Rules for Bday Party

Well, this would be easy if it was just drop and go, you could just say in the invite that the cost for the kid is covered, but if parent is going to stay, they need to pay themselves. BUT you are asking/needing parents to stay to supervise, so in essence, you are going to be asking them to pay for themselves anyway. So you would need to word it accordingly if you need parents to stay. Otherwise, I would try to get grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc, who may already be in attendance to be the supervisors of the kids. Also, you tell them on the invite that you need a firm headcount by Wed at 6pm so please reply if you are planning on coming by then. I hope it works out for you. Good luck!

I don't think there's anythingwrong at all with clarifying on the invitation that it's not a drop-off party. Most parents probably won't play, so I don't think that's as much of an issue. At bowling parties, none of the parents ever bowl. If you do specify that it's not a drop-off, then assume food/cake for the child and 1 parent. I always overestimate how much kids will eat. I assume that kids like pizza, but they're too excited at a party especially one with this type of activity, so I'd be surprised if kids eat more than 1 piece of pizza. For cake, count kids as 1/2 as you figure the size of the cake. That way, you don't end up with a huge cake and end up cutting huge pieces for the kids that don't get eated. Have fun!

Typically here, the parents understand that the entertainment activity is for the kids only and will not try to join in on the activity. My daughter just turned five, and the norm for this age still seems to be for all parents to stay. Some do bring siblings with, and it's nice to be able to let the siblings participate. All the parties that wer've gone to have had enough cake, food and rinks for the kids and adults, and I've done the same at our parties. However, do not order a lot of food for the adults, as most tend not to eat much of the food. It's just nice that it has been offered.

At my daughter's party, we moved from the typical pizza to some fruit bowls of strawberries, honeydew and cantaloupe, veggie trays, chips and string cheese from Sam's club for the mid-afternoon party snack. It worked out to be not only healthier but much less expensive than pizza.

Buy a cake that is plenty big. If you have leftovers you get to eat cake a few more times. There may be some that will ask if they can take a piece home too. If I have a lot of cake left over I offer to wrap some up for them if they want.

pay for the kids that were invited. If they weren't invited just tell the person behind the desk that they are not part of your party. The parents can get annoyed if they want. They should know better.

My oldest is 4 1/2 and has been to several parties now, so here is what I've experienced. At party places (i.e. not at home), pretty much the moms have brought the kids. The party provided food for the kids only at all but one party (at that party they not only provided pizza for adults but beer!). Most of the time the kids didn't eat enough so the parents still got to eat. I think for the most part parents know to only bring the kid on the invitation, especially if it is a preschool friend as opposed to a family friend.
We've only been to one five-year old party so far and only one kid was dropped off.
If my kid was invited to your party, I would actually appreciate knowing what is expected of me so I don't look stupid LOL. So, if the invitation said something along the lines of "the kids will be playing laser tag" I think I would get the hint. If you know some of the parents, maybe ask them to stay just to make sure you have enough adults.
Food or light refreshments (even just water and pretzels) for parents would be nice but I don't expect it.
Have fun with your new five year old! I think I'm going to have a hard time with that milestone in six months!

The norm here is that parents drop off. If a parent is asked to stay and help chaperone, then the host would provide that parent with golf, food and cake. If that parent has another child, then you would need to include the sibling. My husband and I usually chaperoned the party ourselves, or had one other adult friend or relative help if it were a large party. We never asked parents to stay or had to pay for parents or siblings.