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

@SBAM What makes a good party is entertained kids, so that if the parents have the stay, they can just chill. I completely get that not everyone can stretch to entertainers or paid for activities, so the host parents really need to play games etc with them. The worst party I went to, although it doesn't compare to some of the horror stories on this thread, was one where the only attempt at entertainment was a bouncy castle in a too small church hall. After about an hour the kids were all bored/feral/crying, and it was a painful experience for the parents. Don't think that 30 kids will entertain themselves for two hours, and all just play together nicely, they won't.

I always feed the parents without a doubt and put on teas/ coffee as does everyone round here, apart from the one awful host who's party was dreadful but they have moved away now.

@DomingoinLittleOakley I'm so sorry but that story has made my night. I had a similar situation on holiday with my own kid a few years back and it was farcically horrendous. It's comforting to hear of someone else has experiencing similar 😁

OP - we've never been to a truly terrible kids' party but IME you need some space for running around, a shedload of crisps (that's honestly all the kids are interested in), drinks and biscuits for adults and ideally some kind of entertainment depending on age, but generally this doesn't need to be as complicated as people think. I do usually like the parties with entertainers - it makes everything a bit less stressful. But honestly, the crisps are what they'll all go for.

Gosh some of these are so upsetting, the kids who're upset is so sad to hear and the child that drowned ☹️❤️

I hate the ones where it's 40 kids and a little bouncy castle... that's it. Kids get bored quickly, the older ones trampled the little ones, some boys always end up fighting (v rough play) and we have been to SO MANY like this, 2 were even 4 hours long which were a struggle for parents and kids for an hour!

And the annoying ones where the birthday cake isn't shared between the children as they all look at it dribbling, that's unfair imo.

A recent one didn't provide drinks for children so you had to buy the small size fruit shoots from the bar for £2.60, yes you read right.

I also hate the ones where parents are made to get up to dance etc, the entertainer has a bloody good laugh at the parents expense!

I think you should ideally ask parents to bring a packed lunch as that age will probably get hungry, I'd be happy taking my child some food to eat.

With all due respect I think this is a bit daft! Loads of people still have these games at kids' parties but as we can see from the thread, 70/80s parties weren't always a barrel of laughs even when party games were prevalent...

Soft play or hired entertainment is absolutely fine - personally I think moaning about this is just another stick to beat parents with, really.

Mid 80s, 8th birthday party, the "party games" consisted of watching video-recorded episodes of Countdown to see if we could beat the contestants. Party child was an infant prodigy who mostly could, possibly because his mum got all pissy when he missed one ("Oh Robert! That one was EASY!"). The rest of us were completely bemused and just sat there watching Robert. Party mum then gave us each a vitamin tablet of some sort with our party tea to repair the damage that might have been done to our eyes from watching television.

Another one where it was a swimming party, they were in year 1 so lots were still 5. I agreed to go in as one of the parents helping, it turned out the only parents who volunteered to go in had kids who could swim, whilst those with the non swimmers sat and watched. I spent an hour trying to help the non swimmers and avoid them drowning, a couple of whom had only recently joined the class so I didn’t know at all.

The host was a friend and it had all been well intentioned, but I’m not sure she had expected parents to just send their non swimming kids into the water without them. It put me off ever hosting a swimming party

It might be worth swapping the Kinder chocolate for something else otherwise you might end up with a lot of parents web searching the product recall info before they let their kids have them!

@AlwaysSometimesNever Okkayyy, I think you win, but here’s my tuppence worth. As a childless auntie, I went along to my niece’s fifth birthday. The whole class in the local hall. SIL had booked a magician. He was mobbed by 20 five year olds, wrestling the top hat out of his hands to see where the bunny had gone. He said he’d been doing it for 20 years, and that had never happened. Poor guy looked shell shocked, so I couldn’t understand why he was hanging about awkwardly at the end. It turned out that SIL thought that my brother was going to pay him, but my brother assumed he’d been paid in advance.
OP, food and coffees for the adults - alcohol in small amounts if you know and can trust them.

