To expect people to drive for half an hour to DS's birthday party?

[ImagineJL]

I'm wondering what people think of this.

I live in a small village, fairly remote, so people here generally expect to travel for at least half an hour if they're going somewhere, unless it's to a supermarket or the kind of stuff in the small nearby town (library etc).

DS is nearly 8, and now his contemporaries have outgrown the village hall pass-the-parcel parties, most parties involve a drive somewhere, 30-40 minutes away. Usually parents offer lifts in cars of extended family, although not always.

DS wants party at a laser quest place half hour away. I don't have family with cars to help out. Would it be unreasonable to expect people to make their own way there? Everyone knows everyone else here so car sharing is an option, it just wouldn't be laid on by me for everyone.

Would you consider it a huge imposition to be invited to a party half an hour away without a lift included in the invite?

Not in this house, I do enough ferrying around during the week, weekends are family time or ds is at the park.

The thing is if you send out invitations in plenty of time it gives people a chance to say yes or no either way.

I didn't know it was a MN Phrase btw, I've always said it

You sound in a very similar geographical situation to me. I'd have no issues with this nor would anyone I know!

Its normal here - parents either stay (at Laserquest the host normally runs a coffee tab), go and do some shopping, or work out lifts with each other

YANBU. It does bug me at times (as share a car) but I can always decline or ask someone for a lift if needed. I try to do mine locally as some people don't have cars but sometimes you have to go a bit further.

When DD went to a birthday party some distance away, everyone met in a local place first so cars could be shared and they could travel in a convoy if anybody was unsure of the way.

In this situation i think it's totally fine and what people will expect if you live rurally.

We've been invited to a prty in a couple of week for a 3 year old, 40 min drive away, but it's just a village hall party and we have plenty of village halls here with a few miles! The mum just particuarly liked this naice village even though she has no local connection. That's BU in my book.

dd1 had a lazer quest for her 14th birthday and they all came it is about 30 minutes away of course parents will take their kids to a party why wouldnt they they can organise their own transport or car share