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Original poster

No party food or drink provided

577 replies

ImaMumtoaboy · 25/06/2023 16:15

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.

OP posts:
RandomisedRebel · 27/06/2023 16:23

Alighttouchonthetiller · 25/06/2023 16:21
"I'd expect food at a kids' party. But then I am not a typical Mumsnetter, in that I eat actual meals instead of sucking on an alfalfa sprout and fully expect heaps of cake, iced party rings and mountains of chips at every celebratory occasion."

Can we be friends? 😂

Nanaof1 · 27/06/2023 16:28

CoreyTaylorsSoggyTshirt · 25/06/2023 16:24

🤣🤣 I swear MN isn't real sometimes.

Op I can't believe you took him to McDonalds. You should have taken him for a massive salad, far healthier.

My kids wouldn't have been hungry, they only eat 2 crumbs a day. Is there something wrong with your ds?

YANBU, I would have been annoyed

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Take him for a salad? You mean, bring him home and then go out to your garden and harvest a proper salad for him from your organic produce and pick some fruit to begin to prepare him an organic kale, strawberry, blueberry smoothie. But first, you must go milk your organic cow and make some organic ice cream, by hand churning only.

I am glad I am not a kid, since I have a Costco cake in the fridge.

VWVWVW · 27/06/2023 16:34

darkmodeon · 25/06/2023 16:16

It's not good for kids to eat large quantities of cake

It was a party.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General food
GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 27/06/2023 16:34

What time was it? Obviously they should have provided plenty of water at least in these temps. No food at all is odd anyway. They could at least have done jam sandwiches and crips even if on low budget.

HereForTheFreeLunch · 27/06/2023 16:41

georgarina · 27/06/2023 11:09

@Itsbeennice
At 11, most kids can cup hands under a tap to get water for a drink, surely?
That is gold. I hope you're not a party planner 😂

An Mn party planner!!

MollysBrolly · 27/06/2023 16:43

Perhaps that's all the parents could afford I'm guessing the venue cost a small fortune

HereForTheFreeLunch · 27/06/2023 16:44

Nanaof1 · 27/06/2023 16:28

Take him for a salad? You mean, bring him home and then go out to your garden and harvest a proper salad for him from your organic produce and pick some fruit to begin to prepare him an organic kale, strawberry, blueberry smoothie. But first, you must go milk your organic cow and make some organic ice cream, by hand churning only.

I am glad I am not a kid, since I have a Costco cake in the fridge.

Show quote history

Fruit! Fruit!!! Don't you know fruit has too much sugar!
Nothing but a variety of salad leaves for a kids party. And it shouldn't be massive.

Brightbear · 27/06/2023 17:34

Nanaof1 · 27/06/2023 16:28

Take him for a salad? You mean, bring him home and then go out to your garden and harvest a proper salad for him from your organic produce and pick some fruit to begin to prepare him an organic kale, strawberry, blueberry smoothie. But first, you must go milk your organic cow and make some organic ice cream, by hand churning only.

I am glad I am not a kid, since I have a Costco cake in the fridge.

Show quote history

Would he be allowed a morsel of a MN chicken? You know the ones that make 47 meals and still have enough meat on the carcass to make a hearty soup?

Veeee24 · 27/06/2023 17:55

Asda’s own frozen pizza’s are 66p each… I get them for my kids as they’re great value and taste good. Not really an excuse when stuff is that cheap. And not giving them a drink until the end. If they didn’t want to pay for too many drinks they should’ve said to bring a water bottle 🤷‍♀️

RampantIvy · 27/06/2023 18:46

minipie · 27/06/2023 15:32

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.

And this ^^ is the right way to do it.

TisforTucan · 27/06/2023 18:57

The only time this has happened to us is in a leisure center, but they are given pop bottles or fruit shoots and maybe cake (I say maybe cake as we've had cupcakes before and the cake is just for "show" as they take it home 🤣🤣)

inappropriateraspberry · 27/06/2023 19:35

It's simple, if the invite says 'party' then you should expect food and drink.
Otherwise, you make it very clear to invitees that it's just cake. At least you are prepared and know you need to eat before or after.
They should have worded it as a football game, tournament or kick around.
'Xxx is invited to play football at xx to celebrate xxx's birthday. There will be cake but no lunch.'

Primor · 27/06/2023 19:37

That’s rude. They could have done jugs of squash and a packet of crisps/apple/cheap sandwich.

They shouldn’t have hosted a party if they couldn’t afford some sort of hospitality.

AwlAtSea · 27/06/2023 20:47

Maybe the football/room hire was all they could afford and there was nothing left for food? There is a cost of living crisis going on after all. Presumably the hall has a tap, so kids could have got water at any time - when they have a kick around at the park they probably go without?

I find it interesting that you say he was so thirsty he was asking to get a drink from the shop - if he was that thirsty, why didn't he have a drink at home before getting in the car?
We take (refillable) water bottles every time we leave the house, to save money and reduce waste.

The child's parents could have done things differently, but there's no need to bash them on MN, I'm sure the kids had a nice time. If money is tight I personally would spend the budget on food and just meet at a park for free, but we're all different.

