Social distancing - 4yr old birthday parties

[TeaGirl3]

Hi there, I have several friends and our children are all turning 4 over the next few months, so the talk about birthday parties has begun. Obviously in non-Covid times this would be great, but the current guidance is still to only meet a max of six people outdoors or two households if indoors. I'm interested to hear other views on how they are / would handle invites for birthday parties with this age group. Clearly the kids are too young to social distance properly and inviting several families together doesn't follow the guidance; several of my friends are saying yes they're going. I'm personally not accepting any invites, but just interested to know what other people think about parties at this young age. Thanks in advance.

Will get slammed for this but adults are allowed to meet in restaurants and bars.. I would let a few of them get together and have fun. It's been just as long for them and they miss it just as much. Providing no one is feeling ill and everyone washes hands

@yoyoyo5678 only two separate household are allowed to meet up in bars and restaurants.

Clearly these parties won't be within the government guidelines, so you'll get a mixed response from those who are still following the guidelines and those who have started ignoring them. Basically it's up to you OP!

Are they at school together in a bubble? If so and they aren’t socially distancing there?

DS is going to an outdoor party today at the park today so 6 households allowed. Given they are in the same classroom 5 days a week they won’t be socially distancing at the park

Another is having 3 of them over for tea. All in the same bubble

If they aren’t (and at 4 they might not be) that is trickier

@Lockdownseperation during such time you will sit next to 20 other households in the same room with no masks on.. most restaurants aren't even socially distancing 🙄

So because some people aren’t following rules or they are not perfect then other people don’t need to?

Obviously by your name you are very pro lockdown so there's no point in me arguing why I think some of the rules are contradicting because you aren't going to agree 😂 OP should consider the risk and assess the numbers in her area but if it were me I would let my 4 year old let their hair down after a confusing and stressful time, seeing as the risk is very tiny to them. You may go on being miserable if you think it's worth it, each to their own

And those restaurants are following the rules as you only have to have tables 1m apart, which is practically right next to eachother

At 4/5 will the parents be around too. All very well saying the children will be mixing at school but the parents shouldn’t be. I also wouldn’t want to be the family that brings COVID into the classroom if they can link it back to the party, which they have done in some school outbreaks.

What type of parties are they? Are they in people’s homes? Indoors or outdoors? Parents staying presumably?

I would decide based on the kind of party it was.

I would probably decline tbh.

What kind of parties are we talking? Inside/outside? Numbers? Playing games? Sitting and eating together?

It's a shit show of different rules for different things. Masks on in shops, but no masks in sports venues (took one of mine to an indoor thing and no one wearing masks, though it was exavtly the same size as a shop environment). Who cares any more. Life cannot stop.

Hi OP,

Just to share what I am doing for my son's 5th birthday.

We are having the party in a hotel venue today. Granted it was pre-booked since February as I knew I was pregnant then and due anytime now, I didn't want any hassle and opted for the convenience of catering, entertainment...etc.

I initially planned to invite 25 to 30 children but due to pandemic, we were only allowed to have 30 pax maximum for indoor celebrations, same as weddings. So one parent per child, we had to limit to about 12 children (had to include entertainers too). So we cherry picked some of his closest friends, all from same nursery bubble (just started reception now).

Social distancing is required for the children too but we all know it is 'we will try our best' kind of scenario. No singing no dancing allowed, so rather than bouncy castles and such, I hired a magician and a mobile zoo. They had to be vetted and approved by the hotel's health and safety team. The entertainers themselves have risk assessment guidelines and I made sure both venue manager and entertainer agree to them. Seats for kids assigned and placed at least 1 metre apart. Parents seated on round tables with maximum of 6 pax per table. Rather than buffet, food is served individually to the tables. Rather than candles to blow, we use sparklers. No singing birthday song, we just play the tunes on speakers. Hotel host rang each guests day before to ensure no one has symptoms. On arrival, temperatures are checked, contact details kept just in case for contact tracing. This is as 'legal' as it gets IMO!

Last week we attended another birthday party, it was in the back garden. For that party, the host limited to 6 household guideline, but had bouncy castle etc, and not really socially distancing the kids. Just good old birthday party fun!

So depends what you want, really. From what I understand, if you plan to host it yourself, then there is the 6 household limit outdoors. If you can get a venue, then you have up to 30 pax limit.

Hope this helps!

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your responses and hearing your points of view. It's an outdoor party with a bouncy castle and lunch, with parents - but if it rains, then I presume everyone will go inside or it'll all be cancelled (NB: I don't know their plans on this). Some of the kids are at the same nursery, but the rest aren't.

Also, each child has a sibling, so I expect they'd all be coming as well.

Honestly - yes I’d have one, outdoors though, eg bouncy castle with roof, gazebo, disco etc. I’d give each child a bag with a picnic lunch in so there’s no dib dabbing into bowls of crisps etc. Parents can socially distance.

We’ve got to keep on living, whilst being sensible. If I’m expected to go on a poorly ventilated tin can train into work then I’m sure a handful of children can have a party.

See this is where I think the Scottish government have it right....children have been allowed to mix & play together for ages.