Macdonalds. 4 year olds in a smallish room with no entertainment. Food arrives after a bit with a cake. Then a bit more time in room with no entertainment.

That's so tragic

Massive disco, it's was Reception or Year 1 out of town and nowhere to pop to so had to stay. DJ wanted to humiliate as many parents as possible. Mum of birthday boy had already said she wasn't doing good or party bags as it was "so expensive anyway." But the worst thing was that there was NO TEA OR COFFEE FOR THE ADULTS! Horrific. I need tea to get through these things.

My kids went to one when they were in YR and Y1. It was a clown/circus party and the clown honked the hosts mum's boobs
I hope she didn't pay him!

God, some of these are so sad.

Ours was when my dd got an invite to a party at a (quite pricey) farm which sounded like an official party there. Turned up to find out that my daughter was the only one to show and it wasn't a proper party so we had to pay our entrance and didn't have any food to eat at lunch (because I thought it was going to be provided). Wouldn't have minded had it been explained but instead ended up having a really awkward few hours because we didn't really have much in common and my dd was starving!

I read "alpen bar" as an Alpen Bar much like a Prosecco Van at an adult party! In my head it was a stand all displayed with mountains etc. where someone would be dispensing bowls of Alpen (with milk and spoons) I do not know why I came to this conclusion except my DS has a nut allergy and as Alpen has nuts in it I was actually horrified when I read alpen bar. Reading the thread I realise that you mean a breakfast bar each.

You can tell the anxiety and horror a kids party invite always causes in me! I need to give my head a wobble 😂

It's really not expected! Teas and coffees, definitely. Throw in a plate of biscuits, even better. But you're absolutely not expected to feed the adults.

My mum often reminds me of the party she took me to when I was about 8 where I told birthday girl's mum upon being offered some cake:
"No thank you very much I don't eat STORE BOUGHT cake" and turned my nose up at it.

Mortifying.

@Janie576 it’s a 2hr party and I’ve booked a bouncy castle, a face painter, an hour’s entertainer, I’m planning on over catering the buffet (sandwiches, crisps, carrot/cucumber sticks and party rings) so the parents can eat too and we’ve got tea and coffees available.

I am a worrier so I will be fretting for weeks to come.

I’ve remembered another, one of my dd’s went to a makeover party (for someone’s 6th birthday) and the party mum asked me to take her glasses with me so they wouldn’t get lost when she took them off ‘to look nice in the photos’ ffs, this same mum poured scorn when my dd had a fairy party for her 6th bday saying ‘Haven’t they grow out of all that’ 6!

Batshit mother of birthday girl decided to hold her child's 7th birthday in the local park. In London. In March. And could we bring some food and drinks for the "picnic". NB. Mother born and grew up in London so knows the climate well.

I RSVP'd , presuming there was an inside plan B if the weather was poor , and bought birthday girl a gift.

Party day came and the mother texted to say it was called off because it was very windy and they would try again the next day.

The next day she texted to say postponed due to weather and couldn't possibly have the party in her house instead... and she would hold it in May instead.

May comes around and my child goes to the party six weeks after it was originally due and about eight or nine weeks after I had purchased the gift.

In July, so it's now four MONTHS since I had bought the gift, the mother texted to say that her daughter already had one of the gift I'd chosen and COULD GO AND PICK IT UP FROM HER HOUSE AN HOUR AWAY AND TAKE IT BACK AND SHE WOULD HAVE THE CASH INSTEAD .

Oh god how much I laughed at this! 😂😂😂

My child was 6 and wanted 3 friends, the cinema and pizza.
My mum behind my back booked a hall. Invites had to go out last day school, before half term. As she talked my DD into the party. No one turned up, not one child, and my dad had cooked BBQ for 30...
We never mentioned it again.

The one where the 'entertainment' was a traditional Punch and Judy show with wife beaten and inappropriate 'jokes'. Was awful. My four year old was bemused by the whole thing.

Oh my God - I’m glad it’s not just me! I thought an Alpen bar was going to be like one of those sweet bars that were popular at wedding a few years ago🤣. I was intrigued and equally horrified (as the mother of a child with an allergy to nuts)