ReeseWitherfork · 27/06/2023 21:07

PurpleWisteria1 · 26/06/2023 16:32

Sorry… are you saying the other mother warned your child? Did sue speak to him directly or asked you to speak to him?

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I didn’t realise this was a typo and literally read “did Sue speak to him directly?”. I assumed you knew these people IRL and Sue was the mother. Thought it was all about to kick off 😂

PurpleWisteria1 · 27/06/2023 21:29

ReeseWitherfork · 27/06/2023 21:07

I didn’t realise this was a typo and literally read “did Sue speak to him directly?”. I assumed you knew these people IRL and Sue was the mother. Thought it was all about to kick off 😂

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omg hilarious 😂 love it. Only just realised there was a typo! Can you imagine

Brightbear · 27/06/2023 22:31

AwlAtSea · 27/06/2023 20:47

Maybe the football/room hire was all they could afford and there was nothing left for food? There is a cost of living crisis going on after all. Presumably the hall has a tap, so kids could have got water at any time - when they have a kick around at the park they probably go without?

I find it interesting that you say he was so thirsty he was asking to get a drink from the shop - if he was that thirsty, why didn't he have a drink at home before getting in the car?
We take (refillable) water bottles every time we leave the house, to save money and reduce waste.

The child's parents could have done things differently, but there's no need to bash them on MN, I'm sure the kids had a nice time. If money is tight I personally would spend the budget on food and just meet at a park for free, but we're all different.

How would he get a drink from home, before he got in the car?

the car went to collect him, he then asked for a drink from the shop as he was so thirsty.

RampantIvy · 27/06/2023 22:31

if he was that thirsty, why didn't he have a drink at home before getting in the car?

He most likely did. Read the thread.

Dannicliff2205 · 27/06/2023 23:00

Then they should have made that known beforehand maybe? My son has just had a Nerf Party and I provided sandwiches, crisps and biscuits and juice and it cost me about £6

mumofmanybusykids · 28/06/2023 06:14

This isn't a little kid's birthday party though, with sandwiches, cold pizza slices and jelly & ice cream...its a HIGH SCHOOL KID having an activity planned for their birthday, at an astro pitch with their mates. One mine were at high school and told me they were going to play football / going paintballing / going to a theme park etc for their mate's birthday, I'm not sure I'd expect a little buffet like I did when they were 7. I'd give them a drink etc to take with them or some cash to get something when they were there...

ImustLearn2Cook · 28/06/2023 06:19

I think it’s pretty rude to treat your guests like that. Presumably, they came with gifts and cards for the birthday boy which costs money, time and effort. The least you can do is provide some food and drinks for your guests.

If this kid has another birthday party in the future I wonder how many of his friends will come after this experience.

TheOrigRights · 28/06/2023 07:18

mumofmanybusykids · 28/06/2023 06:14

This isn't a little kid's birthday party though, with sandwiches, cold pizza slices and jelly & ice cream...its a HIGH SCHOOL KID having an activity planned for their birthday, at an astro pitch with their mates. One mine were at high school and told me they were going to play football / going paintballing / going to a theme park etc for their mate's birthday, I'm not sure I'd expect a little buffet like I did when they were 7. I'd give them a drink etc to take with them or some cash to get something when they were there...

It sounds like they're primary school (age 11). The hosts booked the party room. My kids still had food and drink at parties even when they were beyond the little buffet age.

mumofmanybusykids · 28/06/2023 07:21

TheOrigRights · 28/06/2023 07:18

It sounds like they're primary school (age 11). The hosts booked the party room. My kids still had food and drink at parties even when they were beyond the little buffet age.

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I read that the party is full of 11-12 year olds, therefore high school Y7?

inappropriateraspberry · 28/06/2023 07:22

mumofmanybusykids · 28/06/2023 06:14

This isn't a little kid's birthday party though, with sandwiches, cold pizza slices and jelly & ice cream...its a HIGH SCHOOL KID having an activity planned for their birthday, at an astro pitch with their mates. One mine were at high school and told me they were going to play football / going paintballing / going to a theme park etc for their mate's birthday, I'm not sure I'd expect a little buffet like I did when they were 7. I'd give them a drink etc to take with them or some cash to get something when they were there...

But it was a party slap bang over lunchtime and even 11/12 year olds need to eat! They would still appreciate a buffet with sandwiches etc, pizza & chips, or hotdogs etc.
They may not appreciate jelly & ice cream, but but that doesn't stop them needing food!

mumofmanybusykids · 28/06/2023 07:25

inappropriateraspberry · 28/06/2023 07:22

But it was a party slap bang over lunchtime and even 11/12 year olds need to eat! They would still appreciate a buffet with sandwiches etc, pizza & chips, or hotdogs etc.
They may not appreciate jelly & ice cream, but but that doesn't stop them needing food!

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I get that, and tbf if it was me taking other kids out for an activity I'd sort food. But I wouldn't expect it and get annoyed if it wasn't provided at an activity planned by someone else. I'd just make sue my child had cash to grab something if they needed it (or Id something with them)