4th birthday party for DS dilemma

[MintheMiddle]

Hi,

I get this is a very trivial and silly matter at this moment but I'm at a loss on what to do for my DS 4th birthday in August.

He's at nursery and has become friendly with 5 of the kids in his class. He also has 5 cousins and 2 friends outside of nursery.
Ages range from 18 months and 8 years old so 12 children to invite.

Trouble is I cannot decide what to do in terms of his party being in the middle of the summer holidays. Everywhere we've looked will be heaving and I fear that nobody will show apart from cousins due to the summer holidays.

Inviting round for a tea party isn't feasible due to space and the other option is taking him away to Thomas land at Drayton manor when we still can (he's obsessed with Thomas)
He starts school in September and I'm really at a loss.

I feel awful that my anxiety is getting in the way of it all and know if I said to my mum that we're not throwing a big party I'll get called a shit parent (wish I was joking).

It's a silly dilemma but I can't seem to find something suitable for all ages and just wish I made an effort to be sociable so he had friends. He's a fab little sociable thing and the most gorgeous nature, he has a speech delay so making friends and joining in has been incredibly hard for him.

Thank you for any advice

Who is going to call you a shit parent and why does it matter?
Can you do a family party for the cousins? And book places at a play a play cafe or for his birthday day?
What would your child like to do?

Let your Mum call you what she likes. Ignore her and then organise the day you think that your son (and you) would enjoy most.

Could you have his party before/after the school summer holidays to solve the issue, lots of people do that for August born children? Saying that there's nothing wrong with a nice day out if you don't want to do a big party.

Lots of people don’t start doing birthday parties until children are 5 so if you receive any criticism it would be unfair. When you say nursery, do you mean school nursery or private nursery? I think with an August birthday, it’s always going to be a struggle with people not attending (you will have this issue every year).

For those age ranges, I would try softplay and seeing if you can hire a party room. Usually min numbers is 10 kids. If he’s at school nursery, maybe try last few weeks of term and something small on his actual birthday. I think your idea of just doing Thomas Land is great! Save all the expense and work for 5th birthday party . Whatever happens, I’m sure he will have a great time.

My friend at school had an august birthday and always had a Halloween party for school friends because of the holiday issues. Just an idea.