RSVP for a birthday party

[skw444]

My dd is having her birthday party at one of those inflatable places this weekend. There are 6 kids who haven't RSVP'd (I put the deadline for RSVP as yesterday). 6 kids will make a difference in the cost of the place as well as how many goody bags I need. Would you assume that they are not coming? Would you try to email them to see if they are coming or not?

 

[Califgirl]

I'm sorry I don't have any insight as to whether your invited guests will be coming or not, but I'll share with you a tactic that one of my friends has used. On the birthday party invitations for her kids she puts: " We'll be having my child's party at a local inflatable place. Please call or e-mail for directions" and doesn't give the address. If the guest is planning on coming, they HAVE to contact you. (Whether they contact you in a timely manner is something you still won't have control over.)

Sorry I don't have any real words of wisdom for you regarding your missing RSVP's. Have a wonderful party.

 

[Nicki828]

I would definitely contact them to see if they're coming. I usually buy lootbags that are returnable for this reason =)

 

[mncherokee]

In my years of experience, people for some reason do NOT RSVP for kids parties unless they are coming. (I was taught to call either way... but most people don't do that anymore ).

If you really want to, you can call all of them... but I just wouldn't put them in the head count... if they show up you can inform the parents that you are sorry that you hadn't heard from them and you would be happy to have the child stay, but the parent must cover any additional costs.

 

[PrincessMama605]

On the birthday party invitations for her kids she puts: " We'll be having my child's party at a local inflatable place. Please call or e-mail for directions" and doesn't give the address. If the guest is planning on coming, they HAVE to contact you. (Whether they contact you in a timely manner is something you still won't have control over.)

What a great idea!

 

[The Disney Bunch]

I would call them - people forget & sometimes are just rude but at least you are not putting out money for them if they don't show or look out of place if they do.
I think it is rude not to RSVP. Not sure why people dont do it.

 

[abdmom]

In my years of experience, people for some reason do NOT RSVP for kids parties unless they are coming.

I used to assume this until my ds' last birthday party. I was driving the kids to the party location and had the exact number of children that would fit in my minivan. And then one child who hadn't RSVP'd showed up! ARRGH! I had to phone a neighbor whose children were also coming and ask her to help with the driving.

DD10 just had her birthday 3 days ago. Two or three days before the party, I called those who hadn't RSVP'd and ended up with 2 more children coming than I had before I called.

Give the non-RSVP'rs a call.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

I would call them - people forget & sometimes are just rude but at least you are not putting out money for them if they don't show or look out of place if they do.
I think it is rude not to RSVP. Not sure why people dont do it.

I would call them too, just to make sure.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'd call - in my experience, 50% of the non-RSVPers attend the party. Out of dozens of parties I've hosted, there was only one that everyone RSVP'd to.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

Ughh...I hate RSVP. No one ever RSVP's anymore. I don't know why. It seems they just assume you know they are coming. I started putting an email on my invites that people can RSVP too and I get a better response, but I still would have at least 1 that woudn't tell me until the day they showed up!

 

[2Kds2K9]

I would call. I find that at this time of the year, a lot of people are on vacation. So they either are not home to begin with, or are just getting home and have not gotten to the mail yet. Some might even be getting home the day before the party.

Also, I've had invitations lost in the mail. I'd call just to make sure it was received.

Enjoy!

 

[Benducci]

I would call. I find that at this time of the year, a lot of people are on vacation. So they either are not home to begin with, or are just getting home and have not gotten to the mail yet. Some might even be getting home the day before the party.

Also, I've had invitations lost in the mail. I'd call just to make sure it was received.

Enjoy!

This is true also- There were two parties this year from my one daughter's class that we did not get invites to. I know my dd was invited but we did not get the invite. But it would be pretty tacky of me to call up & ask! I wish the parents had called me to see if she was going!

I called for my dds' parties & I got two people who did not get the invites so I am glad that I called.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Never assume lol..My dd's party was sunday aaand I had 5 show up thaaat did not rsvp. It was home pool party so it wasnt that bad. If I was having it out like you are I would call them.

 

[NY_MOM]

I'm also awaiting RSVP's for my DD'S party however, they still have until 9/1 to respond. If I don't hear from them by that afternoon, I'm going to send them an e-mail and just let them know that if I don't hear from them by mid-night via phone or e-mail, I will assume they will not be joining us and that they will be missed.

 

[mlynn]

I would call them. That really makes me mad when they just can't make a simple phone call. I went to a birthday party with 6year old at Chuckie Cheese for a school friend and She was the only child to show up and only 3 parents out of 10 kids invited called. NOt only was it rude but it hurt the childs feelings that nobody came.
My daughters 6th back in June I invited her whole class (16 kids)4 called and 10 showed up. Thankfully it was at my house so no big deal. It would have been a big deal if I had it somewhere.

 

[mommytoone]

I don't understand why it is so hard to RSVP, either your coming or your not, just call. When DH and I got married we tallyed up our RSVP's and gave the count we had 20-25 people come that did not RSVP. Why could you not respond, I gave you a stamped envelope. I would call, you don't want to be in a situation where you don't have enough food, or whatever. Just say you were planning on getting some goodie bags and needed a count, or whatever.

 

[3goofyboys]

I would call. Like one PP said, sometimes invites get lost in the mail or whatever. Better to call and check than to assume they aren't coming and be put in a tight spot when they show up.

 

[Rora]

There is nothing wrong with contacting the parents to see if their child is attending. You need to know and if they seem offended, explain to them that you need to give a final headcount to the location to determine the cost, etc (I highly doubt they will sound offended though!).

Have a great party!!

 

[skw444]

Thanks for the advice. School has been back in session for 2 weeks now, so I know that everyone is back from vacation. I started making the calls and found that 2 more people are planning on coming. Still haven't been able to get in touch with the other 4. At this point, I'll just make the extra goody bags just in case they show up. And maybe they'll still call and let me know.

 

[8ofus]

It sounds as though this epidemic of no rsvp- ing is not just in my neighborhood. Most people just get to busy which is not an excuse really. No one could be much busier than someone throwing a childs birthday party!! I always call the ones who don't respond and say I need to give a head count to the establishment that I'm having the party at. If it's at home I honestly say I just want to know how many to prepare for. It has also been a fear of mine that no one will show up and break my childs heart. My daughters birthday is August 1st, right before school starts and families are wanting to get one more trip in. One year only two people could come, so I invited a couple of my older daughters friends. My birthday daughter was just turning three and thought big sisters friends hung the moon, so it worked out fine. If I hadn't known who was coming,I wouldn't have known we were going to have a poor turn out.