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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Birthday parties in the park

92 replies

Happymiraclemorning · 16/03/2022 10:29

I met up with my friend the weekend and we took our kids to a small local park.
There was a kids birthday party there. I couldn’t help feeling a bit pissed off.

It’s a small park- 2 picnic tables that they had covered both with their party table cloths.
They’d put the swings over the bars so
They couldn’t be used so they could hang a couple of piñatas.

It was only us and this party that has about 8 kids and I felt like we had interrupted a private event!

I pulled one of the swings down as my daughter wanted to use it and the dad came running over and said the swings were out of use because they were using the bars for their piñata

They had tied balloons to the gates and the slide- my friends daughter started playing with a loose balloon and the grandma of this party came over saying ‘no that’s not for you that’s for the party’

We we were hoping to use the table for our picnic but obviously that was out of the question as it was not a party table- we left as we felt so uncomfortable.

AIBU to have felt pissed off?
It’s a public play park that they decided to take over!

Is having birthday parties in a public play park the thing nowadays?

OP posts:

HappyDays40 · 16/03/2022 11:29

I'm not sure you can say anything about tables but hanging a pinniata from the swings and whining when a child plays with a balloon s trie cheeky fuckery.

WimpoleHat · 16/03/2022 11:32

Having the party in the park is fair enough if you’re just using public space and not stopping the public using the space, if you see what I mean? So - a picnic blanket with party food etc? Great. Hogging all the tables for hours? Anti social, but not absolutely egregious. Putting the play equipment out of use? Totally unacceptable.

TheKeatingFive · 16/03/2022 11:33

Other than the swing issue, YABU.

This

Parties in the park have been huge here (ROI) since covid kicked off. Of course people have a right to use public space in this way.

thevassal · 16/03/2022 11:37

Good for you for using the swing anyway! Parties in the park are fine, hogging any of the equipment when not using it at that actual time is not fine. Surely they could have hung the pinata from a tree or something!
Hope they cleared all the rubbish up too.

Actually seeing as the park is publicly open to everyone what would they have done if they'd got there and there had already been loads of people there, or teenagers smoking or whatever! Seems a bit of a risk for them!

BeforeGodAndAllTheFish · 16/03/2022 11:37

This is really common on in the States. Birthday party held at the playpark is totally normal. It doesnt seem to be a big thing here but it does happen.

Usually, a party in the park is fine. But these particular people sound really selfish. They cannot take over play equipment and they shouldn't have made other people feel uncomfortable using a public park.

bigbluebus · 16/03/2022 11:48

I'm so pleased that someone made use of a free facility to hold a birthday party for their child when they possibly couldn't afford to hire a hall or pay the ridiculous prices that some people pay for parties. We may well see more of this as the cost of living rises.
However, it is a public facility and they cannot stop you from using the play equipment and telling a child off for playing with a balloon was just daft. If they wanted to hang the piñata they should have just done it immediately before using it and then taken it down - not blocked the use of the swings whilst they ate their picnic.

QueenOfDuisburg · 16/03/2022 11:58

I've seen lots of lovely parties in parks - basically big group picnics and the kids playing with their friends. They will usually take over a few picnic tables for the afternoon (which is fine IMO - they are often occupied anyway).

Not bothered about balloons being there but expecting other small children not to touch them is ridiculous.

The swing thing... ridiculous, and I would have asked them to move their pinata and used it regardless.

CaptainThe95thRifles · 16/03/2022 12:01

Were they actually using both the tables or had they just commandeered them with their stuff? I think it's pretty twatty to take over both tables if they weren't actually using them at the time - it's a bit different to two families actually using them, even if the result is the same. Their behaviour with the swings was outrageous anyway.

sqirrelfriends · 16/03/2022 12:03

I'm imagining this happening in our local park and I would be pissed off too. Setting up a picnic is fine but the playground equipment belongs to the council, they can't decide they own it because they're having a party.

VivX · 16/03/2022 12:05

We have been to one or two "parties in the park" but they are not my preference due to lack of facilities like toilets and places to wash hands (or they are sometimes a bit of a distance away)

I don't think they are cheeky in general as long as everyone is considerate that they're in a public space.

Hooking the swings up and effectively putting them out of use is ridiculous and I am glad you just went ahead unhooked one to use anyway.

Malibuismysecrethome · 16/03/2022 12:07

Cheeky f*cker types who don’t want to pay for a venue. Not so bad if it was in the grass but to actually take over a play park.

