To not bother with a birthday party for DS' 4th Birthday?

[ziggiestardust]

The timelines involved in this are long, but bear with me because there is a reason for that.

We are moving at Easter to Surrey. Totally new area for us; we currently live in Cornwall and are moving for work reasons. DS will turn 4 next autumn, and I just think in 6 months there is no way we will know enough people to have a proper party. I've seen that many threads where people haven't bothered RSVPing or even RSVP'd and not turned up... This will be a totally new area and we won't know anyone. It isn't like here where DS has been mixing with his little mates since birth.

I'm thinking about just buying tickets for DisneyLand Paris instead, and for budgeting reasons and getting work time off, I'd have to book up around Easter. Hence why I'd need a way ahead/decision sooner rather than later.

AIBU? Or, given the amount of party no shows I've seen on MN, would it just be easier to take DS to DisneyLand Paris instead until we've managed to get a new circle of friends?

You will surely meet people at toddler / pre-school?
You don't need a big party, but maybe a small one will help build friendships?
For DD2s 4th birthday we just had 3 little friends round for a few games and a party tea.

Or go to DisneyLand. It doesn't matter much either way.

Parties are a great way to meet people in your new area. Your ds will presumably be going to preschool or nursery, and by having a party early in the year he'll get return invites too

And you are thinking about this now because .... ?

Parties can be a great way of meeting other children, helping a child fit into a new area. Having said that, I didn;t have any parties for my kids until they were in year 1 and had made their own friends. Never been a fan of "family parties" but each to their own. Do whatever feels right to you. Of course, if DC wants one, their wishes should be CONSIDERED, not necessarily followed.

I will be working ft, so won't have much opportunity for toddler/baby groups, and even now with nursery it's taken me several months to know even one or two of the mothers, because everyone drops off and collects at different times you know?

I think going because he might not have made any friends is putting the cart before the horse a bit. If you want to go then go but don't worry about that side of things. I emigrated and my dds made lots of friends almost immediately. At play groups, swimming lessons and the like.

Because we are going to have to book up soon exit, as I mentioned in my OP. DH has recently set up a business, and we will shortly be moving house, so our money needs to be budgeted to ensure we can do what we want to do

What's wrong with a cake and a small family gathering? Disney land for 4th birthday, ridiculous!

Because we dont have any family bella

And I don't think it's so ridiculous; you can get the Eurostar and an overnight stay at that time of the year relatively cheaply now.

We don't do birthday parties - they aren't compulsory.
Not throwing them doesn't make you a bad parent.

I was massively pregnant with ds2 when ds1 turned 4, and simply couldn't face a party. Also, I had been childminding for ages, so having a house full of friends was not a big treat for ds because he was so used to it.

We took him on a train to an aquarium in the nearest big city. He loved it.

The problem with inviting people you don't know all that well to a party is that they don't always all turn up. I would go with a treat day out instead. Make it really special. Think Disneyland might be a bit over the top, but if you can afford it and you know he would love it then why not?