Is 2 hours too short for a 3 year old's birthday party?

[aristocatz]

Writing out invitations for our soon-to-be three year old's birthday party. This will be her first year having friends (from daycare) come. It will just be at our house-play in the backyard & inside, hot dogs, cake, ice cream....

I was thinking of doing it from 11am-1pm. Is that too short?

Thanks!

 

[mombrontrent]

Sounds absolutely perfect to me!

 

[Mizzoufan]

I would do an hour.

 

[Malibustyle23]

Writing out invitations for our soon-to-be three year old's birthday party. This will be her first year having friends (from daycare) come. It will just be at our house-play in the backyard & inside, hot dogs, cake, ice cream....

I was thinking of doing it from 11am-1pm. Is that too short?

Thanks!

While it's nice for people to know when to leave at that age I don't personally think you need an end time on the invite.

At that age they probably, hopefully won't be dropped off and left at your party to be picked up later. So when the party is dwindling down people will leave when it is appropriate. For those few that don't know the appropriate time they wouldn't care what the invite said anyways.

 

[mombrontrent]

I would do an hour.

I'm sorry but if the a birthday party is only an hour I am not wasting my time buying and wrapping a gift and bringing my kid over to the party, just not worth the effort.

 

[gwynne]

I would go with an hour and a half to two hours, but no longer. With three year olds, when the fun is done, it's done.

 

[Malibustyle23]

I would do an hour.

I don't think that would be anywhere near enough in my experience. 3 year olds are of course going to have a wide variety of attention spans but an hour could be enough to eat, cake and presents, barely with no time to play.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I don't think that would be anywhere near enough in my experience. 3 year olds are of course going to have a wide variety of attention spans but an hour could be enough to eat, cake and presents, barely with no time to play.

I disagree. You will quickly lose their attention. That why I would do a short party esp with it being the first friend party. When my kids were that age I never had a party go longer then 90 minutes.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

I think 2 hours is just right for a 3 year old birthday party.

 

[shoney]

When you have parties out at a place they are 90 minutes or 2 hours, so I think you are in the right ball park. I would put the ending time on the invitation, but I wouldn't throw everyone out when time is up. LOL

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I work with three year olds. I think two hours is just right.

 

[DopeyDame]

Sounds perfect.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I think two hours is just right as well!

 

[Christine]

Two hours is just right.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I think two hours are about right...
An hour may not be enough to greet everyone, wait for the 'politely late' folks, get the meal and cake and any gifts all done...

However: I will mention this..
I disagree that people will naturally leave when appropriate.
That has not been my experience.
And, there was even a piece about this on one of the Dear Abby type columns.
I wouldn't go on that assumption.

When my son was young, we had a very nice party for him.
Several cars lined up in the driveway.
At one point I asked one person (probaby family?) if they might move their car so others could get out if/when they were ready to leave.
I believe on person thought that I was 'rushing guests away'.

But, IMHO, this kind of 'party' is not like an all day casual get-together affair.

In fact, I was at a party on Saturday where this was a bit of an issue.
So, I might just go post an 'Inspired By...' thread.

 

[aristocatz]

Thank you! I'm going with 2 hours. If others stay a little later, that will be fine. I just like to have an end time

 

[Julylady]

I think two hours is perfect. There are two things I would make clear on the invitation. First, do you expect parents to attend the party with their kids? Or, do you expect them to drop the child off and pick them up later? (At age 3, I would expect parent to say, but on to #2.) And second, are siblings invited as well? For example, Mom comes with 3 year old and plans to stay along with 5 and 7 year old siblings. A party of all 3 year olds is very different than a party with 2-10 year olds.

 

[mamamary]

Two hours seems good to me.

 

[tcufrog]

My older son is 8 and I've hosted all of their parties at home except for 2. For that age I've found that it's easiest to plan a couple of stations and a free play area. Give the kids time to play and do stations if they wish when they arrive and then about 30-45 minutes after the kids arrive do snacks. 15-30 minutes after the kids are done with snacks serve cake and sing Happy birthday. People will often start to leave after cake. Another signal is to start handing out goodie bags next to the front door. The final signal is to start cleaning up. Only the most clueless guest will stay. If you're lucky some other parents will chip in and help clean up.

Don't bother to open gifts around the 3 year olds. It just doesn't go well. If grandparents or other older family members wish to see your child open gifts they can come before the party starts or stay until after the last guest leaves.

Here are some examples of stations. At my older son's preschool dinosaur party I had a dinosaur dig in the backyard. I hid Easter eggs with mini dinosaurs and dinosaur stickers inside along with dinosaur skeletons in my son's sandbox. The kids could keep what they found. I also had dinosaur coloring sheets and washable crayons on the coffee table and my son's extensive dinosaur collection out in the playroom. The kids just did whatever activity they wished when they wished to. For my son's 4 year old medieval party I had 3 stations as well. I had in one room all of the trains, building blocks, and medieval figures for a castle building station. In another room I had supplies for decorating cardboard crowns I found on sale. In yet another room I put dress up clothes, a cardboard castle I got on clearance and washable markers so they could either play pretend or decorate the castle. During either party the kids were also free to just play in the backyard too. During both parties I spent very little on activities and the kids had a blast. I don't start organized games or group activities until the kids are older.

 

[wishesuponastar]

Two hours is a good amount of time. Some may show up late and then you have enough time for eating, playing and opening gifts. I love three year olds!