OT-Birthday party for girls only? How to handle?

[princesspiglet]

I am starting to plan for my DD's 5th birthday party in November. We are going with a Princess theme (imagine that!) and it will be held at the clubhouse in our development. DD has decided that she only wants to invite the girls in her class. This is fine with me, less kids to deal with. But how do I handle the invitations? She will be in kindergarten then and I probably won't know all the parents of the girls. Can I just put the invitation in their little mailbox (they each have their own cubby/mailbox) and be done with it? I really don't want to offend any of the little boys (or more likely their parents). But what little boy is going to want to come to a princess party anyway? Right???

 

[Whosemom]

By November you'll probably be able to get a class list (at least we do). The rule at our school is you can only hand out invitations at school if the whole class is invited.

 

[monorailsilver]

It all depends on your school's rule. Ask the Kindergarten teacher & she will tell you.

At my dd's school I would have to mail them if I didn't invite all the kids or if I didn't invite just the girls or just the boys.

 

[princesspiglet]

Well she is going to a private school that she already attends for preschool, so I know that it is ok to give out the invites in their cubby for just the girls. Guess I just want to make sure that I don't hurt anyone's feelings or make them feel slighted. If you are the parent of a little boy, would you be upset that he didn't get invited??

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I wouldn't be upset if my ds wasn't invited since you are only having girls, but I know my DS would still want to go. I wouldn't worry about it. Do what is best for you.

BTW- we did a pirate and princess party for my DD (3)!

 

[2forMe]

Seriously no one will be upset. I know that other kids in DD's class have had parties that she has not been invited to attend.. plus she has attended parties with only a few kids from her class. Do not stress about it.. not all kids can go to all the parties

 

[desireech]

I just had a princess party for my daughter's 5th birthday in June. Same story - we only invited girls. There is no rule that you can't send them into her school (also a private pre-school) if you're not inviting everyone in the class, but I chose to mail them anyway so as not to risk hurting anyone's feelings. If one of the boys sees the invites, they're not going to necessarily know that it's just a party for girls and that's why they weren't invited. It's only going to cost a couple of bucks in postage - I would suggest mailing them if you have access to the addresses.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

I have two boys, and I would not be offended at all! My DS8 has always wanted a coed party so we do the mail thing. My DD 5 has always had all girls though.

OT - Two summers ago we visited Hershey for a short vacation. We had the best time. Everyone was very friendly, and I had the best breakfast of my life! I think it was called the Hershey Pantry. (?)

 

[Merriwind]

Don't stress! DD9 has had all girls parties for the last few years. We've invited all the girls in her clas, plus our neighborhood girls. By 1st or 2nd grade, most parties are divided by gender, so it's pretty normal. The rule last year in third grade was that you could distribute the invites through school only if you invited the whole class OR all the boys OR all the girls.

Have fun!

 

[dementia412]

1. Just want to point out that by november her best friend could be a boy, or she could have several boys she likes, things change, friends change.
2. Plenty of boys that age would LOVE a princess party.
3. If that is what she wants, I'd go ahead... she shouldn't have to have people she doesn't care for at her party.
3. Make it very clear on the send outs that its girls only or people might send along brothers .(extra guests is a whole seperate problem there)
4. I would only be upset if I knew my son was a friend of the party girl and wasn't being invited just because he has different plumbing. Even so, I'd get over it.... but I can see some parents getting huffy or kids getting upset. You have to accept that may happen, can't please everyone, but you can please your DD.

 

[LJRJR]

I agree that you should have an all girls party if that is what you want to do. I would also be very careful about how and where you pass out the invitations. In the past I have had my children very upset if they were not invited to a birthday party and they knew that others in the class were, these parties happed to be a mix of both boys and girls. So, I think that you are doing the right thing by just having the girls. However, as a mother of two little boys (and a girl also) I find that moms that dont have boys always think that just because it is a princess or girl event that the boys wont like it. My boys would just love to go anywhere, even if it is a girl theme party or dinner with Cinderella at CRT in the Magic Kingdom, we go there every year. I am sure as they get older, it might change, but right now if there is an event and there are people,food, games or fun, they want to be there.

 

[tinkandpan]

My dd5 had an all boy party last year and will again this year. Lots of kids do it and no one gets hurt feelings- if the girls find out about it, they are told it is a boy party or vice versa and everyone understands. Our school had rules about invites- they would let you put them in your cubby if all were invited or all of the one sex was invited. As for having a bf who is of the opposite sex- my friend solved this one by having her sons little gf over for a special dinner close to the bday

 

[princesspiglet]

Thanks for all the replies! We are going ahead with the girls only party- that will keep it to 8 kids which will be much more manageble for us!

I think I might hand deliver to the girls or wait until I see their parents at pick up time. We are doing the invite on a scroll and putting it in a small glass slipper--so I can't mail that out!

K &K's mommy

OT - Two summers ago we visited Hershey for a short vacation. We had the best time. Everyone was very friendly, and I had the best breakfast of my life! I think it was called the Hershey Pantry. (?)

Yes, it is the Hershey Pantry- the BEST place in town for breakfast! They have awesome waffles and you can't forget the chocolate! DD and I eat there every Sunday (DH works) as a special mommy/daughter treat!

 

[MSSANDRA]

While i think it is fine for an all girl party as long as all the class girls are invited, I would wait a while before making ANY plans. November is a long time away and children change so much in kindergarten that she might not even want princess stuff at that time. I am very much into child led parties and if you plan it all out now it might be more mom wants not what she will want 4 months from now. Our school has a all or none invite policy but we flex it for an all girl or all boy party and the kids have no problem with it but it is true some little boys do love the princess stuff.

 

[Nanisashi]

At my daughters preschool, we give the invitations to the teachers. The teachers then hand them to the parents as they arrive to pick up their kids.

 

[princesspiglet]

While i think it is fine for an all girl party as long as all the class girls are invited, I would wait a while before making ANY plans. November is a long time away and children change so much in kindergarten that she might not even want princess stuff at that time

While I understand what you are saying, my DD has been planning this princess theme for over a year. She has been obsessed with princesses since she could talk and I really don't think that is going to change in 4 months. And really, 4 months is not THAT far away- most of our facilities out here that host parties are booked a year in advance, so I am behind the ball in that aspect. And she won't be changing from a girly girl to a tomboy just from starting kindergarten! She will be in the same school she has been in since she was 2, with the same kids and same teachers. It won't be a new concept or a big deal for her.