Home from the worst birthday party EVER

[luvsJack]

Sounds like someone just didn't think it through very well. Kids don't have to have organized, planned things to do at a party; but at least be given some ideas like, "how about a game of freeze tag!" And away they go. My mom used to have a book with party game ideas in it. They were all games that were played without any props or anything other than kids and imagination needed.

I don't get having a party during the heat of the day either. I have even had parties before lunch to avoid the heat. Or planned the party around sprinklers, water guns, water balloons or anything else that equaled getting wet!

 

[disneyjunkie]

ITA. I don't have kids, but when I was little most birthday parties were about cake and soft drinks at someones backyard. No entertainent, clowns etc. We (the children) would come up with stuff to do and always managed to have a good time.

Things have surely changed!

I grew up the same way. All of the parties my son had at home were the same as well.

 

[ilovejack02]

I am hosting a huge party tomorrow, we have about 18 kids and over 20 adults. I just knew the kids would be sooo hot and drive us crazy after a cpl of hours . The older kids can only tolerate playing tag with the little ones for so long, plus it is soo stinking hot here.

I rented a big water slide. Spent a ton of money but the kids will be cool and parents will be happy. For the tiny ones I have a sprinkler set up and a big new box of side walk chalk.

I would never throw kids in the back yard with no shade and say , good luck running around for the next few hours.

I know we weren't given quite as much to do as youngsters at big family parties, but there were always balls, jump ropes , bikes and a swing set.

 

[HelenePA]

I grew up the same way. All of the parties my son had at home were the same as well.

were they allowed inside? Did he have toys and stuff to play with or just a large plot of grass in 90* sun? Like I said it was just a large square (to be fair rectangle is more accurate) of grass and a sidewalk. After an 1/2 to 45min of tag everyone was hot very hot and needed to stop running around. We've had home parties Nothing wrong with those at all they are usually fun!

ETA they asked to go to the park 1/2 block away and the mom (host) said no. They did not have a swing set in the yard... just grass

 

[luvsJack]

were they allowed inside? Did he have toys and stuff to play with or just a large plot of grass in 90* sun? Like I said it was just a large square (to be fair rectangle is more accurate) of grass and a sidewalk. After an 1/2 to 45min of tag everyone was hot very hot and needed to stop running around. We've had home parties Nothing wrong with those at all they are usually fun!

ETA they asked to go to the park 1/2 block away and the mom (host) said no. They did not have a swing set in the yard... just grass

Sounds like she should have just planned to have the party at the park in the first place! That would have prevented her from having to plan anything but given them something to do, too. Plus there was probably shade at the park.

 

[busyshrew]

Ok, let me get this straight..... am I picturing this correctly?

A square (probably fenced in) back yard in your typical suburb. No tree. No shade. Just grass. No toys or playset or sandbox or sprinkler. Nothing.

Sounds like.... well.. erm.... almost like a prison yard!

And honestly, I wouldn't leave my dog tied up in the backyard in those conditions, so I'd certainly NEVER expect a group of children to do the same.

Now, I'm the same as many PP's - I expect children to be able to amuse themselves. But not under those conditions, nuh-uh. OP, I'm with you. That's just weird / rude / unacceptable (take your pick).

 

[kirstenb1]

Right there with you, OP. I would expect my kids to have to entertain themselves, at say a friend's house who has no children. But a birthday party, get real. Best case scenario, this mom is just clueless!!

 

[HelenePA]

Ok, let me get this straight..... am I picturing this correctly?

A square (probably fenced in) back yard in your typical suburb. No tree. No shade. Just grass. No toys or playset or sandbox or sprinkler. Nothing.

Sounds like.... well.. erm.... almost like a prison yard!

And honestly, I wouldn't leave my dog tied up in the backyard in those conditions, so I'd certainly NEVER expect a group of children to do the same.

Now, I'm the same as many PP's - I expect children to be able to amuse themselves. But not under those conditions, nuh-uh. OP, I'm with you. That's just weird / rude / unacceptable (take your pick).

Yes, the only difference was there was no barbed wire and the fence was only 4' high... I even said to Dh when we got there.. its like jail for kids. the mom is nice.. I'm sure she had well intentions of this party.. I just dont think she knew what she was in for.. her ds is an only child. Keeping 10+ kids busy takes a little more than some grass. We are about to go on our nightly dog walk. We'll go past his house and see if he can come with us like usual. he's a nice kid

 

[scrapbookworm]

I did something like this one time for DD's 6th birthday. I thought that the kids would be entertained with out (large) swingset and treehouse, toys, etc. Well, I was very wrong. It was the wrong crowd. 1 kid was so shy she wouldn't do anything, and 2 others were so rambunctious that DD and other kid didn't want to play with them. I felt terrible afterwards.

This year, we had a swimming party. I had some water games bookmarked online JIC, but the kids (age 10), just wanted to swim! Best birthday party ever!

 

[scrapbookworm]

But actually, one of the worst bday parties I've ever been to had the most games (in 2007). It was a bad party b/c the house was filthy, there were relatives drinking beer and playing card games, and the food was awful. She gave out candy that had expired in 1997. Yes. Mom had a TON of games, but the atmosphere was awful. Then a dog snapped at my DD for walking near her, and I was done. Another mom, that I had never even met before, begged me not to leave her! lol.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

OP - I'm right there with you - it sounds like a horrible birthday party.

