DS' 5th birthday

[TheNightIsDark]

For ages we said that he could take a friend to lego land as DP hates kids parties and DS had one last year and one the year before.

DS hadn't made a best friend. He is struggling a lot with friendships but wants his friends at his party. The other parents don't really speak to me (I'm a lot younger and it's a DM type area!). It's highly unlikely that a parent would agree to us taking their DC to lego land with us.

Should I leave birthday celebrations with friends completely? Should I maybe tell him to invite a handful to the cinema and McDonald's or something? Or risk inviting one to lego land?

I don't really want to risk a class party in case none turn up

What do 5 year olds even do at birthdays? DS is a bit eccentric and is currently playing with his monster high dolls alongside superheroes mainly. He's not really a boy boy (IYSWIM) but he's not overly girly.

He doesn't have a set interest to base a birthday celebration around and he's just so desperate to make friends

To be honest at 5 I don't know that I would choose to send my child for a day out to legoland unless you were a family friend. It is a long time for a child to be with another family - my ds missed out on this year's reception by a month and he isn't old enough. My nearly 7yr old would be fine.

I would go with one of the other ideas - also if he invites 5 or 6 then more likely that one of them will become a friend. Be prepared that some parents will want to stay though.

It's ds1's 5th bday in a few months and we're doing a party for his class which he has been literally planning for months and we will prob also take him to legoland on his actual birthday (using club card vouchers so not really costing us anything). We may take a friend with him to legoland but it will probably be a friend he's known for ages (and whose parents I'm good friends with) rather than someone from his class as although he's made friends and we've been on various play dates I don't think he has yet made a proper 'best' friend at school.

Are some of the parents approachable? Could you explain that he's struggling with making friends and would their dc like to come on a play date or arrange a party in a venue where it doesn't matter how many people turn up (eg a visit to a local attraction like a farm/aquarium etc where you could just pay for whoever turns up and do cake and a couple of games afterwards? Or just have it at your house?

So far for 5th birthdays we've been to ones just in someone's house with maybe 10ish children there, a bit of pass the parcel and a small party tea up to big joint parties with entertainers, bouncy castles etc.

Oh I like the farm idea. I did think lego land was a tad optimistic tbh. I think we will use clubcard vouchers and take him on his own.

The parents aren't overly approachable although I'm quite shy so may be building it up in my head to be more than it is!

Some of them might already know each other and some of them might also be shy! I would ask the teacher about who he plays with and take it from there. Farm sounds ideal.