To have an 8yo's birthday party 6:30-8:30pm?

[Goldfishshoalsnibblingatmytoes]

My dc wants a pool party, and the only time that the local pool can be hired for parties is 6:30-7:30 with food after.

Now I know with my RL friends my children are the latest to go to bed at 9/9:30pm, so it doesn't bother me having a party at this time.

The party will be on a Saturday, so no school or anything to get up for the following day (some may have church).

AIBU to hold a party at this time? Are we going to end up Billy No Mates with no attendees?

The main problem you might have is guests with younger siblings. I would find it hard as my DH works saturdays and I would have to get the younger ones home and to bed.
I'd still go if it was a good friend, but probably not if not close, iyswim?

Folk will tap friends for lifts,maybe.
DD's pool party will be 5-7pm.

It would be too late for my nearly 8yr old DS, even for a Saturday.

It would bu for my DS 7 nearly 8 yo. We usually eat tea at 5:30pm and in bed at 7:30pm, even at weekends.

i wouldnt mind as the parent of an 8 yr old, its a one off and we would find a way to drop off/pick up.

Is there another pool? I forsee a few problems with this time. I would generally expect a child's birthday party to be ending just as yours is planned to start.

I would let my DD (8) go, because she would want to, but I'd know she wouldn't really enjoy it that much because she starts flagging around 8 o'clock. Do you have a private gym nearby which would hire out the kids pool earlier? We've been to a few at our local Fitness First.

Seems late but I suppose it is a Saturday. They might be too tired too enjoy it though. unless you add Redbull to the Fruitshoots

If you know for a fact your DC's friends really go to bed at 9pm or later it's probably NU, but it does sound too late to me. If my eldest (7 but with lots of slightly older friends) proper, close friend had a party at that time I would make the effort for her go as long as it was a Saturday, (but I would work around lots of inconvenient arrangements for a genuinely good friend of one of my kids and a party they truly cared about going to) if it was just somebody in her class she wasn't especially friends with I would turn the invite down- it's inconvenient with getting younger DCs to bed as well as really too late for my eldest, who never sleeps in late and needs to be in bed by 8pm even at weekends, earlier in the week unless there is something properly special/ we are on holiday.

Food after would be problematic -my lot would have gnawed there own arm off by then, I suppose I'd just give them a snack first! Staying up that late would be no problem for my 7 yr olds-Brownies and stuff often mean they're up that late.

It wouldn't be too late to take ds swimming but I wouldn't want him to be having party food at that time of night. Could you do it another day?

Re food.

I don't have to do food - but just thought they would be starving. I could do food before but thought that not a good idea before swimming.

I could provide a snack box, for them all to eat in the car afterwards.

Or any other bright idea.

I've checked 3 other pools in the area, and they all have this time for swimming parties at this time of night. One has 6-7, but isn't as nice a pool, and don't think the half an hour is going to make a huge amount of difference.

I'd be well pissed off if I had brought them and there was no food, because then I would have to feed them afterwards! Plus its not a party if its just swimming, no food.

My 8yr old wouldn't cope with this. She's in bed for 7.30, asleep by 8.

We eat at 5! She couldn't wait that long to eat, so I'd have to feed her beforehand. But I'd have to say no though. Even if she could cope, I have younger DC who would be in bed, so I'd not be able to fetch her.

My 8 year old went out for dinner for her mates 9th recently and got back at 11.30! I wasn't that happy but she had a good time and I didn't need to worry.

So Yanbu

Would have been fine for my dd when she was 8, because we've never done that tea at 6pm and bed at 7pm thing. If we had, she'd never have seen her father in the evenings.

my 8 year old wouldn't do well with this, not the time but the swimming at that time.
Does it have to be a pool party?

YANBU - it's not late for a one off party. I would do food boxes for after, they're easy to do and good in case anyone is so tired they need to go early.

DC1 would be fine with this and if there was someone to drop her off after she could come.

DC2 really needs his sleep and would be beside himself either in tears or massively hyperactive at that time.

Neither of them swim well enough that I'd be happy for them to be at a swimming party unattended. Do you have enough adults going to supervise or do you need parents to stay?

They have younger siblings so it would be tricky unless both parents were free/back from work in time so that one could bring/stay with/bring back one, while someone else stayed with the other three.

I think it's too late, not because my 8 year old goes to bed by this time, she doens't, but we have a busy week and by Sat night, she is curled up on the sofa watching X factor or whatever, she would be overtired after this, also the food is an issue as they would have to eat before the party anyway.

Plus for an 8th birthday, some of them are still 7. My 7 year old would have no hope of staying up past 8pm, she asks to go to bed before then!

Wouldn't be too late for my 7 year old, she stays up till 9 on Saturday nights and still gets up with the larks.

Goldfish you won't be expecting parents to stay will you? Are lifeguards included in the pool hire price? It really wouldn't be an option for most with younger children if you expect parents to stay/ aren't able to provide lifeguards so many will feel they need to even if you don't ask them to...

At the pools I know that offer pool parties for children, you can't book the pool without the lifeguards.

but they also require parents to be in the pool with children that are not confident swimmers.