Would you drive 25 minutes for a birthday party?

[SparePartz]

DD would like to do a certain activity, but it's 25 minutes (via motorway) or 40 minutes driving. Or 60 minutes by foot/public transport.

Would you take your child to a 12th birthday party so far away?

Would you be happy to give the fare (£15) as a gift if your child came with us on public transport?

I wouldn't have a problem with this, if it was a good activity for them - think lift sharing would ideally need to be organised as it would be a bit much to do it wait and then drive back or do the round trip four times...

The only time I turned down a party invite was because it was a 40 minute drive away for a 5 year old (and my DC was 4.5) to whittle wood outside. In January.

yes definitely! I’ve driven further than that for my daughter to attend a 4th birthday party so definitely would for a 12th. I’m guessing with it being her 12th party she will be inviting close friends so that would also mean they are more likely to come.

25mins totally fine.
40mins drive fine as long as I can stay lrcthrres somewhere near to go whilst parry happening.

But we live rurally. We did one that was a particular event which was an hour away, but we sorted out lifts for the children and it was a guest list of 8

Don't think that's far to be honest

We do my sons at a soft play that does private hire for a reasonable price all weekend, it’s a 25 minutes drive for us but probably at least 30 minutes for the majority of the guests we normally invite, we’ve never had anyone not come because of the drive.

@SparePartz
Could you be clearer?
Are you wanting your DD to have a party here and her friend would need to come along and you'd expect her parent to pay her fares??
I'm finding £15 for childs fares very expensive, is that accurate or is that including entrance to activity?

What’s the distance in miles.

im going against the grain and say I wouldn’t necessarily travel and I wouldn’t pay £15 for public transport. I don’t expect parties to cost me anything - except for a present.

when we’ve had parties out of town, we’ve limited numbers so we can offer a lift.

I took my dcs to a party 30 minutes drive away last weekend but I wouldn't be happy to be expected to pay £15 fare for my dcs to get there.

When ds was younger we did a few "parties" (activities really) further afield and if ds wanted to do that activity he knew numbers would be limited to what we could fit in one or two cars (ours) unless we knew another parent who would a happily drive with us (there usually was as his friendship group was heavily football team based so we all knew each other from the sidelines/chatted about these things and someone would always offer to help out and take a few).

If I was restricted to public transport I would put a drop off point/time in the invite (say which bus you are getting and that you will be leaving with whoever is there on that bus) and pay for the public transport.

I agree. That's the nearest supermarket for me, the nearest 'big town' with multiplex/leisure facilities is more like and hour and a half

Well, 25 minutes becomes 100 minutes if you drop off and go back home in the meantime. I'd do it if the party was for a few hours. I'd be a bit annoyed if it was only for a couple of hours.

Where we live if we didn’t drive 25 minutes we wouldn’t go anywhere. DS’ party is 45 mins drive away, no one has an issue.

No idea what the last sentence means.
OP I'm curious where you live. I'm taken aback by the idea that 30 mins on a motorway is a problem

Yeah 25 mins is nothing

Yep, I know a few mums who won't drive on a motorway.

I would but we are fairly rural so everything for parties is a good 15min drive and we always offer few lifts if we can.

It’s the parents’ job to get them there. Just send the invites and see who can make it.

I would drive 25 minutes, but I'd be more reluctant to spent £15 per child (£30 for adult taking them?) and an hour on public transport.

I wouldn't book a party that far away, as our area has a large percentage of non driving families, who either wouldn't go or would find it inconvenient. If I lived somewhere rural, and more people drived or could car share with those that are driving, then I might.

Not sure it would work out, but would hiring a minibus or 7 seater taxi work out cheaper then multiple bus/train fares.

I have to drive for 25 minutes to get to the nearest shop, so it wouldn't bother me, especially if it's a one-off for a party.

25 mins isn’t a long drive in London & we used to go all over the shop for bday parties. That’s what rotas are for!

Yes.

We live in a big city but the party venues are usually on the outskirts so about 30min drive. It’s really normal here. Parents usually send a text in the group chat if they can’t bring their kid for some reason and if another parent would be able to take them instead. That’s also really normal within our child’s friendship group. Never occurred to me to offer money to another mum who is taking my child along with hers though- and I wouldn’t expect any money either if I were taking hers.

Apologies if I'm duplicating, but I'd look into what a group ticket on public transport might cost, or at any rate a group ticket on the train - parents might be happy to drop and collect from the station, and the travel time becomes part of the party outing. Group train discounts are often substantial

Then you make your own way there in public transport and ask other parents to drop off and pick up, meeting you there. They'll all arrange lift shares. Driving 25 mins even on a motorway is a perfectly normal thing to do.

I was about the comment about the motorway too. A motorway is easier to deal with the windy country roads. I really dislike those where you end you having to drive backwards for a minute or two to let another car pass. If it’s on a cliff, I get really scared going backwards. Luckily I have only got stuck like this on holiday. No where near me has roads along cliff edges.