No party food or drink provided

[ImaMumtoaboy]

So my ds(11) went to a football party yesterday. The minute we got in the car he asked to go the shop for a drink as he was so thirsty.
Party was at the local astro pitch, party room included that has 2 ovens, hob, 2 toasters, 2 microwaves and 2 fridges. Most parents bring in frozen pizzas and chips and cook them or order in pizzas.
Kids were running around for 2 hours in hot weather they were not offered any drinks during that time.
He said in the "party room" they got 1 small bottle of water (250ml) and a small slice of birthday cake. They only went into the room 10 minutes before I arrived to collect him.
When I went in the mother was packing up the cake which looked like there was about 3/4's left. I thought the kids must have had enough food that they didnt want cake. And parents cleaned up very quickly. Kids were all quiet(14 11/12 yr old boys) who are normally very loud at parties. Kids were just sitting waiting to be collected.Turns out they got a very very skinny slice, described by ds as thinner then a slice of bread.
Ended up bringing him to Mcdonalds as a treat and we seen 2 other parents of kids that were at the same party getting their kids food.

Anyone else surprised that DM et al haven’t got hold of this thread yet…?!

Playing football in the park is not like playing football on a proper astro pitch, especially when you're 11.

My daughters were at bouncy castle parties over the weekend and they ran out of drinks because it was so hot so i went a got my children more drinks.

The clue is in the word PARTY! Lots of cake and treats. Lots of fun!

Look up Yolanda Hadid almond mom

Omg 🙄

There was more cake but the kids weren't allowed and the parents took it home...

No but if you can’t afford squash and cheap
pizzas, it’s an option.

It's not between lunch and dinner. it was 12-2!
Should the kids eat lunch at 11am because the party will have no food?

Yes - this has DM fodder written all over it!

As I can't imagine I'll ever be hosting you, I'm surprised you're so invested in whether we see eye to eye. It's rather flattering that agreem matters so much.😂

My agreement that is.

No it was your errors that amused me….

But he grabs statement of

“surely they can manage between lunch and tea, when the whole point of the thread was that there was no lunch”

followed by “maybe it wasn’t the best time to have a party “, well not the best time at all, if you’re so mean to not feed them.

I think you’ve got the gist of the thread now. So your contributions maybe more relevant.

mainly feel sorry for the birthday boy that his parents decided to be cheap with the food and drinks.

😂😂😂😂 Actually laughed out loud! This place is mental.

YANBU OP and I can't believe anyone is defending such terrible hosting. Jugs of tap water could have been available throughout the party and cost nothing other than a little forward thinking. And if you can't afford to provide lunch, then don't organise a lunch time party! Whatever time a party is held, there is no excuse for not providing suitable refreshments, which for 11 year olds, do not need to be expensive or elaborate. At a minimum, supermarket crisps, biscuits, fruit etc are pretty cheap.

Drinks, definitely required for sure, at least water, although most kids would take water bottles to a football party.

Food I couldn't get bothered about, cake is fine. It was only 2 hours!

There were lots of things I wanted as a kid but my parents couldn't afford them, so they didn't happen. Them's the breaks.

If I was doing a party without food, I'd say on the invite so you were prepared and eat before you came something like, 'please join us for x's football party, we will be playing games etc and finish with a drink and some cake' As it was so hot I would have taken extra drinks along but if she really couldn't for some reason then I would have told people to bring a drinks bottle with them, or have done that anyway asked people to bring a refillable bottle and kept them topped up with water/squash

I just wouldn't embarrass my child by throwing them a 'party' without any food or drink.

I was going to ask what time the party was but saw you have said 12 to 2.

Highly odd not to provide food IMO and if they can’t for some reason, it should have said so “Really sorry but we can’t do food due to the time taken by the activities [or other excuse] though there will be cake!”. Then at least you can feed beforehand.

We did a party without food (venue had no suitable space) but said so on the invites and also timed the party 2.30-4.30 so not across a mealtime.

Did you give a present? It seems pretty stingy for a birthday party, when dgs1 had a kick around in the local park for his birthday we provided plenty of drinks and snacks as well as ice creams all round. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind not to!

This is ridiculous. The invite could have been more clear about the lack of food given the party time, but I’ll let the lack of food go, even if I disagree with her decision.

Water however… If you’re broke, grab a pitcher and give the kids cups. Keep refilling it from the tap. It won’t cost more than those little bottles did.
I’d have probably spent a bit more and given them all a cheap sports bottle to start and sent it home as a favor. I almost did it for a different event - they aren’t that pricey, and the kids would’ve been well hydrated refilling it from the tap themselves. I understand going the cheaper route though, as not everyone can or wants to spend their money this way.

When you agree to host another child or children, whether play date or party, you are agreeing to tend their basic needs. Kids may make it two hours without food, but what would she have done should one become ill of dehydration? Drinks are not “extra”. They are an essential need.

Yes, but you are assuming that the hosts couldn't afford to cater, rather than were disorganised or... I don't know... stupid.

I genuinely don't know why anyone gets this bothered about someone else's party.