to serve dinner at 5pm anyway?

[Kanga59]

I have invited my friend and her two children over for dinner today. said to come at 4pm and ill do us dinner.it's almost 4:55 now and they are not here!

I text her at 4:35 saying "just checking you guys are still coming over?" and no reply. grr

I was hoping to serve up at 5pm isH because my youngest is tired and needs an early night. I can drag dinner out a bit (fish pie, veg) but AIBU to just serve up to suit myself? bloody rude surely that she hasn't phoned?

I hope she's ok and hasn't been run over on their way here!

It's just the way you say you're not impressed and have noted it.

I'd be really flattered that the kids enjoyed the food enough to ask for more.

5 isn't at all early for kids tea if you still have small ones and are at home. That said I wouldn't expect an 8 year old to have had snacks, so being hungry wouldn't be a surprise.

5pm is very early for dinner-she probably thought you said to come over anytime after 4pm. Most people don't eat dinner until 6.30-7pm. And I would be happy the 8yo obviously liked your cooking!

Was she expecting it to be at 5? That's really early and you would probably catch a lot of people off guard!

I would find your friend rude too. Can't stand it when people ignore texts like that - it's helpful to have answers so you can plan.

I don't think those kids had eaten all afternoon the way they wolfed it down.

She maybe hadn't. If I was going some place where I knew the meal was going to be served far earlier than I would otherwise eat, I would probably forego lunch. Otherwise I'd be so stuffed I wouldn't be able to eat.

Maybe the mother had the children skip lunch to accommodate the early tea time?

We eat between 5-5.30pm here. Baths at 6pm and bed at 7pm.
If people don't eat till 6.30 what time do the dc's go to bed?
I get 5pm is early for an adults only dinner, but not when there are young children

I don't think it was totally out of the realms of possibility to be eating before 6pm. We both have a 5yo too and I have a younger child too. Neither of us work so the comments about not getting in from work or CM until X o clock aren't really relevant.

Noted about the 8yo needing more food and enjoying it. Will cook more "extra" next time. There was no dinner for hubs this evening owing to it all going. He was happy with that - he is now tucking into a takeaway.

I think you've had some pretty harsh responses. 5pm tea is fine for primary and younger. You wanted her and dc to join in with your family meal, it wasn't a dinner party invitation!

Rhythmsticks, I agree that most people don't eat until 6:30-7. That is my preference too. However, young children who need bath time, stories, milk..... trump that. It was a "come over for a play and I'll do us some dinner" invitation. Not a dinner party.

We eat at 5. I'd be irritated too OP. Even if the friend does normally eat at a later time, OP had made it clear what time to be there and the friend was still an hour late - pretty shitty.

It's not unusual to eat at 5 but it's not unusual to eat after 6 either.

It is a bit rude to be late and ignore a text but I tend to rink with friends and family there's more flexibility I.e between 5 and 6.

She may have been rushing around to get there hence not replying.

We eat at 5 too. We all have various commitments which often mean we're back out the house by 5.45pm. I will not wait until after brownies at 8pm for my tea.

My under 5 year olds eat around 5pm.

No apology though
How rude, I wouldn't bother inviting her again.

My two are fed by 4.30 at the latest. I wouldn't be waiting

My two don't eat lunch till about 3:30!

We eat dinner before 5 during the week. My kids are starving come 4 so generally we serve up about 4.45 which is when DH comes home. So i don't think 5 is early when you have young kids. That would annoy me if you said come at 4 and then she didn't. But i would take it as a compliment that the 8 year old ate so much, obviously loved your food. . . .or you gave them tiny portions lol

If people don't eat till 6.30 what time do the dc's go to bed?

During the school hols we eat together around 7:30-8pm and the kids go to bed between 9:30-10pm. No baths of an evening as they wake them up. Breakfast tends to be at about 10:30am, lunch around 2-3:30pm.

During the school term bedtime shifts forward by about 45 mins.

They're 7 and 5.

My 5 year old goes to bed at 9pm. School days wakes 8am, holidays later to bed mad later lie in. We all eat dinner together around 7.30pm on a normal day

4pm I woudnt be expecting to be at a house ready to eat. Mine are walking home from school then eating an apple, expecting dinner to be at least 3hrs away

Gosh you sound like my SIL. And that's not a compliment!

You do need to be more explicit. My kids don't eat before 6:30 when they are toddler, 7 or 7:30pm when they are older. Bedtime 1 hour later (bath is before diner whilst it's cooking). In the summer, we're not even back before 6 at the earliest!
I know some people eat earlier, but it wouldn't have occurred to me than someone would serve diner at 5. Even in hospital diner was served later.

DD was never an early to bed child even at infant school age.

I can't eat at 5 - I am nowhere near hungry at that time, and I am not doing two meals.

I think it sounds like you just got your wires crossed! I wouldn't expect to have dinner served at 5pm but if you had told me in advance I would get there in time! ( and mine always had a bath and stories etc but were never in bed before 9pm)

Another household where the kiddos are fed at 5, half hour of play then into bath at 6 and in bed by 7.

Adult dinner happens at our house at any time between 7 and 8, depending on how easily bedtime for the littlies goes