Tinijocaro
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
- Messages
- 4,996
Let me be more specific-tacky for a kid's party, for a teen get together, pretty normal.
Let me be more specific-tacky for a kid's party, for a teen get together, pretty normal.
Kind of like paying for your plate at a wedding reception.[/QU I'm from a "cover your plate area". I've never heard of a couple sending out invites that included the price of dinner. Many of us do the cover your plate thing because we want to, not because we were instructed to do so by the bride and groom.
I wouldn't think anything of it - this is just the way teens plan when they are too old to have a traditional Chuckie Cheese birthday party and too young to go to a club.
If I felt particularly nickel and dimed by my child I'd possibly make her use her allowance, but otherwise I'd hand her a twenty and tell her to have a good time.
Honestly, I'm all about supporting the social activities of young teens in safe and healthy ways. It wouldn't even cross my mind to say "No" and make it about my personal principles.
But that probably comes from having older children (my youngest is now 17) and knowing that this is how they transition their social lives from 100% parent-planned and sanctioned to planning on the fly. It's not a big deal to me.
Kind of like paying for your plate at a wedding reception.![]()
I think many teens are planning their own parties and the parties are being held at relatively expensive venues. So instead of inviting one friend on the parents' dime, they extend a blanket invitation to anyone who might like to go and has the money to do so.
And I guess it's trickling down to the preteen/early teen crowd.
Kids want to go in a group to fun events and I guess they'd rather pay to play than not go at all.
Kind of like paying for your plate at a wedding reception.![]()
Also tacky, IMO- and never done in the South, as far as I have ever heard.
By that age mommy and daddy should not be planning birthday parties for their kids anymore, except for family parties. My friends and I would make our own plans starting around 13 years old and treat the birthday boy/girl to whatever we had planned that evening. We did not send out invitations though, it was planned in person or on the phone.
If the parents are planning the parties then yes, I would find it odd to ask people to pay.
Also tacky, IMO- and never done in the South, as far as I have ever heard.
How much could some punch and mints, cost, anyway...![]()
I guess I kind of look at as similar to a group of friends taking someone out for their birthday. I don't know about everyone else, but I do this all the time. We might treat a coworker to lunch, or my sisters and I go out for one sister's birthday and pay for her, or a group of friends meet for dinner and we cover the birthday person's cost. I don't get why this is different because it's teens.
Also someone mentioned these are "expensive parties". Other than the aquarium sleepover I think things like movies or going out to a place like Chili's or TGIF are normal teen weekend activities. The kids just treat their friend for their birthday.
Also a lot of the responses have been about younger kids, people mention calling the parents, etc. I would be interested to know if other parents of high schoolers organize their kids' weekend activities.
Why are the parents not teaching their children this is rude??
Well, they're learning at a young age that they can big parties they don't have to pay for. The sense of entitlement starts early and they never shake the habit.