To refuse to pay for School leaving party without seeing the quotes?

[Sunnymeg]

DS leaves primary in July. Traditionally the leavers have a limousine to a nearby restaurant, a party there and the parents pick them up at the end. I know from other parents that in previous years this came to around £25 and I'm completely happy with that.
All the year 6 mums had a chat, about the leavers, do at the school gates and one of the parents offered to organize it. This is a parent who has had older children leave the primary and knows how it works. She said she would ring around, email everyone to let them know the costs and if everyone was happy she would book the limo and the restaurant.

Well, we have now heard from her, and she has already booked the limo, and also instead of a restaurant, she has booked a party session at a local play centre, as this is what her daughter wants to do and she thought it was a really good idea. She has asked for a £30 deposit and wants another £20 at the beginning of July. It costs children £12 for a day pass at this centre, and £8 for a birthday party so I can't see how her figures add up. I'm skipping over the fact that our DS doesn't really want to go to the play centre. as it is his last chance to do something with his classmates.

Am I being unreasonable to ask to see the quotes, I admit that I'm annoyed that she has booked the play centre off her own bat, is that clouding my judgment over the whole thing?

I'm hearing you rotten!

Forget about the cost for a moment - what do limos stand for? Unecessary showing off. What are we bringing up our children to be like if this is what is deemed aspirational? That is acceptable to show off and exclude people?

cress has it one - children, yes CHILDREN, would only want to ride in a limo if it was instilled into them as cool.

ex·trav·a·gance
[ik-strav-uh-guhns] Show IPA
noun

excessive or unnecessary expenditure or outlay of money.

£25 not extravagant.

Gosh you are a boring bunch of old farts.............

and I cant stop replying you are all [some] so funny with your frowns.

My son is 11, he knows what he thinks is cool on his own............

Mars calling here.....ours just have a leaving assembly and say goodbye. That said, they all go on to the same school, see each other all the time and live a long, long way from limos. Anyone organising something can't just rack up the costs and not expect to be questioned.

Yy, so what if it's an over show of extravagance (usual affordability and inclusion caveats apply).

Leaving primary is a bigger right of passage than some people appreciate, I think.

I give up Comfy!!

Your absolutely right

A Limo has always been known as that very affordable non luxurious transport!!!

comfy your post with the definition has just obliterated your argument!

Note the unnecessay part!

And as for boring, I do hope your son and his mates don't find the excitement of being driven about their home town/village/city in a big car whilst they "chat about football" all too much!

So if someone's got twins in the class..... That's alot to fork out. God what happened to signing shirts and a school disco

I wouldn't call myself a boring old fart Comfy but thanks for that.

Rotten,

Limos are no longer concidered by most people who have cause to use them as a show of extravagance because they are now much cheaper and no longer exclusive to the mega rich. Same as going abroad on an aeroplane.

Nobody sees them drive past and thinks "ohhh I wonder which celeb is in there" anymore because they are now usually full of teenagers or stag/hen parties.

Of course I meant rite - whatever.

What's wrong with 'luxurious' though?

Nobody sees them drive past and thinks "ohhh I wonder which celeb is in there" anymore because they are now usually full of teenagers or stag/hen parties.

Yep. And as such beyond tacky.

It is necessary though to celebrate leaving primary school.

Surely we can agree on that?

MY limo has disco lights............... cany get more tacky than that.....

They will love it.

You're just playing with us now aren't you comfy?!!!

So what if they are tacky,who actually cares about something being tacky unless someone else is trying to force you to be involved with it.

If a bunch of 11 year olds want to do something and there parents are happy to fund it why does anybody else care if someone else thinks its tacky.

I think it's total madness to have this kind of fuss for leaving primary school. And a play centre for a primary school is a bit silly as well. But on the other hand if there weren't people like this Mum nothing probably would get done. So I don't think I'd be too critical since she offered.

Socket
I understand that. But as one of the posters said "they had all year to save the £25 for the Limo!!"

I am sure if people needed to save a year to get to £25 a limo would be seen as extravagant!

No disco lights and a sound system.

I guess these are the same kids who think they are going to win the X factor.

Rainbow

Having a years notice and it taking a year to do, are very different things.

"£25 is not a lot of money they had a year to save up for it."

This what Comfy wrote! I am only quoting!

They're children. At 11, many of them are pre-pubescent children. Why this bloody culture of treating children like adults? Limos are tacky for adults. It's a crass, cheap (well, not literally at £30 per head!), unimaginative and unnecessary way of 'celebrating' them leaving school. At 11.

Sorry, I just can't get my head round this. Why the FECK do 11 yos need to have a phony rite of passage when they leave primary school, ffs?

My DS (then 10) was invited to one of his friend's parties which involved a trip in a limo and a meal out at a restaurant. They were all tremendously excited and impressed by the limo I have to say ! (But I think friends Dad may have been the driver ?) In some ways I think if you're going to go on a limo trip then 10/11 years old is quite a good age for it ! Mind you I enjoyed my first limo trip around London one night - just before I left England for a year to live in Japan - so was much older than DS but still impressed and excited
My DS is in Y6 this year, so just wondering what we could do ? Pool party sounds perfect to me - I know local pool does parties with lots of floats etc. which I'm sure could be fun