Annoyed at DD's friends birthday party on Christmas Eve

[ShabbaRAnkzz]

DD has been invited to her friends birthday party tomorrow (Christmas Eve). It's from 12-4 and parents have been asked to attend / stay with the children.
This takes out a block of Christmas Eve when I've got so much other stuff I need to do.
Its one of my daughters clotest friends so I will need to attend.
AIBU to this it's a very inconvenient time?

Personally I think it's inconvenient to have birthday parties in any school holidays, not just Christmas holidays - my dds have birthdays which could fall during school holidays and we always book the party for a weekend before or after the holiday. Families often go on holiday so it makes it less likely that one of their friends can't make it. Our school is very international so more than half of them are away at Christmas. As a family we've already booked theatre tickets for tomorrow (need to book in the summer for best seats) so we wouldn't be able to go to a party.

I'd hazard a guess that yes, you are the only one

I would have taken my kids to a Christmas eve party at that time for 2 hours but not 4 hours 12 -4pm where I am expected to stay.

Personally I think it's inconvenient to have birthday parties in any school holidays

I think it's 50/50
Some people will be away, but many others will be delighted to break the routine with a party.

Weekends are standard, but they are not convenient at all, it usually means having to cancel a club or other.

When I'm cooking Christmas dinner I spend Christmas Eve making the veggie option, stuffing and sauces. This year I'm working, as many parents are. That party would go down like a lead balloon with me.

It's ridiculous to have to stay with a child that age, and for so long. I'd drop and leave.

I don't blame them for having the party on her actual birthday, which must always be overshadowed by Christmas. They're clearly trying to make it special.

You've said she can go now though so you are going to have to suck it up. I imagine there will be a number of children not going.

I'd drop and leave.

you can't do that if they asked you to stay. None of the parties here are drop-off at that age. People don't get many more invitations if they rudely dump their kids and run. It's a party, not free childcare!

You can decline the invitation if it's not convenient.

I would rather have it on the Xmas eve than the weekend before.

Everyone has everything done by Xmas eve but are often busy the weekend before and would be much more inconvenient.

Having a party on Xmas eve sounds really fun and it’s a great way for them to tire themselves out and have an early night.

Such a difficult time for kids when their birthday falls on Xmas eve. Its great that parents are trying to protect her birthday. Peel the potatoes amd wrap your presents and do you Xmas eve stuff before the oarty starts, or after it finishes. Allow the kids to enjoy their birthday and it not have to be spoiled because everyone is too busy or cba to enjoy it because it's "everyone's" Xmas.
Its your dds friend so do it for your dd.

What is more important you can't give a few hours to this, having know about it for ..quite possibly a long time.

Completely agree. All these people suggesting it absolutely has to be on the child's actual birthday are being a bit weird I think. My kids all have a family day on their mid-week birthday (cake and presents) and then a party with friends on the weekend.

Well that's nuts! No parent ever stayed at any of my three childrens' birthday parties from the age of 5 onwards, and I never stayed with my children either at that age. Wouldn't have wanted all those parents clogging the place up! 4 hours is a bit OTT too!

The OP doesn't want "free childcare"! She wants to have Christmas Eve to herself. She has already accepted the invitation because the children are close friends. I would have agreed to her DD attending but declined for myself.

I think it could be very small party.

what are people like last weekend would have been perfect. Everyone has been completely mental this Christmas it's sooo busy.

It's busy every Christmas. I don't see any difference in this one.

A lot of people would have been busy the last weekend before Christmas.

We enjoy Christmas even though we are firmly atheist and don't believe Jesus existed let alone was "born" 25 Dec.; it's a twist on even more ancient fairy tales.

No way would we be altering family traditions to attend a four-hour birthday party for a kid who could have had their party last week.

Hello. I think this is quite straight forward. Yes if you can make it, no if you can’t. Up to the parents when they decide to hold a party for their child. Don’t think it really needs to be made more complicated than that.

Christmastime babies always draw the short straw, never get to celebrate properly, never get a birthday all about them. They are of course well within their rights to celebrate their little girl's birthday on her birthday. No one can force you to attend of course. If it was your little girl and it meant the world for her to celebrate on her actual birthday, then you would do it too.

It's cheeky. Don't go.

Billions of people have survived and thrived without birthday parties. Parents can find some other way to make the child feel seen.

I wouldn't go. It could have been at the weekend which is what happens to most parties. Christmas eve is just too busy here.

Training children that it should "mean the world" to them to have umpteen others fete them is just absurd. Whatever happened to cake and presents with mum, dad and siblings?

They are looking at a lifetime of disappointment if they expect to be feted year in, year out for ordinary milestones.

Being the mother of a son who is 18 on Boxing day I csn sympathise, this is why we never really had birthday parties firchim ax no one wants ti come Xmas ironically one of his best friends is 18 today.

What a killjoy!

Nobody requires a birthday party but children like to be the same as their friends.

That's not how it is.

My birthday is at Christmas. Do you know how difficult it is to put on a primary school aged child's birthday party on a weekend in December and not clash with nativity/school fayre/carols/church events/extra curricular Xmas parties and a million other things? One year only 2 other kids turned up to my party as it clashed with a Xmas party of a Sunday school I didn't go to (so my DM didn't know it clashed) but a load of my classmates did. I still remember how I felt having invited the whole class and only 2 kids came.

A kid with a Xmas eve birthday has already got a short straw, YABVU.

I would have declined the invitation. I have things I'm committed to on Christmas Eve. I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one.

Mind you, if my child was 6, or 7, I also think I would decline a demand for me to attend the party with my child even if it had been on another day, especially so, taking into account it is going to last 4 hours