Son's birthday party

[Charlotte987]

My son's birthday isn't for a few months yet, but he has requested a "bouncy castle party" almost every day since his last birthday. My husband and I have looked into a soft play party, which costs £140 for 15 kids - that includes soft play for and hour, with food after and party bags - very reasonable for what is included and we could work that cost into our budget. My aibu question is this - aibu to only invite a few of the kids from nursery? He has friends who aren't in nursery with him, who I know he'd want to invite and - when he tells me his party plans - he's named a few nursery kids who he wants to invite. I was thinking of just discreetly giving invitations to the parents of those kids he wants to invite. I don't know the right thing to do here, because this will be his first proper party and the two parties he has been to have involved invites to the entire class.

YANBU at all. Of course you don't need to invite the whole class.

I always just invite who me/dc want. Don’t worry what others do, that’s their choice.
I did soft play for last birthday for ds, was great, much less stress (& cleaning up 😀)

You can hire bouncy castles for the back garden if you’ve got the room. They deliver it, inflate it, come back and deflate it and take it away again. So easy.

Yep did a soft play party for DS. £10 per head for everything. Had 15 kids - 10 long term friends (mostly my friend's kids) and 5 being ones he named from nursery. I left the latter until a few weeks before as he's quite fickle! 2 of them he likes but doesn't really play with, however he had been to their parties a few weeks before-hand. When he starts primary next year I will be doing something much smaller, say 3 or 4 close friends as I found it all a bit much (as did he tbh) Or even a family day out somewhere special.

We've had family tea parties for his first 3 birthdays and it's always been so stressful, because we have a pretty small house and it just isn't great for boisterous kids, haha.

Our garden is tiny and all pebbles (don't have a clue why our landlord did that) otherwise that would be a great idea.

I'm a worrier, so these replies have reassured me. I wasn't sure on the protocol for kids parties as this is my eldest child, so the first time we're doing a party like this.

@DrRanjsRightEyebrow I think I may leave it until a few weeks before too, because I have a fickle child too! He told me the other day that he doesn't want his daddy or brother at his party