It seems to be a thing though as there is a (council) playing field with a play park near me where the field is rented out to a private school during the day and no one can use the play park.
Complete cheeky fuckery let the private school buy a playing field. It’s obscene that it’s only for use by local children during the weekend.

SarahWoodruff · 16/03/2022 12:07

@sqirrelfriends

Agreed! Also piñatas are incredibly tacky unless you're actually Mexican, an observation I would have felt compelled to make.

Winday · 16/03/2022 12:11

Party in the park - fine.
Comandeering the play equipment - not fine.

Zilla1 · 16/03/2022 12:13

Not sure about not wanting to pay for the venue, it might have been all they can afford so would give them the benefit of the doubt or perhaps they needed an open air space for someone CEV. What would be unacceptable to me would be monopolising the play equipment, especially before it was required.

TheKeatingFive · 16/03/2022 12:16

Cheeky fcker types who don’t want to pay for a venue.*

I don't see any particular reason why people should have to pay for a venue for a party when public outdoor space is available.

BoredZelda · 16/03/2022 12:19

I pulled one of the swings down as my daughter wanted to use it and the dad came running over and said the swings were out of use because they were using the bars for their piñata

You got the swings down but couldn't put it back up? Fine if you chose not to but why pretend you couldn't?

The child was playing with something that didn't belong to them. Why was that ok?

YABU, people can use the park as they want to. You got to use the swings, you had the picnic you brought with you. They were having a party. Not sure why you'd be bothered about that.

tcjotm · 16/03/2022 12:19

When I was a kid in the 80’s everyone had birthday parties in the park. It was fab, after the cake was cut the mums would hand out slices on paper napkins to anyone who was there, so as a random kid playing in the park it was bonus cake for us, and saved them having to take a half eaten cake home (hot climate, outdoor leftovers not great).

Hogging the play equipment though is not on. Picnic table, sure, first in first served but the play equipment is for everyone to share.

nearlyspringyay · 16/03/2022 12:21

Party in the park - fine.

Being an entitled twat commandeering equipment - not fine.

Our local park has bbq pits and tables that you can hire, they're really popular for parties.

Also agree with the comment about it being common in America. My kids have had two parties at their granddads but again you book an area.

PutinIsAWarCriminal · 16/03/2022 12:22

Parties in parks are brilliant ideas, but hijacking a whole play area is not. My dc went to a brilliant park party. The mum, with permission, set up little pop up gazebo to use as the base and then set up games and treasure hunts around the field and gardens. There is a McDonald's just down the park's jetty, so the dad popped down there for Happy Meals for the kids. It was genius.

londonrach · 16/03/2022 12:23

Yabu re party in the park. However this group were CF. Yanbu re the swing of the table. I had DD party in park but we had a picnic under the trees. No way would reserve the swings.

AHungryCaterpillar · 16/03/2022 12:23

Seems to be a thing recently. I’ve noticed this a few times now cake, singing happy birthday..the lot, I don’t mind so much but I don’t think it’s good in a small park maybe a bigger one.

BeforeGodAndAllTheFish · 16/03/2022 12:24

@BoredZelda

I could pull a swing down by grabbing the hanging down chain or getting my fingertips onto the swing seat to push/pull it down, but I wouldnt be able to get it back over the bar because I wouldnt be able to reach.

You really dont need to be very clever to work that out, so I think you're just being rude because it's an anonymous forum so you can get away with being rude and belittling someone. But you've just made yourself look stupid.

Knittedfairies · 16/03/2022 12:25

I wonder what would have happened if you had arrived at a picnic table before they did; would they have asked you to move d'you think?

MindfulMarch · 16/03/2022 12:26

@Bluepolkadots42

We are planning a party in park soon for DC however it'll be more like a giant picnic with sports day style games on the grass- there will be no monopolising of the playground part at all. I can't believe that dad had cheek to put swings out of use for the pinata!! My DC wants a pinata and we will be tying to end of a long broom handle and DH will get the dangerous job of holding it whilst the kids go wild 😜 I wouldn't even want to tie it to a tree branch tbh for fear of damaging the tree which is public property

As long as it's a tree, (not a sapling!), a loose swinging piñata won't damage the tree.

I hope you have a great party!!

Aprilx · 16/03/2022 12:28

I generally think it is fine. Maybe they couldn’t afford to hire a venue and whether it is a party or just a group of people doesn’t make a difference, parks sometimes are busy. Putting the swings out of action is of course the bit that is not fine and I would not have put up with that. No idea what a piñata is, I am going to have to look that up.

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