I'm having a birthday party for my 4 year old son and inviting about 10 children. We are having it at our house. I was thinking 1-3 with some snacks, cake and ice cream. My husband thinks we need to provide food. I think that cake and ice cream is enough with a few kid friendly snacks. When I was a kid(I know things change) but the parties consisted of cake and ice cream. I don't know if having it at 1 implies food or should I put on invite snacks and cake will be served? I don't really want to do the party 2-4 as that can be late for some people. What do you think?
When I get an invite for 1-3pm I understand that there will not be a meal, simply because its after lunch (generally 11-1 and before dinner (after 4pm). I would just put on the invite "cake and ice cream will be served" and forget about "snacks". Good luck and have fun!!!
No, you don't need food other than some snacks (because though kids say they love cake, some of them have one bite and then are done) and the cake. If I took a child to a party starting at 1 I would assume it wasn't a lunch event; kids this young often eat lunch earlier than that. Put on the invite that snacks and cake will be served and you'll be fine.
I would say if you do 1-3, try to have some finger foods. Wal Mart makes a wonderful tray of finger sandwiches. You really don't want hungry crabby kids wired on sugary snacks in your house, right? Also, the parents would probably appreciate it, for them and for their kids. I would not expect the food to be there, but I should would appreciate it as a mom. If the parents are traveling any amount of time to get there, they may not have to feed the family lunch. And I know how our crazy lives usually go. Trying to get 3 kids ready and out of the house to make a 1pm birthday party is a challenge!
If you are not wanting to spend the extra money or go to the extra trouble, have the party from 2-4. That is the time I see most of the parties occur and that is not too late.
If you have snack foods like finger sandwiches, worst case scenario is that you have leftovers for your own family. But, I bet they get eaten =)
Have fun!
To me starting between 11 and 12:30 implies lunch, 4 to 6 implies dinner, starting at 7 and ending the next day implies you are nuts!
If you have it at 1:00, that usually implies that you will not be serving lunch, and people only expect you to serve cake and ice cream. However, if you want to make sure the kids been fed beforehand, you could make it at 1:30, and then people will definitely get the hint.
Some people eat lunch at 1 p.m., so, I think that if you want the party to begin at that time, you may want to indicate on the invitation, "cake and ice cream, and kid-friendly snacks to be provided." I think all of those late eaters would appreciate knowing this information ahead of time.
No, you do not have to do that. If it was from 11:30-1, it may be expected. But if you put on your invitations something like "Please join us from 1-3 for cake and ice cream", then that is exactly what is expected. In the meantime, I ENJOY food at parties, so I serve it, so maybe that's where your husband is coming from. But no, it's not expected if you just word what they should expect.
"Real Food" offsets the big Cake and Ice Cream meltdown. I'd have cheese and crackers, nuts and some other proteins available. Even some PBJs or cheese+lunchmeat sandwiches, cut into quarters and served that way.
My son is very sensitive to sugar, and getting some nutritious food in his stomach is always important to me. (We actually don't go to many parties, and this is one of the biggest reasons. His "2 hours of happy" is not comparable to my "3 hours of sad-sack, tired, sugared-out meltdown Kiddo." and all the work it entails.) So, I think it's good to put out plenty of nutritious choices, then do cake and ice cream on those slightly-full tummies. Chances are, they'll be playing too much to eat much anyway.
I know this sounds crazy, but I personally think it is tacky to have a party and not serve food. A friend of mine does this, and I have to admit I don't want to go to her son's parties anymore. To me it feels insulting. I'm good enough to give your kid a present but not good enough to break bread with.
Here's the thing, it's your party and you can serve whatever you want. I do.
If it was me I would think snacks and cake will be perfectly fine! Occasionally we have done barbequed hot dogs or burgers for an afternoon b-day party in the summer... but really, it's totally up to you.
Also how much do 4 year olds eat in a two hour period? Lunch and cake? I don't think so...
Have fun!
I see no reason to provide a full meal. The time of day is after lunch and before dinner so to my way of thinking....ice cream and cake sounds great to me!!! I think too many people feel like they have to make a "production" out of their childrens party...the kids are just interested in getting together to play...they don't care about all of the other extras
absolutely not. If you are not planning it at a meal time then no "food" is nessesary. light snacks and cake are fine.
Serving just cake and ice cream is perfectly acceptable, especially at the time you've scheduled the party. I do think it's a good idea to offer a few snacks also.
How about fruit kabobs and lunch meat/cheese roll-ups, plus goldfish crackers or pretzels, before the cake and ice cream. As a parent, I would serve my kiddo lunch before your party, but if you get a couple of kids who haven't eaten yet you'll all have a better time if there's a little something filling available before the sugar rush.
Or heck, get a large cheese pizza and slice it into small squares. Easy and done!
You can serve whatever you want -although I would move it a little later if I only wanted to do light snacks, cake and ice cream. It's not considered rude though! You can even say on the invitation, "Please join us for cake and ice cream..." -and that implies that they're not going to be having lunch.
You do not need to serve lunch. If it really bothers your husband, just make some sandwiches. The parties we went to recently (my son is almost 5) had sandwiches (ham, turkey, pbj), some veggies, some fruit and some chips. Easy stuff. If you want to have something, do something easy (and cheap). No need to spend a fortune or do too much work.
Have fun!
I'd put on the invite snacks, cake and ice cream. That lets parents know what to expect. The time is fine. The kids will not go home hungry. :)
If you have it at 1 you should put that snacks and cake will be served. Whenever I get a 1:00 invitation I never know what to do...i always give them a light snack so they will be good either way. If it is at 1:30 I would not assume lunch though so if you move it a half hour you will be fine.
I think that sounds just fine! My experience with kids' birthday parties is that the kids don't eat the food anyway, just the cake and snacks. If I were you, I would make a note on the invitations that it will be cake and icecream since it will be from 1-3. That way parents will know to feed their kids lunch beforehand.