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

[nkereina]

I don't know if this is the same everywhere, but it is very uncommon where I live to have kids that young open presents at the party. I can only remember 1 party I've ever been to where they opened presents there, and that ended in one of the 3-year olds having a tantrum because she wanted one of the presents and didn't understand why she couldn't have it. The child had to be taken home. We always take the presents home and open them there and then have our kids write thank you notes the next day (or we wrote them when they were too young to write their own).

I've been to three 3 year old parties in the past six months and they opened presents at each. Usually what happened was all the kids gathered round, some helped the birthday child open them, and all the kids ooed and ahhed over the presents. Usually the parent/adults were doing their own thing, not paying attention. Not like a bridal shower or something where its the main focus at the time. We live in Upstate NY if it is a regional thing.

 

[mjkacmom]

I don't have kids, but to me, it doesn't seem like two hours would be enough time to cook the hot dogs, eat, do cake, open presents, and give the kids some play time. I feel like it would be rushed. I have a three year old niece and am just thinking about how long it takes her and my sister-in-law to do *anything*, especially open presents which she had a TON of at her last birthday party. We got to her party at 3pm and didn't leave until about 9pm, but they did have an Elsa come and provide entertainment for part of the time.

As a mom of 5, trust me, 2 hours is plenty at that age. This isn't a family party, where relatives get a chance to catch up. The moms have a million other things they'd rather be doing than attend their child's classmate's birthday party. Heck, there is a good chance she's paying a sitter.

Out of 100+ parties my children attended when they were younger, gifts were rarely opened.

 

[nkereina]

As a mom of 5, trust me, 2 hours is plenty at that age. This isn't a family party, where relatives get a chance to catch up. The moms have a million other things they'd rather be doing than attend their child's classmate's birthday party. Heck, there is a good chance she's paying a sitter.

Out of 100+ parties my children attended when they were younger, gifts were rarely opened.

Ah ok... guess I missed that there's no family coming. All the parties I've been to are family plus friends, which I guess makes a difference.

 

[shoney]

Ah ok... guess I missed that there's no family coming. All the parties I've been to are family plus friends, which I guess makes a difference.

It is very common here to have 2 parties...one family and one friends. Presents are never opened at a friends party. They may or may not be at a family party, depends on the family.

For the friend party, it is a bunch of mom's or dad's making small talk while making sure the kids are playing by the rules. Usually once cake is served, everyone makes a bee-line out of there!!!!

 

[DopeyDame]

It is very common here to have 2 parties...one family and one friends. Presents are never opened at a friends party. They may or may not be at a family party, depends on the family.

For the friend party, it is a bunch of mom's or dad's making small talk while making sure the kids are playing by the rules. Usually once cake is served, everyone makes a bee-line out of there!!!!

We must be neighbors. I have a 3 year old and a 6 year old, so I've been to a ton of preschool parties in the last few years, and you perfectly described almost every one of them.

 

[NCDisneyMom]

Just one other suggestion, based on the time of your party (11am - 1pm). I would indicate on the invitation if there will be lunch provided, or just cake and ice cream. Since that spans lunchtime, it could be iffy. I remember when my oldest was around that age, we went to a party where I assumed (yes, I know, I know, never assume...) that lunch would be provided. It was not, and I had one cranky, hungry child. From that point forward, I always indicated "BBQ", or "Join us for cake and ice cream", so that the parents knew what to expect. Otherwise, I think 2 hours sounds perfect. Have fun!

 

[tcufrog]

If you're serving lunch just serve pizza and fruit. If you're doing snacks just serve simple stuff that isn't messy like fruit, cheese and crackers. Sometimes I'll also serve chicken nuggets. When I first started hosting parties I had elaborate spreads of food but I started cutting back when I realized that it was unnecessary.

Thank you for this really helpful reply!!!! Geez I didn't even think about party stations-what a great idea!!! We have some toddler play equipment already out there-slides, toy car, swings, balls.....I was going to have a bean bag toss outside. I wonder if I should set up some bubbles & bubble wands outside as well?

That sounds like fun.

As for thank you notes, I expect my kids to help. When my younger son was 3 he'd help by decorating the thank you notes and now that he can (sort of) write his name he signs them. My older son writes fill in the blank thank you notes.

 

[YoYoAurora]

I'm a certified event planner. Two hours is a great time span for a 3 year old's birthday party.

I agree with previous posters that as your party is during lunch (for most people), I'd indicate on the invitation if you will be serving lunch, or cake and ice cream.

Enjoy the party!

 

[bethy]

Two hours is standard but that is the max. I usually try and have all the "festivities" wrapped up in no later than 1.5 hours and then the kids can just play until they leave. This is so people can leave earlier if they want to.

At that age IME most parents stay the whole time. And they should. So you should prepare to feed them lunch as well if you do it from 11-1. In a situation like this with school friends the parents don't usually know each other all that well. The good thing about this is that they get to know each other better and it builds community. The bad news is that 2 hours of small talk can get really long for some parents. So they might scoot out a little earlier. And if they have older kids they might have a packed weekend with sports, etc.

Have fun!!

 

[leebee]

Parties for children this young didn't happen when DD was little; I think her first "friends" party was when she was 5 years old. I think 2 hours is a good time length for a 3 year old's birthday party. A couple of things jumped out at me:
>>Can you indicate someplace on the invitation that "Parents are encouraged to attend" so you won't get drop-offs? I know, it seems young, but if it's a family with several kids, older kids who have to be dropped off at sports, etc., you might find a mom tempted to do a drop-off of the 3 year old.
>>Hot dogs might be controversial, as they can be a choking hazard in young kids. Maybe pizza instead? You could word the invitation to say "Come join us for pizza, cake, and ice cream to celebrate Elmo's 3rd birthday!" or something like that.
>>Good idea to save present opening for after the guests depart.