on top form.

We had booked a magician who was really excellent - one of his tricks was with a small, beautiful snake which he made appear and disappear from different compartments in a box. Children were transfixed so all good...... except afterwards when I went to pay him he was looking a bit flustered and admitted the snake had gone AWOL!!!! I ushered the departing children out as hastily as possible so that we could all get down to the serious business of finding it because I really didn't want it taking up residence in my house!

Several hours later the little bugger was found curled up behind the dishwasher (they like the thrumming sound)

All 3 of my DDs still gleefully remember that party!

One held in a field with a bouncy castle. Sounded pretty good until we realised it was literally that - a bouncy castle in a field. With no toilets or anywhere to sit or food or drink. And it was raining heavily.

I went to a lot of my niece’s and nephew’s parties before I had my own children so I feel like I had a trial run. Most were fine as my sister paid for organised entertainment. One was really bad. It was an outdoor activity type venue and one of the boys completely freaked out, started swearing and hit another child. I had to sit with him in a hut for an hour while he was sobbing as the instructor wouldn’t let him join in as his behaviour was so volatile and we couldn’t reach his mum on her mobile.

The best parties we’ve been to with my children have been the smaller, more controlled ones. We went to one that was massive but also mixed lots of older and younger siblings with lots of inflatables and it was carnage. Lots of tears, lots of accidental bumps from kids going feral.

A party where a magician/balloon artist was hired to entertain the kids who were around 5 at the time, he was called Mr Happy, unfortunately he was far from it, he shouted at the adults for talking and threatened to leave if we didn’t shut up while he was performing, he made balloon animals/flowers etc which he gave to the kids….but took them back if the kids weren’t paying attention, talking, or crossing the line which he had put around him (using a rope on the floor). The party was in a church hall, within about half an hour of him starting the kids were playing hide and seek around the gravestones and having a fantastic time. Not one single child was left in the church hall and the adults drifted outside too. The poor Mum who arranged it was mortified and asked him to leave, he then collected up every balloon thing he had made and popped them and left them in a pile near the birthday cake before storming out shouting we were an ungrateful bunch!

Also swimming parties sound hellish under 8. Haven’t had an invitation for one yet fortunately but my friend’s 5yo had one alongside the ‘parental supervision in the pool’ bit. There was an excellent motherland about pool parties.

Pizza it is then! Effort-free on my part, which is key.