Why do children's parties happen mid afternoon so your child ends up having a meal at about 4 pm?

[Fooey]

Can someone explain?

If you give them lunch they are not really hungry for the party food. If you don't give them lunch they are entering a coma with the donkey's tail in their hand by about 2.30.

What is the point of it? Why can't we have parties at a time when children would naturally be eating anyway?

So waht would the ideal party time be?
I would go for 11am-1pm on a Saturday morning.
Got the rest of the day fre then.

My dd had her 5th party on Saturday and we had it 10-12 at a soft play place.

I think if I was doing a party from 2 - 4 I would just do snacky type food - little sandwiches, sausages, birthday cake. Most children snack between meals don't they? (I mean something like a sandwich and/or fruit/yoghurt).

We've done the ones at home for about 3pm start - plenty of time to get ready; invited people we know mostly and kept friends of dd from school down to a minimum for the followng reasons: school friends tend to get 'dropped off' and you have to supervise them for 2 hours. Friends of yours stay for the party, you can socialise with them whilst hosting the party and there's more adults to muck in with party games, helping at food time, etc.

This year the plan is a big picnic at a local countryside centre - will tell dd that she can have about 5 or 6 friends from school, rest of kids will be family and friends.

11-1 would be quite good actually. Then they've got all afternoon to wear off the huge sugar rush. With afternoon parties they're still hyper at bedtime. And you don't have to spend all day with the birthday child saying "is it time yet?".

I've done 3-5 cos that way the party food can count as tea and you don't (hopefully) have to feed them again afterward. Praps I'll do the next one at 10:30 on Sat morning ... (actually hoping to get away without this year but dd may have other ideas)

Ok

so it's a snack? Not a meal?

ooops

mooming agree with the opening of wine bottles

I am doing DD's party between 3:30 and 5:30pm - so food will be about 4:30-5pm.

I don't treat parties as a meal for DD TBh as I can't guarantee how much she will actually eat once in the excitement of the party room.

A lot of the children from DD's class do have quite early meals after school from what I can gather anyway - often just before 5pm. At nursery DD had tea at 3pm. At the moment DD isn't used to eating at nught till about 6:3, but she manaes just fine at parties.

We do party food boxes too - so what they don't eat at the party they can take home and have later

Moomin - I like the wine idea We have decided to provide wine and beer, with grown up cakes/nibbles, for any parents wishing to stay for DD's 5th party later this month.

I think I'll give in to ds's requests for a birthday party and stick to 1970s italian etiquette. controlled anarchy.

Hula - don't know what your dd's party will be like, but imo dd1's 5th was the one I liked least... probably because it was the one most school friends were invited to. I was a bit at how many kids were just left on their own by parents who kept the car engines running as they propelled them into the venue! But I gather that's pretty much the norm once they get to school... so the usual food we laid on for the adults wasn't really touched.
Hence, that's why we're reverting back to the old model of party involving lots of friends & family, lots of kids of different ages and that magic party ingredient: wine

mine would eat at 1pm at home at 4 at the party and still eat a dinner when they got home. They have hollow legs.

DS's party was last Sunday from 3 til 5 so the children ate at 4. I did it at this time for the following reasons:

allow me time to get organised
allow DD time to have a nap
allow DS time to open his presents before bedtime
allow me to feed visiting sis/BIL/SIL/BIL after the party since they had travelled some distance to bring my nephews, but needed a meal before they left to take the LOs home

I then provided lasagne and crusty bread for the above and banana/yoghurt/birthday cake for the four children. I had originally planned 4-6 because of the mealtime thing but thought it would make everything a bit late afterwards.

I'm doing a party at the end of the month 1 to 3 followed by another 3.30 to 5.30. Snacks will be served and the party girls will have fish and chips in the evening afterwards. They all just like to Party.

So the kids can have two teas. They're like hobbits.

I have put on ds's invitation that they will get a snack and a slice of birthday cake. I am picking them up at 1pm and dropping back at 3.30-4. So I am only feeding them afternoon tea, if they choose to fill their boots there is not a lot I can do about it.

Moomin - we have school friends, and family friends and have children aged from 1 year -5 years. mainly girls, plus 4 boys, And also have family grown ups coming, and I know the parents of our family friends will be staying. Phew! Fingers crossed. Right in the middle for sorting it out at the moment.

We did ds's party 11-1. The kids actually ate more than crisps and icing. I shall repeat the timing next year.

Loads have people have said the reason not to serve food at a mealtime is because the children don't eat much anyway. But, erm, surely the reason they don't eat much is because it isn't actually their meal time?

Anyway we went to a party today and it was fab and ds ate plenty, then had a small tea when he came home. So it was all fine.

I never do parties on saturday mornings because so many kids have activities then. Sundays mornings you run into the church brigade (no offence ) so that really leaves saturday afternoons, since weekday evenings are fairly full of activites also.

My kids don't really do eating at the best of times so I tend to disreagrd party meal times.

.
ok, can I be nosey and ask what's the average meal time?

is four madly early then?
I give lunch at 12.15

tea at five

we are up stupidly early though

Tea at five seems fair enough. Tea at four a little peculiar?

yes but it's not an actual meal is it, just grazing generally
apart from that bonkers party I went to with the sausgaes and brocolli and carrots and applause

We have lunch, erm, whenever, really. Tea around 5.30, or 6 at latest. We used to do 6.30 (when Daddy came home) but now the daytime nap has gone he can't wait that long.