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Original poster

Is it normal to get few replies for a class party?

59 replies

Mumsince2021x · 04/10/2026 17:26

I’m a big over thinker (probably social anxiety if i’m being honest) and it was a big thing to do a huge class party for my child. Handed the invites out early last week and have had just under third of the class rsvp.
Is this normal to get quite a few over the coming weeks. Or should I expect many to not reply whether they do or don’t then up on the day. I knew it was quite notorious people not replying but thought it would be more like a third didn’t, 2 thirds did. The party is 5 weeks away so there is a bit of time. I always reply the day of or following day after receiving an invite so I just can’t understand this. Plus why would you want to annoy parents who you are going to be with for 7 years of primary school.

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Original poster
Mumsince2021x · 05/10/2026 08:09

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 05/10/2026 08:02

I think if everyone does a class party, and you are not known, people hold back. With 30 in a class, people don’t want 30 parties and 30 presents every year. It’s inevitable some parents are busy. We never did more than half the class. I didn’t feel I needed to know 29 other parents.

You will probably get more replies but by this time next year your dc will have a better idea of who they like. It’s far less stress to just have a few!

I wasn’t keen to do a whole class party (because I know i’d be worried about replies) but I also didn’t want to guess who to invite but maybe that was a better idea!

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Original poster
Mumsince2021x · 05/10/2026 08:09

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 05/10/2026 08:02

I think if everyone does a class party, and you are not known, people hold back. With 30 in a class, people don’t want 30 parties and 30 presents every year. It’s inevitable some parents are busy. We never did more than half the class. I didn’t feel I needed to know 29 other parents.

You will probably get more replies but by this time next year your dc will have a better idea of who they like. It’s far less stress to just have a few!

I wasn’t keen to do a whole class party (because I know i’d be worried about replies) but I also didn’t want to guess who to invite but maybe that was a better idea!

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Original poster
Mumsince2021x · 05/10/2026 08:11

seahorsessky · 04/10/2026 20:59

People used to manage to reply to any kind of invitation, and it's not unreasonable that in these days, you could expect a reply that takes literally seconds to type. But there's a lot more rude parents now-all the mums who have a big age gap between their kids say people are more flakey. Used to be rare for people not to reply, or fail to turn up.
You could maybe ask at drop off or pick up (I know if you and your partner use afterschool that's easier said than done)

Totally agree. It does seem to be more normalised to just not reply to things. Common courtesy to send your apologies if you can’t make it to something you’ve been invited to surely!

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Iocanepowder · 05/10/2026 08:11

Mumsince2021x · 05/10/2026 07:53

Jeez I just think it’s madness but I defintely take everyone’s points about lost, in bags, parents split etc etc. I think i’m just surprised it’s the majority rather than minority.

But still a long time away to hopefully a few more trickle in and i’ll do a reminder.

Thank you all.

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Agree it’s madness, which is why i’m not bothering to do one again after this tbh. I only did it for DS as he has an issue making close friends so far due to his speech delay.

I agree that I think it’s rude not to reply when you have received an invitation to something.

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 05/10/2026 08:30

@Mumsince2021x I just guessed! My DD knew a couple from nursery and she mentioned a few names and I had talked to a few mums at the new parents meeting. DD certainly worked out who the naughty dc were! I’d save yourself the angst next year. Around 15 invitations or even 12, is more than enough. Plus if a child is left out that your child subsequently likes, you have many years of school left to put it right! It’s no big deal! The big deal is your dc getting no invitations in return!

Whatisthat1 · 05/10/2026 08:45

We have a WhatsApp group that includes at least 1 parent of every child in the class.

In Reception invites were sent out about 6 weeks in advance and 90% of responses were received on the same day.

The system worked well for us all. Most parties ended up with about 16/17 out of the 25 children in the class attending. It was a great way for all the parents to get to know each other as prior to starting Reception most of us were strangers to each other as there are hardly any catchment area children in the class.

watchingthishtread · 05/10/2026 08:53

It seems to be a pervasive issue. I wonder if the way forward might be to use Whatsapp polls where everyone can reply with Yes, or No. That way it's clear that a reply is required either way.

Original poster
Mumsince2021x · 05/10/2026 12:58

Whatisthat1 · 05/10/2026 08:45

We have a WhatsApp group that includes at least 1 parent of every child in the class.

In Reception invites were sent out about 6 weeks in advance and 90% of responses were received on the same day.

The system worked well for us all. Most parties ended up with about 16/17 out of the 25 children in the class attending. It was a great way for all the parents to get to know each other as prior to starting Reception most of us were strangers to each other as there are hardly any catchment area children in the class.

yes this was exactly my thinking too.

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Poppyrocksok · 05/10/2026 14:02

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