Pay to attend party?

Rachie_B

:eek: OMG i am stunned !!

we have had bday trips for our eldest son, that include a day trip to a theme park or similar BUT only one "best" friend

and of course we paid for everything

what a cheek !!

its a bit like the "you are invited to my wedding but please pay for your own meal" scenario :lipsrseal which i also hate and think is well cheeky

if you cant afford to invite that many people,just dont

ailuro2

What a hard neck!

Good on your DS for not kicking off about it- he sounds like he's got his head on the right way round- unlike his mate's parents!

I thought it was 'off' when DD brought home an invite from Gymnastics with no name on the envelope- an invitation to a disco at one of these hire a hall places then cram plenty kids on so the birthday child gets loads of prezzies!

Since the parents didn't bother to find out my DD's name, I'm not even bothering to reply to the invitation.:p

Strapped

Totally out of order to expect your guests to pay.

We're currently planning DS's birthday party and wouldn't dream of expecting guests to pay.

MrsE_2

I know this is a childrens party, but how many hens & stags book weekends abroad & EXPECT people to stump up!
Its a growing trend.

BARGAINADDICT_4

I would not pay for my kids to attend a party either. I agree with a lot of what is being said on here about people trying to out do other birthdays, where wil it end? It is ridiculous these days, I have quite an age gap between my kids & the difference in expectations (mostly of the other parents) is unbelievable. One child at my daughters school had a party in a hotel which is usually used as a wedding venue! Luckily my daughter wasn't invited, I was told it looked just like a wedding my friend had been to there previously:eek:

The sheer number of invites has trippled since my sons days of party invites too.

I always pay for my daughters parties and my son to take friends for a day out(that usually costs more than the parties!), would never dream of asking any one to pay themselves.

I also agree with the safety issue, I hate my daughter going on trips without me, even when they are proper supervised ones with school ect..

Hapless_2

MrsE wrote: »

I know this is a childrens party, but how many hens & stags book weekends abroad & EXPECT people to stump up!
Its a growing trend.

But a stag/hen do is supposed to be arranged between best man/bridemaids and various friends to send the groom and bride onto the road to marriage..i.e. drinking to the end of single life. the groom/bride is the only guest.

Carmina_Piranha_3

i can see why you wouldn't want to do this (and money aside i didn't let my boy go to theme parks without either me or his dad until he was ten)

but .... don't all jump on me - i would see this as good value for money. it means my kid gets to go to a theme park or whatever and i only have to pay for him - i don't have to pay to pay for me, the baby etc.

same with school trips - i love them because my boy gets to do all the stuff i couldn't afford for the entire family to do, and is with his mates too.

how old are these kids though?

by the way is £15 a group rate or the usual entry? which park is it, and can you use tesco deals to pay for his ticket?

Morty_007

I'm really saddened by the responses in this thread...No, I don't think its a cheek asking them to pay. Its not like they invited them and then sprung the cost on them when they got there! You take your choices in life and I think it's important that kids learn that we can't always do what we want to do! If you can't afford it, don't go. Why deny the birthday boy/girl what he/she wants to do just because the parent can't afford to pay for the 15 or so children that people seem to feel press ganged into inviting because "if you don't there will be politics"... It seems the poor parent of the child is only trying to do their best. You would only be moaning if little Johnny hadn't been invited. Damned if they do and damned if they don't. Guess it sorts out those going because they actually like the child and want to go to spend time with them (commonly known as friends) and not just because everyone else is going (commonly known as acquaintances) or those going because they think there might be good food, an expensive outing or a good party bag (commonly known as freeloaders). The £15 is for entrance to a theme park!! I’d like to see the rollercoaster you could get in your back yard for cheaper.

And as for the comment about being "expected" to buy a gift as well...if your child isn't close enough to the birthday child to want to buy them a present, why on earth should you expect the parent of the birthday child to invite little Johnny along?! I can’t imagine there is any expectation of a gift… or do you expect gifts for your child when you throw a party?

The writing a letter Anon comment made me spit tea. Why Anon?? Scared little Johnny might get got by the playground mafia for having a troublesome mum?!

My lad has just been invited to his first Birthday party and I actually offered to pay because the venue wants £7-50 a head for a group of 6mth to 1 yr olds to go to a soft play area. Why should any mum feel obliged to pay that much so their child can host the perfect politically correct party!? We are all in the same financial boat. The problem lies in not setting the precedent early. I am close enough to all the mums of my sons peer group at the moment to just be honest with them. No underhand ganging, mini revolutions up or boycotting. Get real and communicate with each other, you might be surprised with the response!!

NAR

Morty_007 wrote: »

You take your choices in life and I think it's important that kids learn that we can't always do what we want to do! If you can't afford it, don't go. Why deny the birthday boy/girl what he/she wants to do just because the parent can't afford to pay for the 15 or so children that people seem to feel press ganged into inviting because "if you don't there will be politics"... It seems the poor parent of the child is only trying to do their best.

So the child determines what can be spent for their birthday? Get a grip, what sort of example does that set? About time we got back to - the parents are in charge - not the kids! :mad:

My lad has just been invited to his first Birthday party and I actually offered to pay because the venue wants £7-50 a head for a group of 6mth to 1 yr olds to go to a soft play area. Why should any mum feel obliged to pay that much so their child can host the perfect politically correct party!?

Why is such a youngsters party being held anywhere but their own home - they certainly won't remember it at that age. Absolutely nuts to be wasting the money.

Carmina_Piranha_3

1 year olds love soft play. we're all so different aren't we. i have a tiny house with no garden to speak of. if i invited just 2 or 3 people to my house the children would feel cramped and would have no floor space to play on, because the extra guests would take up too much space. parties are always out of the house for my children but luckily they are summer birthdays so a picnic in the park is a nice option and there's the leisure centre's play room or a church hall for hire for cheaper 'large' parties.

the soft play area is fantastic in this weather for children who don't have room for running wild at home. a party is usually the only way to get the place to yourself so your little one doesn't get hurt by bigger children. i would consider it for a 2nd birthday, probably not for a first birthday but as i said we're all different.