To not enjoy kids birthday parties

[Chachabingz]

Anyone else really not enjoy other children’s birthday parties? My DC are still at the age where the parents are expected to stay.
DH and I take it in turns.
Do most parents felt the same?
DC1 is 4 and we have managed to get out of having anything but family parties so far but when she goes to school in Sept I fully expect to start hosting the dreaded parties. We will get an entertainer/ bouncy castle though.
DC2 is 2 so we are a couple of years off parent free parties!

Oh gods no. I drop and run these days because thankfully my kids are older bt used to send my husband when they were little.

They get later and longer as the DC get older Chacha, although by then they're drop and run. DD 10 still likes 11am activities followed by lunch, she likes to relax in the evenings!

Your child has fun
You get to watch your child have fun
You meet other parents of children your child spends time with for a chat
Only costs a £5-£10 pressie for entertainment with their friends, snack and cake

I found primary school parties a good way to start to break the ice and connect with parents ds would later meet when playing with their children or eventually sleepovers in later primary years.

Never enjoyed them but they were useful.

My kids are too badly-behaved to drop and run .

"I always really dread them and resent them as an intrusion into valuable family time."

Do your children value "family time" as much as you? Would they prefer to have "family time" over a party? This seems to be more about you than your child.

LoniceraJaponica, please read the rest of my post. I said I actually enjoy them when I get there. And of course it's about the kids - that's why I take them to the parties.

I don’t mind them, I got lucky and a lot of the kids mums in my sons class are my kinda people so we can have a laugh (at a recent party one of the posh uptight mums kids kissed one of my friends dds bum, we were killing ourselves laughing at not only what just happened, but the look of horror on his mums face ). I have plenty of other friends, Work, School, uni, hobbies as well as the School mums. I don’t think that’s sad!

I also think it depends how much you value “family time” at the weekend.

I am yet to find this amazing family time which lasts all weekend. I often find weekends long, DH is frequently working and family time degenerates very quickly into bored kids fighting with each other. As WeAllhaveWings says, at £5-10 for two hours entertainment and food they are an absolute bargain.

That’s exactly it @TheMythicalChicken there does seem to be a bit of competitiveness about who can organise the best party. I think that was also the case when I was younger, although maybe the parties where the most money is spent is actually just to take the pressure off the parents. I have a summer bday so it was mostly in the garden with a bouncy castle and a boozy bbq.
I think I’m developing a phobia towards softplay. DS is old enough to run off and play but DD is too little. I literally hate the places and one of them always seem to get a cold a couple of days later which then passes round the family. DH does most of those parties TF!

Well, I work 3 jobs to make ends meet and only have a few hours at the weekend to spend with the kids 'as a family'. That said, we still enjoy going to other kids' birthday parties.

I like to watch my child interact with his peers. He's a sociable boy so it's nice to see. Makes up for the tantrums! However the elder child was far less confident and sociable and had to be coaxed to join in, which wasn't so fun. Also I like the parents, don't know many of them well but always a chance to make a new friend.

I didn't really mind them too much when DS was small and I had to stay. When DS was in reception all parties were whole class parties, so I could guarantee my school mum friends would be there to chat to, so I actually quite enjoyed having a chat over tea/coffee while DS was entertained. I never quite understood when both parents came along though and made it a family outing. DS's class has a mix of mums and dads dropping off/picking up, so we all know one another, but I wouldn't willingly go along if DP could go or vice versa! It only needs one of us!

By Year 1 and Year 2, parties had a smaller number of invitees but at venues much further away (laser or trampoline parties seem to be the parties of choice) so it's not worth driving all the way home. Luckily by that age DS could be dropped off so I could do some shopping or grab a coffee somewhere.

The thing I find stressful is hosting the party! DS has had one and I don't think I want to do another for a few years!

Hate them with a passion

So, what do you do when your DC gets a party inviatation lemons? Do you decline, or drop and run?

I like lots of the parents, and do see it as a social occasion, but very much depending on the host. I’m sorry, but spending x3 hrs on a beautiful sunny Sunday stuck in a church hall with screeching kids - I expect food and drinks! And music! Any of the posh and rich mums (yes, I am absolutely sure) that don’t put on a spread go wayyyy down in my estimations, and I do judge them for it. If someone is skint then I have no issue with there being very little food and drink, of course. What I also don’t get is the mums in my son’s class who only take their kids to a party if they themselves are friends with the mum?? It’s ultimately for the kids to socialise and have a wild time with their friends, so however crappy the parties are is sort of by the by. My husband and I take turns and will angle for better hosts’ parties and try and wriggle out of the worst. He is doing a good one this coming Saturday and I have a crappy one on Sunday, I had a good one before half term and and awful one a few weeks back with ZERO food and drink - just fizzy water for two and a half hours on my precious Sunday! My kids’ parties I always allow siblings if it’s unrestricted by numbers like a church hall or adventure playground, and I always supply plenty of food and drink and booze... I don’t expect people to give up their afternoons to be miserable at something I’ve organised. I don’t get how dense some of the parents are on the subject, they socialise enough and do nice things, surely they know what constitutes a good party?

reek re the “family outing” aspect of it, sometimes it can look a bit weird I suppose, but if siblings are invited and it’s a nice family then we might all go. Sometimes my husband and I are like ships passing in the night, so depending on the nature of the party we might be able to just sit down and actually chat, while our kids run around and have fun. It might be the most we’ve seen each other all week, and/or we might go on somewhere else in the same direction with the kids once the party’s over.