Has anyone had to cancel a child’s birthday party at short notice ?

[Sadpartymum]

Just wondering if anyone has been in the same boat and had to cancel their child’s birthday party at short notice due to illness ?

It’s DD’s birthday party on Saturday - I’ve bought all the food, made her cake (it’s in the freezer), done all the party bags and spent a small fortune on all the decorations, entertainment etc

Last night she came down with Croup and has been up all night. She’s had the steroid medicine but still quite wheezy and exhausted.

I’ve not experienced Croup before but I’m guessing it’s going to take more than a few days for her to get over it so we will probably have to cancel. I’m so disappointed, it’s the first party we’ve done and I was so excited for DD to be the birthday girl 😭

Is it at home? If so, just postpone it and see if you can move the entertainment to another date. You may not get a full cancellation fee if you move the booking due to illness. Same if you’ve organised a venue - just see if you can move the booking.

It’s really disappointing but not the end of the world. Everyone with young kids will understand, and your DD will have a much better time at her party if she’s feeling well. Kids don’t care whether the party is on the day itself. You can do something quiet at home with her to celebrate on her actual birthday.

Steroids can be almost like magic for croup so you may get away with it yet.

It's worth ringing the venue/suppliers and asking about moving it. They may be fine to do so. Mention that it is due to illness - everyone knows kids get ill and sometimes people can be very accommodating. Best of luck, hopefully you can either go ahead or postpone it slightly.

It’s at a venue - even if we get some of our money back I don’t think we’ll be able to afford to reschedule. I’m so disappointed

I’m really hoping so - she seems a bit better but I guess the test will be night time. I’m also not sure when she will stop being infectious

Just need to have a cut off point to make a decision but it’s so much money wasted now I don’t think we can reschedule

No harm in asking if they can move it for free, or almost free though - you've got nothing to lose. You should be able to keep some of the food and if you have to do simpler, cheaper food next weekend that's not the end of the world. The cake will be fine in the freezer. Check packets of anything like mini sausages, sometimes they are freezable. If not, use up what you can (cocktail sausages in tomato sauce on pasta?) and put what you're saving on next week's groceries towards replenishing the party food. It doesn't have to be identical, you can serve carrot sticks rather than grapes.