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Original poster

Invite strangers to my DS birthday party?

12 replies

BeMyFriend90 · 07/03/2022 13:56

DS is about to turn 3. He has made friend at nursery – as much as you can at that age. He runs towards other kids at drop off and seems to like to play with them

Me – not so much. We moved to the new area during lockdown. Hardly any of my friends have kids and they all live in the city and won’t come out for a kid’s birthday party that will last 2 hours and mostly involve cake and crying.

I keep trying to make conversation with other parents at nursery but nobody wants to chat to some strange woman at 8am! They all seem to know each other, and seem to be catching up all the time etc.

Is it weird to give invites to my DS’s birthday party to the staff there and ask them to be given out to the kids? I know when you get to primary school you tend to invite all the kids in class – and I’d love to do that – for my DS so he has some friends at his party but also so I might get to know someone with kids who lives near me.

But I think it might be really embarrassing. Would you think it was weird if your toddler came home with a party invite to a kid’s birthday and you didn’t know the kid or the parents?

OP posts:
Comedycook · 07/03/2022 13:59

I think it's ok. I'd go. In fact when my DD was at nursery she came home with a party invite. I didn't know any of the children there or the parents. We still went to the party.

Bdhntbis · 07/03/2022 14:01

My DD was invited to a few parties at nursery where I didn’t know the parents and I didn’t think it was strange, it was a nice opportunity to meet people as I just never did at the nursery door

girlmom21 · 07/03/2022 14:02

I'd go. Most the parents at our nursery don't know each other. We'll say hello politely but we only tend to strike up more of a conversation when we realise whose parents are whose.

Kids strike up really good friendships by 3, by the way.

My little girls 2 and she's got a couple of best friends and some friends she likes playing with.
Other parents often tell me their children always talk about mine which is lovely.

GregBrawlsInDogJail · 07/03/2022 14:02

That's partly how you get to know the parents, no? Many of my parent now-friends happened that kind of way.

I've just invited a kid I don't know to my similar aged DS's party at his request and am looking forward to getting to know the DM.

tiramisualwaystiramisu · 07/03/2022 14:03

Completely normal - DC1 got all sorts of party invites from nursery and preschool and could barely tell me who the child was half the time! I used it as an opportunity to get to know the parents then - this was pre lockdown

Gizlotsmum · 07/03/2022 14:04

Do it. I made a friend in a similar way, our daughters were at nursery together and the key workers commented on how close they were. I asked them to pass on my number to the other child’s mum and ask if she would like to arrange a play date for the girls… 13 yrs later we have just been to a show together and the girls still are bff despite going to completely different schools after nursery.

PeacefulPrune · 07/03/2022 14:06

Not strange at all. I did this for my child when he was 3. I just asked the nursery assistant for the names of 15 kids that are in on the same days as him. About half of them came. It was nice to chat to the parents at the party, it's a great way to meet people with the same aged kids as you.

Good luck

mintich · 07/03/2022 14:09

We've got two parties coming up from nursery and I've never met the kids or parents. I'd say its quite normal! All that matters is that your DS enjoys himself

VioletCharlotte · 07/03/2022 14:10

Totally normal and this is how I met my best friend of 18 years! Her little boy used to play with mine at nursery, we'd never met but she brought him him to my DS party and we really hit it off and quickly became close friends.

SarahBellam · 07/03/2022 14:34

It's a really great way to get to know people. I moved just before my DD was born. For her 2nd birthday I gave out a few invitations to some of the parents of the kids she played most with. I became great friends with 3 of those mums and we still get together regularly, even though our DDs are now 16 and aren't friends anymore.

Walkingalot · 07/03/2022 16:38

It's the done thing. Not weird at all. The teachers put the invites in the child's bag. At that age, not everyone knows everyone! I hope you're pleasantly surprised at the response.

GreyCarpet · 07/03/2022 17:06

It not strange. Its completely normal.

I don't get the wanting to he friends with parents of your children's peers though. There's no guarantee you'll like each other or have anything in common other than having given birth during the same academic year and living in the same area.

I found that willing and able to exchange small talk over the occasional coffee was the best I got (and hoped for).

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