OT: HELP! DD's 5th Birthday Party Questions

[AlwaysEeyore]

I need some advice from some experienced parents. My DD will be 5 on March 2, 2007. She wants to have a party at the other mouses house, Chuck E Cheese. This is her first year with friends so I have no experience on planning a kids party. Between Preschool and Gymnastics she wants to invite about 12 kids.

I don't know how well she really knows these kids and I can't invite one and not the others since each class is so small.
My questions are:
Has anyone every had a party at CEC?
Do I invite all 12 and hope they all don't come?
Do invite the few I know she talks about and hope the others don't find out?

and my big dilemma
Do I have her friends and my family all at this party (which I would perfer) or do I have to have a separate party at home for family too?


I was so tempted to just take her to WDW for her birthday and call it done. I love my DD but I hate entertaining.

 

[monorailsilver]

Personally I don't think 12 kids is alot for that age.

When my dd turned 4 she invited about 20 people to her gymnastics party but only 15 ish came.

When she turned 5 she invited 20 ish people & I think 16 came.

This May she has her whole class list (20 kids) & a few others but I started early because I know she is wishy-washy & changes her mind often (she will be 6).

I have never been to a CEC party (but I think we are going to one in Feb) but I have been there when there have been parties going on & there were more then 12 kids & it didn't seem too hectic.

I would ask her again who she wants to come & if she doesn't say everyone then do not hand out the invites at school. Most moms know the routine-an invite in the mail means hush hush. I did have one mom last year ask me infront of another mom what to get Kelli while we were at school. I was a bit annoyed.

Last year when my dd wanted to invite everyone (which would of been 30 people), I made a list of 12 numbers & made her pick names to put on the list (I added a few more to the list anyways). She put down kids names that were in her class but she rarely talked about so I said to her "would you rather have X that you don't play with or Z that you do play with" and of course she answered Z.

 

[powellrj]

I also hate to entertain so here is my .02. Chuckie Cheese parties are great if you can afford them. 12 isn't an unresonable number for a kids party these days because usually not everyone will show up. I know at that age we didn't go to all the parties my kids were invited to because it was next to impossible.

If you can plan the party at a off time (not the weekend) you can sometimes get a discount. Also remember you don't have to have their party. You can just go and buy your own pizzas and tokens and drinks for much cheaper than the party packages. Once again, I would suggest doing it at an off-time because I know when they are busy there isn't always room for that many people to sit together.

Just relax, it will all work out!!!

 

[bedgraynexl]

When DS7 turned 4 he had a CEC party. We ended up having about 16 kids there from his school and assorted family members.

What I found about that age is the parents will usually stay to keep an eye on their kids (It may even be a CEC requirement). We provided pizza and salad bar for the parents who wanted them. We also provided a set amount of tokens and the rest were on the parents.

The staff we had was pretty good, they got a little overwhelmed at present time. I still look at the video and laugh at these three and four year olds crowding in to see the presents and some even "helping" my son open his presents.

We also invited the family to the CEC party. Most chose to come, especially those with kids. Grandparents came for a little bit leaving after presents.

Hope that helps somewhat.

 

[dijid]

Twelve is not an exhorbitant # for a birthday party. I think you either go small (like 5 friends for her 5th party) or you need to make sure that she is not excluding 1 or 2 people from those groups.

If you hold a party at CEC, I think you need to plan for adequate parental supervision. IMO you either need to invite your family members and let them know they'll be helping supervise, or you need to be prepared to feed a parent for each of the girls you are inviting. I attended a CEC party with my DD in kindergarten and it was quite hectic with all the parties on a Saturday afternoon. The parents weren't invited, and I would say 3/4 of the kids invited had a parent who decided to stay as a result of the chaos level there. At that age they are just too young to be set loose with a cup full of tokens. My DD surely lacked the assertiveness and "street smarts" at that age which are necessary to keep older kids from swindling tokens from you and cutting you out from getting the games you want. (Unfortunately that happens.)

Good luck with the party and try to relax. These things can be stressful, but at least you know there's a definite end to them!

 

[lg3]

IA w/other posters that 12 is not that much - especially considering it is at CEC - not nearly as much work for you to do before/after than if you had it at your home.
Please invite all the kids - no need to exclude at this point. Are you concerned about enough supervision if they all came? If so that would make your last dilemma easy: Have the whole family come. I would do that anyway. Those CEC parties really aren't SO bad, and you may want the additional adults for support/comraderie.

Not trying to hijack your post, but could you tell me what your dd wants for her birthday? We have been invited to a birthday party soon for 5 yr old twin girls, and I really don't know what they are really into at that age. thanks!

 

[AlwaysEeyore]

Thanks everyone! I wasn't concerned too much about the amount of kids, I just didn't know what to do with their parents. I didn't want to spend DD's birthday party making small talk with a bunch of people I don't know. I am giddy with the thought of torturing my In-laws with sitting at Chuck E Cheese with a bunch of screaming kids.

Not trying to hijack your post, but could you tell me what your dd wants for her birthday? We have been invited to a birthday party soon for 5 yr old twin girls, and I really don't know what they are really into at that age. thanks!

For Christmas she wanted Bratz stuff. She got a lot of play make-up sets and she loves giving everyone make overs. Maybe the twins can make each other over.

 

[Gillian]

We have been to several CEC parties in the past year. It's often chaotic, but the kids like it.

Most of the time a parent stays. Often the host parents provide an extra pizza for the parents, and possibly a pitcher of soda, but I never expected it and usually bought my own drink. Sometimes the parents buy extra tokens for the kids. Again, if I was there and my child wanted more tokens for him/her, I'd buy more.

If it's not a big deal to plan, it's nicer to have a separate family party because you just don't get to spend much time together at CEC. The kids are running around, they barely sit still to eat pizza. Not a great thing for relatives, you know?

It is helpful for the kids to wear clothes with pockets, or to wear a fanny pack so they aren't carrying around (and losing) cups of tokens. It also gives them a place to put any tickets they win.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Hey neighbor! Have you thought of maybe having the party at a party place that is one party at a time? There are so many on LI and they are so much fun! We have been to a few CEC parties and it's hard for the birthday child to have a party atmosphere. Basically you eat a piece of pizza, go do your own thing, sing happy birthday, do your own thing and leave. JMHO. If your daughter is dead set on it then by all means let her have a great time. I just thought I'd offer an alternative. Oh- and I don't think 12 is alot. We are havng my dd's 3rd birthday party tomorrow (pirates and princess party!) and we will have around 15-20 kids. Good luck and let us know what you decide!

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

I am going through the same thing this year..DD is turning 5, and wants to have the "friend party" that a few of her other friends have had. We just went to a CEC one last weekend, and she had alot of fun..but it was VERY chaotic. ESP. since..parents didn't LEAVE, as they were expected to. Alot of them stuck around b/c they didn't yet feel comfy with leaving there 4/5 year old with people they didn't know all to well. (we knew the mom so didn't have a problem with it) Anywho...I finnally decided that we are going to try a new tradition this year..and not do big parties. Friend or otherwise. Family can come visit if they want. But we aren't having a big extended party. The Three of us will do something special that day..like her choice of dinner and to build a bear. Then she has planned the rest of the day as she wishes. So..she is very excited about the planning whatever she wants part. I say..don't fall into the "party trap" to early..since I have a feeling these kids will come to expect bigger and better every year if we do.
Hope that helped.