OT - Toddler birthday ideas

[haley's mom]

A brief history:

My dd will turn 5 in January. She started pre-school this past summer and has made some good friends. Pre-school/day care policy is that in order for teachers to hand out invitations, the whole class must be invited. That would be 32 pre-schoolers.

I live outside of Pittsburgh, PA and do not have a home large enough to accomodate 32 kids (not knowing how many would show up).

If we go somewhere like Chuck E. Cheese or similiar, 32 kids will cost a small fortune.

Any cheap ideas for a winter b-day party?

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Would you be willing to send the invitations so that you did not have to invite all the students?

Do you have a legion hall near you? We have one here that rents out the place for $25/$50 if you want to use the kitchen.
If you had something like that you could decorate/ have pizza and cake and play party games.

 

[MNdisneymom]

Do the kids have cubbies that they put their coats, lunch bags, other stuff, in? If they do, you could find out who your daughter's friends are, and put the invitations there yourself.

Having to invite the whole class seems a little bit much, doesn't it? In my son's case there are kids he doesn't even know in his class since he only goes half days two days a week...glad they don't have that policy at his school!

I don't know if you have any kids gym type places (like gymboree, my gym, little gym, j.w. tumbles, etc.) in your area, but that might be an option. It sounds pricey (we've done parties at JW Tumbles two years in a row) but when you consider all that they offer (stuff you couldn't possibly do by yourself at home) it's really not that bad.

 

[mousescrapper]

I'm in the same boat! My DD is turning 5 and this is not her first kid party, but this time she really wants to invite some of her friends from pre-school. But I too can not afford to invite the whole class (or logistically). This is her
2nd yr at pre-school and has been invited several times with the "whole class" invite and she's never been able to go, nor do I know these kids, and she hasn't been always interested.

We're lucky now to have a nice size basement to have a kid party in our house with a winter b-day, but she has named like 4 kids out of a possible 20 something.

I would mail them, but they don't release the addresses. I think I could drop them in their file folders that are right inside, but it will be obvious I'm only invitng a few.

I know one mom pretty well, so I'm going to ask her opinion. Do you know a mom from your daughter's preschool?

My twins are Spring b-days so we did an outdoor party at this local free zoo/petting farm, and did the whole party ourselves it was great and invited all the kids from their class, all the parents stayed, this was age 4.

Birthdays are hard, I wish you luck OP! I love planning but there really shouldn't be "politics" in a 5 yr old birthday, right?

 

[MSSANDRA]

Please do not put invites in cubbies.. Children know and feeling do get hurt. Our school policy would not allow that anyway. All invites that do not include all the children must be handled outside of school. If she has not made any friends close enough for you to know their moms, i would just skip the class invites and do family and family friends or neighbor hood friends. If you have a church, consider the fellowship hall or perhaps going to a local resturant with a indoor play area duing an off time.

 

[mousescrapper]

Please do not put invites in cubbies.. Children know and feeling do get hurt. Our school policy would not allow that anyway. All invites that do not include all the children must be handled outside of school. If she has not made any friends close enough for you to know their moms, i would just skip the class invites and do family and family friends or neighbor hood friends. If you have a church, consider the fellowship hall or perhaps going to a local resturant with a indoor play area duing an off time.

I wouldn't put invites in cubbies, my DD's preschool has the parent info in file foldres, so the parent picks that up.

My DD's preschool is also a day care center, she is one of just a handful of kids that attend who are not daycare kids, so I don't have an opportunity to meet these parents at pick-up/off. She comes/goes at different times.

And just becuase I don't know a mom of a child my DD plays with at school, doesn't mean there not close enough to come to a little b-day party....I don't know all of my elementary aged children's friends parents.

I know you are looking out for the feelings of kids, as I am too