How important are playdates for a 6yo?

[Decena]

We live in a rural area and my DD attends the small village school with 5 girls her age who have paired off into BFs so she sort of falls down the crack in the middle, as it were!
She is friendly enough with the other girls but despite having invited all the other girls over for playdates at least twice, even taken some of them on outings etc. my daughter has never got a single invite back. I know she is well behaved and polite so that can't be a problem. Is this normal? My daughter is now starting to wonder why she does not get invited back and I make excuses about so-and so-s mum is working but then she sees other girls going to play. I do my best to take her to other clubs etc but as it is a rural area, it is the same children that go.
I have made an effort to speak to the other mums, always say hello etc. but now I am beginning to get paranoid that the rest of the world is out to get us! How long do I persever for eg one girl we had round twice to play during the summer and again before Xmas without an invite back. Even though my daughter is not BFs with these other girls, surely she could get the odd playdate?
How do other mums feel?
I am getting right fed up and sometimes feel like moving but OH would never agree as he doesn't see a problem.

Bumping for you.

What happens when the Mums come to collect their children? Do they simply collect and leave, or do they come in for a cuppa and chat?

Wondering if perhaps part of the issue is that maybe these other Mums are friends with each other, and so take the 'easy' option of inviting an established friend when it is time for playdates?

Also, is your dd an only child? I have an only child, and it seems I initiate many more playdates/sleepovers than are reciprocated presumably because we have fewer schedules to juggle.

i can sympathise with alot of what you are saying as it is so hurtful from a mum's POV
to see these things happening to their child.
although two of my children do have best friends and do get invited round for playdates they are generally excluded from party invites.
By this i mean that there is almost some sort of blacklisting going on!
have you considered other ways to get involved with meeting/getting to know other parents such as joining the PTA or NCT?
thou i appreciate that the NCT is to a greater extent more geared towards younger children
there are also other things to consider such as beavers/rainbows etc