Family party or Friend party for 3 yo B-day?

[mookie]

I'm feeling like a bad mom in the fact that dd's 3rd bday is in 3 weeks, and I haven't done any planning for it.

I thought we could just do another year of low-key, invite immed. family over. DH says she's getting old enough that she needs a friend party. Thoguhts?

If so, do we do a home party? The big thing out here is parties out, like at Chuck E Cheese and stuff, but I don't know if I want to do that yet.

Ideas?

Thanks!

 

[mickeyboat]

I had a friends and family party when the kids turned 3. They will be 6 and 7 this year, and it will probably be the first friends party for them.

Some things to consider about a friends 3 is awfully young for a parent to leave their child alone at someone else's house that they don't know all that well. I would not have left my kids alone just because of toddler issues like using the potty, eating, gettting into stuff, etc. and I consider myself on the more lax side where that is concerned.

I definitely would not have left them alone at Chuck E Cheese with someone else. So if you do a friend party, you are really looking at a friend / parent invitation - don't you think? Or at least some sort of party where there is a ton of adult supervision and activities geared toward that age group - like Gymboree.

Good luck!

Denae

 

[megan4777]

I don't know anyone who has done a 'friend' party for a 3 yr old. It depends on the kid, though.
Friends and family have always done family/close friends party for their kids until they were full time in school.

My dd is turning 3 in June and her sister is turning 1 2 weeks later so we'll have small parties here at home and a big (joint) party for family/ friends in Aug.

Good luck with her party!!

 

[glass-slipper]

I think 3 is still a little too young for the big Chuck E Cheese parties. Lots of supervision needed and hard to keep them together as a group. I'd maybe have a small combination of immediate family and a few friends. How many friends does she have? Pre-school, neighbors? If neighborhood friends, I'd invite the child and parent together so things are more manageable-just a thought! have fun!!

 

[mommytotwo]

My daughter has always had a friends and family party. Until she starts going to school, I am not sure if she will have a friends only party.

If you don't feel like taking the next step and having your child's party at a place like Chuck E. Cheese, I suggest you not. You may feel more overwhelmed at having it at a public place. Just do a combination one at your house where you will be able to control everything and over see what is going on.

How about giving your daughter a certain number like 5, and have her pick out 5 friends to invite. You could put out a small table just for the kids to sit down at. Have napkins, cups, and plates that matches the theme of the party with some games and prizes.

 

[MAKmom]

I did it for my oldest But there was 4 - 3 year old. on our block we did it durning the week durning the day. A girlfriend brought her child we were all SAHM at the time. BTW I was hoping for a Princess Party. DD made me do BATMAN because the boy she loved wanted BATMAN.

 

[mookie]

Yes, I'm sorry I didn't specify some of this earlier....

We will be having all parents attend, no matter how many we invite.

She has a cousin that is 3 weeks younger than her, so we'd defintely invite her, as well as a few other "friends." Actually, they are just kids of friends that DH and I have, but they are still kids she plays with, but most of the parents know each other. Some are neighbor kids, too. Otherwise, we'd just be inviting immediate family.

It would be a total of about 10 kids, max.

 

[Beth76]

Why don't you ask your daughter what she wants? My son started friend parties at age 3. We went to CEC and the other moms stayed to supervise. We went on a weekday morning so it wasn't crowded.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I'd go with family and friends party. You can have certain types of foods and games for your dd and her friends, and something different for the older crowd. You can set up their own little table, so they feel important! My dd didn't have her first friends only party until she turned 10 - and that was by choice! Three is a great age for a Chuck E Cheese party, IF all the parents will be there to help their children with the games and play area. We did CEC for my son's FIRST birthday, and it was a blast because there were kids of all ages there.

 

[mtemm]

when my son turned 3 we did a family party. He was thrilled with that. we also did cupcakes for his weekly playgroup, which honestly was plenty at that age. In fact, most of the moms in the playgroup did the same thing.

 

[aprilgail2]

For my daughters 3rd birthday we did a party out at a place called tiny tots town and invited her preschool class...that was a Saturday..the next day we did a big family party at home....

 

[mookie]

Well, I found a place online that is kind of like a Build A Bear, but they bring the "workshop" to your house. So I thought that might be the best of both worlds. It only lasts about an hour, and we are really only having about 10 kids, if all of them show. (We are friends with all the parents, so that helps!) Also, the grandparents will be coming, too. I thought this might be good because they can all build an "animal" and then have cake and ice cream and be done with it. It will be fun for her and not so much work for me. (I'll plan the big party next year when I'm not pregnant....ha ha!)

Thanks for all the help and thoughts!!!

 

[LisaNJ25]

I just started my daughters "friends party" last year when she was 6. She went to Build A Bear. She ended up having more cousins than friends. Her birthday is in the summer so I dont want to go though contacting parents and kids from the precious school year.

My 3 youngest kids birthdays are all 1 week apart. For this summer I rented out a local park and baseball field. I am doing the family thing.

I will let her pick 2-3 friends and do something special. Its not fun having summer birthdays lol.


I would stick with the family party at this age.

 

[dizagain]

The bear party sounds fun! For DD's 3rd b'day I remember we had a few friends/moms over. She had a Cinderella cake and decorations. I got some cute little dress-up purses at the dollar store and filled them with rings, necklaces, candy lipstick, etc. for favors. At the party the girls strung pipe cleaners with beads (the larger ones) and made bracelets. We played a few simple games and they spent lots of time playing with our dress-up clothes. Cake, ice cream, and good-bye! Very easy! Have fun no matter what you decide!

 

[Kimberle]

Keep her to yourself one more year. I had a family party for Brittany's 3rd, friend parties since (she's 7 on Saturday). I'm glad I did. She went to a few kid parties at 3. The kids did have fun, but got kindof overwhelmed. She will have many years of "friend" parties to come.

For her 4th, I had it at a place that makes/sells those big redwood playsets. They have an indoor showroom. The kids had a BALL running, climbing, sliding, etc. They could be a loud as they wanted because there was load mucis in the background. It was March, so outdoor playset play was a great time for all. When they are very young, they really need a place to run around.

 

[Freyja]

I have always done family/close friends parties. Our family has been invited as well as 2 or 3 of their closest friends. It has allways worked out well for us.

In my opinion, they´ll have enough of kids-only parties when they get older.

Have fun, what ever you choose to do!

 

[CEDmom]

We had DD's 1st kid's party when she was 3. We kept it very low key and had 6 neighborhood kid's over to our house. We had a few little games and then cake. I think it lasted about an hour and a half. However, even the best laid plans aren't foolproof. I made the mistake of having DD open her presents at the party and there was some grabbing by the other kids. Normal of course but still upsetting to the birthday child.

If you have some neighbors and/or friends with children in the 2-4 age range you could do a little something at your house. Personally, I think a big party at Chuck E Cheese, Gymboree etc is just too much for a lot of kids that age. However, you obviously know whether you're DD will be able to handle something like that or not.

I hope she has a great birthday no matter what you do.