Invites for 4 Yr Old Bday Party

Updated on January 06, 2010
L.G. asks from Mesa, AZ
10 answers

Hi,
I have twins that will be 4 in Feb. I am trying to figure out what to do for their party. (any suggestions you have are appreciated) We don't have family here so its usually just us and my parents. The boys started preschool about a year ago, but I don't know many of the parents. I want the boys to have a good birthday party, but is it weird to invite the kids from preschool when the parents probably don't have any idea who we are? Also, whats the Etiquette rule about inviting kids from school.. depending on the day there can be 30 kids in the class, do I invite them all or just the kids that I know my kids are friends with and play with on a regular basis?? Thanks in advance!

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C.L.

answers from Phoenix on

Hi L. well first Congratulations on raising twins! I'm in the same boat as you, my daughters b-day is Feb 3rd and trying to put a little something together for her. So we decided to do a Pinata at the Park. And it will most likely just be very close friends and family small but enough for her to enjoy it. We also thought about just buying a cake going to Chuck E. Cheeses and Celebrating there. They are really good on letting the kids go to the B-Day area when Chuck E comes out to sing and dance. Maybe make it a theme they both enjoy trucks, trains etc...kids are so easy to please I think sometimes it's us parents that think it's not enough for them. I would invite just the boys in the class or invite only the few they play with depending on the budget. They will have fun no matter what! Good Luck! and Happy Birthday Twins!

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L.C.

answers from Austin on

We had a similar problem when our daughter was in preschool last year, although other parents we didn't know well had invited everyone to their kids' parties. So we ended up doing the same, but there weren't 30 kids in the class either! I would just keep it to their friends, because that would just be crazy and expensive! But it will be a good opportunity for you to meet their friends' parents, too.

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L.B.

answers from Phoenix on

We had a petting zoo come for my son's birthday last year. (My sister had the same petting zoo for my nieces birthday too.) It was great, the zoo came and set up at the park, (the park was free, the zoo $150/hour, www.cartersfarmaz.com), we could have as many kids as we wanted, I had a craft activity set up on the the picnic tables so the kids something else to do if they didn't want to play with the animals for a whole hour, and we had cake and opened presents (you could do pizza too). Don't worry if the parents don't know who you are, I didn't know any my kids friends parents until we all started having birthday parties, now most of friends are parents of my kids friends. When my son was in daycare/preschool, I asked the teacher who I should invite. I didn't know who my son played with the most. Your kids are going to be 4, they can probably give you some names of kids they'd like to come. Don't feel you have to invite everyone either. Enjoy! P.S. If you go with the petting zoo, ask them to bring a baby pig if they have one, they're the cutest and usually a the hit of the party.

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K.B.

answers from Yuma on

My opinion is much different. We had the same questions when my son was in preschool. We decided to invite the whole class because we didn't want to hurt any feelings. Yes, the teacher would be able to discreetly give out invites to certain kids, but kids talk. my son was excited about his party and told the kids he was having one, and they talked about the party afterwards (we got a bouncy house that they all loved). So we covered our bases and invited everyone. The people from his class that did show up were the ones that he played with the most anyway(with 1 or 2 exceptions).
Hope they have a great birthday no matter what you decide!

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K.L.

answers from Phoenix on

Rule of thumb = however old your kids are turning is how many friends you want at your house party...so if they are turning 4, you want 4 friends. Many more than that and you have chaos. The exception is if you are having the party somewhere else where everything is done for you. Rule for inviting classmates is if you are handing invitations at school, then invite everyone. If you mail the invitations, then you can invite just those special friends. I've found that most parents stay with their kids until age 6 or 7, so you can probably plan on having parents there to help you. Another trick I've learned is have the friends sit in a circle and hold their present that they are giving. Then have them hand the present to your kids and sit next to them while they open it or they can help. Then they go back to their spot in the circle and then it is the next friends turn. This alleviates all the crowding around your twins and chaos of present opening.

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J.K.

answers from Phoenix on

I'm sure there are many ways you can do this. I'd say just invite the boys in the class. Have fun!

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A.A.

answers from Tucson on

I used to be a preschool teacher, and it's not weird that you invite kids from their school... even if you don't know any parents. But it really depends on where the party is.

If it is at your house - parents who don't know you well might not want to come, as it's really personal and may be awkward hanging out while the kids play inside a stranger's house.

One year I had my 4 year old daughter's party at a park complete with a jumping castle, pinata, games w/ prizes, silly string, & pizza, and we put "jumping castle" "games" "pizza" on the invite to entice kids and their parents to come.

I had asked her teacher if it was ok to put invites in the kid's cubbies, and so I put an invite into every single one in her class of about 30, and 10 kids RSVP'd and came - which was good for not knowing most of the parents either!

You could have the party at pretty much any local place Peter Piper Pizza, Funtastics, Chuckie Cheese, The Zoo, etc and invite anyone to come... just have them RSVP so you know how to plan.

Good luck and don't stress over it... "go with the flow" and have fun too!

G.M.

answers from Phoenix on

I would talk with the teacher and invite the kids from school that your boys relate to best. The teacher can make sure that the invites get put in their back packs. Also, in the invites, invite the parents to meet with you all before hand to just establish a friendly rapport, so that they can feel comfortable coming to the birthday party. :-)

SUPER HERO theme is a good one. :-) Come as your favorite Super Hero!!! Or Jammies! :-)

Hope this helps.

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D.H.

answers from Phoenix on

I would NOT invite the whole class. Just the friends of your children. Here's a good rule of thumb for friends to invite (family is a separate issue): if your child is one, invite one friend, two for two, three for three. Keep going until they are nine - then go down one each year - eight kids for nine, seven kids for 10, until they are 16 - when they go on their first date (1 friend). If the point of the birthday party is for the child to enjoy himself, then that is the best way to do it. Good luck!

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A.T.

answers from Phoenix on

I would invite just the ones they talk to or play with alot or talk aabout alot. The majority of the time if you invite the entire class only about half show up. (if that). and i have found in the past that most parents stay at that age. Our son is 7 and we still stay with him at any party he is invited to. (if not family) Good luck.

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