Birthday party for four year old

[WineIsAFruitRight]

Hi all. First time poster so go easy! I was hoping to get a bit of an opinion on birthday parties for kids at nursery. We held a party at our house when our ds turned 3. We asked nursery who his friends were and they helped us coordinate invites. It was a great success and we met some other parents which was lovely as we were fairly new to the area. DS had a great time too and the kids all played really well.

This year our son is asking again if he can have a party with his friends for his birthday and is really keen. We are happy to do this but I'm a little worried about how it appears to others at the nursery as there's been no return invites over the course of the year from other parents. this is fine and no big deal, but my worry is that we will come across as showy if we go ahead and have a party again? Or that we're just seeking presents for our son? (I'd actually prefer to say no gifts as he has plenty but that's a whole other conversation!). Do you think we should go ahead and have a party?

It wouldn't occur to me it was being 'showy'.
I just think it is a bit unnecessary to have parties before they start school.
However, if that is something you enjoy doing, and you invited my little one, and I were free, I would probably accept and I'd just assume you didn't have any family or something so wanted some other children to come round.

However, I am a bit of an outlier on MN in that I am happy to go places when I don't already know people. There are a lot of posters on here who probably wouldn't. But if people came last year, then I'd assume the parents at your Nursery are a bit more sociable than your typical MNer.

If you want to put on a party, then do it. You can't go through life trying to second guess what people you don't even know might be thinking. Nor should you care.

Thanks! You're right, I shouldn't be worried about others and just do what I think is best. We don't have family with kids the same age and friends kids are all much older or younger. So that's why we invited nursery friends last year. Appreciate the perspective!