Would you have served food? (insp from the birthday party thread)

[Oncemorewithfeeling]

I just read Skuttle's thread about what to serve at a birthday party at 2pm. I wouldn't expect a meal at 2pm, but I've taken my kids to plenty of parties at that time of day when food was served.

My question is this -- if you took your kids to a birthday party at 12 or 12:30pm would you expect them to be served some kind of meal? I took my child to a party planned for a noon start recently. It was a drop off party. When my child arrived home I asked about the party. At some point I asked about what was served. They served popcorn, juice and cake -- no food even though the party went from noon to 1:30pm.

I was surprised they didn't have any other food for the kids.

 

[tiggerlover]

At a noon time party I would expect there to be some food, be it finger sandwiches or pizza or something. We thought about this fact when we were planning DS's upcoming bowling party and we decided to do it later in the afternoon (3:30) and just serve chips, juice, cake and ice cream. If we had went with the earlier time we were thinking about serving pizza, but we wanted to keep it simple so we are doing it later.

 

[believe]

We do food at every gathering, no matter the time. This probably stems from no one leaving at the end time. We can start a party a 2pm and it can easily go past dinner time. Most of the 'party' places pizza is included in the price no matter the time of day.

 

[piglet too]

In my family, there is always food, and more than just finger foods. I think you should expect that if it is a noon time party, you will be fed lunch. Just like if you have a party at dinner time, say between 5-8, you need to serve a dinner.

 

[Pooh67_68]

Originally posted by piglet too
In my family, there is always food, and more than just finger foods. I think you should expect that if it is a noon time party, you will be fed lunch. Just like if you have a party at dinner time, say between 5-8, you need to serve a dinner.

I totaly agree

 

[Christine]

I never *expect* food to be served at a kid's birthday party. But, I will say that most of them do. I have always been able to give my kids lunch before or after a party without too much starvation on their part. I've often been surprised that a 3 p.m. party is having a full lunch served. HELLOOOO, my kids eat lunch around noon. I really do prefer when parents specifically state on the invite what will be going on. Most of them will say "come for pizza and cake" or something to that effect.

But, while I don't expect it, many people do.

 

[CamColt]

As others noted above, I would always do a meal type thing no matter what time the party was.
I dont like to say I "expect" food to be served when we go to a party because that could come off sounding like Im just going for the food, and I expect to be waited on, and thats not what Im getting at . In general, all parties we go to regardless of time usually do serve a meal of some sort, so yes I would expect it. I wouldnt be offended if it wasnt a meal, but Id be surprised about it. Does that make sense?

As for the noon party, I would definitely expect lunch to be served.

 

[Angel717]

I would expect food to be served, regardless of time, unless the invitation said "join us for cake and ice cream" or something along those lines. I always have food for a get-together, even if it's just ordering out.

What's a party without food?

 

[disykat]

Yes, I would expect a meal if the party was at a meal time.

I would not expect anything other than cake and punch if the party was not at a meal time - in fact I find it excessive. If the party is at 2:00 do people skip lunch or dinner or do they just eat an extra meal that day?

 

[KristiKelly]

Last year my kids went to a b'day party from 6-8 pm, I assumed food would be served but they only had chips & cake, I ended up taking them to ChicFilA afterwards. I always serve food as well, usually pizza or lots of finger foods. We used to do hotdogs & hamburgers, but that started getting rather pricey when you threw in all the condiments.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

When we were younger we pretty much just had cake and ice cream at parties.

I would not expect more than that unless it was at a meal time.

 

[pjlla]

I have had my son's bday party on a Saturday fom 10 am to noon for the past few years. It eliminates the food question (although I usually have snacks as well as drinks and cake) and it doesn't interfere with most family weekend plans. Plus the kids have plenty of energy! It has worked out great and I have had parents comment to me that it was a perfect time of day to have the party! .......................P

 

[CEDmom]

I think if a party is around a meal time food s/b served. The reason being as a parent I don't think it's good for kids to fill up on chips, cake and ice cream if they're really hungry. When we've had DD's parties I've always included a note saying pizza and cake will be served. Most of the invitations she gets also have this down. That being said DD eats constantly and I always have snacks in my bag so if food wasn't served she'd be ok.

 

[Christine]

I want to make a small change to what I said, above.

When I say I don't expect food or don't serve food, I mean it as strictly a "kid's" party. When we just have a few kids over from school and the party is at 2:00 p.m. we will just have cake.

However, when my DD had her first birthday party, it was more like family/friend get-together. I had relatives driving to my house and it took some of them an hour and a half to get there. Even though the party was after lunch, I felt compelled to have a full-up picnic because of the length of time some people were travelling. Make sense?

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by Jenn Lynn
When we were younger we pretty much just had cake and ice cream at parties.

I would not expect more than that unless it was at a meal time.

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I agree.. I think children's birthday parties have gone WAY "over the top"..

 

[Beth76]

If you're having a party, you should serve food regardless of what time it is. It doesn't necessarily need to be a full meal though. Even when I have a playgroup at my house, I make sure to have snacks.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by Beth76
If you're having a party, you should serve food regardless of what time it is. It doesn't necessarily need to be a full meal though. Even when I have a playgroup at my house, I make sure to have snacks.

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Why? It's a child's birthday party.. Birthday parties are traditionally cake and ice cream..

If it were at meal time - if you invited a few children over to play - if you were having friends over for the afternoon or evening - those are entirely different scenarios..

 

[skuttle]

I still can't believe how many people have/expect meals for a birthday party at any time! I would never NOT serve some sort of food...but a full meal at a 2pm birthday party? I've never heard of that until I posted my thread. Since I've never been to a party like that and all of the invitees will be friends/family from the same area, we won't be having a full meal at DS's 2:00pm birthday party.

 

[kadaten]

If the party is at a meal time, there should be a meal served. If you're not going to pony up for the meals, don't throw a meal-time party.

If it's at any other time, I would only expect light snacks, but at least some food! What's a party without party food? Some serve tons of food no matter the time of day.

I was happy that the last invitation I received said something to the effect of "join us for cake and ice cream" so I knew to eat beforehand. It was a 2:00 party, so I would have anyway.....but some family members go over the top no matter what time, so if I was going to say MIL's house, I wouldn't have eaten because I know she'll prepare food for an army if there are only 10 people coming

 

[powellrj]

We are having my DD's 8th birthday next sunday. Its a pool party at the local gym at from 2-4. We are just doing cake and punch. If it were an open house or a party with adults, I would serve food, but not for a kids pool party.