There is a big difference between hosting a bbq and hosting a child's birthday party. I have two kids who have summer birthdays so we've done our share of at home outside parties. With our younger child it was easy - we had an inground pool, we did a pinata, water balloon toss, etc. With my older ds we didn't have a pool then so I used to make a "double dare obstacle course". The older kids still talk about those being the best parties every. Then I would set up a sprinkler and they had a ball.

Sorry but you don't invite kids over, in the hot sun, without any activities planned!

Of course now that I'm older I like to have the parties outside of our home where someone else does the set up and clean up!

 

[traviesojmt]

I have to say that I couldn't imagine having a party at my HOME and not allowing people in my home. I do understand not really wanting a large number of children running free around your house (maybe), but that is why you plan a structured party. Last year, we had my DD's 6th birthday at our home. First of all, June in Alabama is crazy hot. So, I alternated activities for indoor/outdoor. We started with a cookout so the kids were playing/eating outside. Then, we moved indoors for crafts. After crafts, we moved back outside for a scavenger hunt. Her party theme was ladybugs, so we hid little bugs all over the backyard. Each child had a bug catching kit and off them went. Then, back inside for cake and ice cream. It was too hot for me to be outside for long periods of time. I wouldn't have expected my guests to stay outside the entire time. I definitely can't imagine telling guests to my home that they weren't allowed to use our bathroom. If you truly do not want people IN your home for some reason, do not have a party there. CRAZY!!

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

The OP's story sounds very much like a birthday party my DD attended last year. We were to drop off the kids a slumber party (this was fine since it was a friend of my DD and I knew the mom). They were supposed to have a swim party. The mom said the the birthday girls grandfather was shipping it from Japan (not sure about that one but whatever) and it didn't arrive. It was a BBQ and the girl's dad was setting up the grill. When I asked if I could help (sinced the seemed way behind schedule...didn't say that though) she said the haven't gone to the store for food. When I picked up DD she told me that she gave the mom her money (she always has some money with her) for groceries for the party. She said all the kids were asked if they had money. When I called and asked the mom about it said that they can't afford to feed a bunch of people. I just wanted to scream THEN DON'T HAVE A PARTY...but I didn't.

 

[minkydog]

The OP's story sounds very much like a birthday party my DD attended last year. We were to drop off the kids a slumber party (this was fine since it was a friend of my DD and I knew the mom). They were supposed to have a swim party. The mom said the the birthday girls grandfather was shipping it from Japan (not sure about that one but whatever) and it didn't arrive. It was a BBQ and the girl's dad was setting up the grill. When I asked if I could help (sinced the seemed way behind schedule...didn't say that though) she said the haven't gone to the store for food. When I picked up DD she told me that she gave the mom her money (she always has some money with her) for groceries for the party. She said all the kids were asked if they had money. When I called and asked the mom about it said that they can't afford to feed a bunch of people. I just wanted to scream THEN DON'T HAVE A PARTY...but I didn't.

Now that really does take the cake. I have officially heard it all.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Sounds like a poorly thought out party.

A BBQ/cookout---that is a "let us hang out" event.

A party for an adult or teens to celebrate their birthday? Those could be the same idea.

A kids party should typically have "something" planned especially if the party area is empty, like fenced grass area or a room with no furniture. It just doesn't make sense to have nothing to do. No the party mom/dad doesn't need to helicopter like a cruise director. But have something to do for Pete's same.

It's too much to ask for kids to figure it out for themselves.

The parents dropped the ball completely. It almost soundsike they didn't want to have the party to begin with. Usually a host or hostess tries to entertain their guests. Having a soccer ball out would have been a great start!

When we have people over and their are kids, my kids do this really awesome thing and share their toys and games. I'm just perplexed that this family didn't think of that at a minimum. It is quite bizarre, IMHO.

 

[allison443]

Just as some posters think the kids could have come up with some games for themselves and organized the rest of the group into playing the game, I think the parent hosting the party could easily have done the same... I think that was the OP's point. Not saying kids need expensive entertainment, but if you are hosting a kid's party you should have a general plan for what the kids are going to do. If the host expected the kids to organize their own games, and they weren't doing so successfully, it would have been pretty easy to step in and get them started on duck duck goose, or any number of other circle type games.

 

[bluesaturn]

It's a hidding game. The person who is IT hides an object. When he is ready, he calls out "Hot peas and butter, come get your supper!" Everyone runs around trying to find the object. As the others search, the person that is IT will say if you're hot (close to the object) or cold (far from the object). The person that finds the object is IT.

Simply but fun game

Sounds like a fun game. But in order to do it you would need a.) an object (any object) and b.) a place to hide an object. Apparently this party didn't have either.

 

[busyshrew]

Sounds like a fun game. But in order to do it you would need a.) an object (any object) and b.) a place to hide an object. Apparently this party didn't have either.

 

[Planogirl]

You can't play hide and seek if there's nowhere to hide and you can't play a fun version of tag in a square yard with no objects in it. Plus the kids couldn't even use the bathroom? This party is a mess.

 

[jodifla]

Even back in the '60s and '70s when we all had at-home parties, no parent was dumb enough not to have ANYTHING to do for the kids.


I do remember one party that was largely just watching the kid opening up gifts, but at least that was something to look at!

Most of my best birthday parties were overnight slumber parties where we slept on my screened in porch and swam in the pool most of the day and night! I still have great memories of those midnight swims, after we were all SUPPOSED to be sleeping.