What is a good time of day for a 3 year old birthday party?

[hottchocolate]

If options are 10 or 1 or 2 what would you go for?

Last year a lot of the 2 year old parties we went to were in the morning (as was our DC party) and that made sense because of nap times but now they are 3 is that still the best time or is it a pain to get out somewhere by 10 am? For most people it would be at least a half hour drive.

I think 10 is good as people can then do what they want with the rest of their day but also 2 pm means we can have a leisurely morning, open and play with gifts, and then go to the party. I know some people are not morning people but 10 is not so early when you have a toddler!

If a party is at 2pm, you have hours to do something before it.

We didn't, otherwise we would have done and I wouldn't have quietly seethed 😬

Do you mean you didn’t have hours before because you were asleep or something or that you just didn’t end up doing something? Sorry, just being nosy. 😂

10am. No one wants a bunch of 3 YO who've been waiting for a party all day!!

I went to a 3YOs party that started at 9am, it was awesome as far as I was concerned. So many parents were super happy as young kids often wake early, and it's horrible keeping them going all day when they're excited for something.

No just literally that it's slap bang in the middle of the day so hard to work around if we wanted to do stuff together or just me and the kids or just me.

No big deal. It never stopped the DC going to parties, I just disliked it very much 🤣

10 is about the earliest I'd say yes to a party, but definitely preferable to 2

I’d prefer 2pm in this scenario, if it’s going to be 30 mins drive for people to get there it would be even longer by public transport so chances are some people might not be able to get there for 10am on a Sunday.

10am. Much better when they are little. Then afternoons when they are year 2 onwards.

I have a 3 yo and absolutely 10. I'd like to be able to get on with my day/weekend.

DS went to a party that STARTED at 4 pm couple of weeks ago. Nightmare! All day asking 'muuuuuummy is it party time yet?!' Bed time routine not long after being back, too hyper etc.

Another vote for 10am here. I've just held a party for my 3 year old DD and we started at 9am. She still naps 1-3, so afternoons don't suit us, and as others have said, entertaining a child all morning when they know they have a party to go to is a ballache. We had 100% attendance so it clearly didn't cause too many issues being early in the day

2pm here. My 4 year old doesn't get out of bed very early at the weekend it would be a rush to be out the house by 9.30

10am here, no waiting, no hyper child waiting to go. Hopefully DC is then tired in the afternoon as a bonus.

I'd always go for an afternoon if it's a weekend. Saturday has always been our lie in day and it was (still is!) awful having to drag the kids out of bed to drive somewhere for a 10 o'clock start. That's breakfast time on a weekend if you're not morning people!

I always preferred 10 when mine were small. They were up early anyway so we could just crack on with the party then the rest of the day was free to relax.

10am definitely, all done by 12 and you can get on with your day. Afternoon ones just feel like you're constantly clock watching. If you have the party at 2 they get fed at 3.30pm so you've still got to give them dinner when you get home!

2pm is a pain for any of your child's friends who still nap, especially if it is 30 mins away. You run the risk of having some super grumpy guests who either skipped their nap or had to be woken up early.
Also, if guests can take advantage of being there for longer than the party slot, I think it's better that they stay after the party than arrive before you and, by the time the party starts, have got a bit bored and want to go home.

10am is perfect for a preschooler party. Otherwise there's always a few that are too worked up by the time the party comes around and it ends in tears.

@Blondeshavemorefun a lot of toddlers have a meal at 3:30-4:30 at nursery though i think

Thanks @Flittingaboutagain I think you may be right

@vincettenoir 3 pm isn't an option at the venue. If we could pic any time I'd probably go for 11 myself

10am party, 11.30 lunch, 12.00 home time for nap.

Food is at meal time and nap is not too late that it interferes with bed time

But eat again at home

Know it annoys my
Friends who use nursery they eat so early as eat again later

It seems like 10 am is preferred slightly.

I agree earlier than that would be too early as it is over half an hour for us and will be for some others.

@DrCoconut For a party at 10 I would need to leave 9-9:15 so we would be up and getting dressed and having breakfast early. There wouldn't be any time for my birthday child to open gifts or anything so it's more about guests. For someone else party I think we'd do either. We have an invitation for one at 12 and that's fine.

@Blondeshavemorefun Yes I do think it's too early as well but it's in keeping with their routine as most of the kids are from the same nursery! I suppose they do it as some kids are picked up at 4:30 or earlier. We pick up around 6

10am

10am if on a Saturday, but not on a Sunday.

I'd opt for 10am. We have a 2 & 4yo, and 2pm start time is her nap time. If she skips it she's utterly miserable for the rest of the day.

If you could nudge the venue for an 11am start time then that would work best for us (not that we have an invitation 🤣)